Iowa City, IA (Sports Network) - The Indiana Hoosiers' first true road game of
the season also happens to be their Big Ten Conference opener, as they spend
New Year's Eve tangling with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Indiana, which had ruled the land as the No. 1 team for the first month and
change of the 2012-13 campaign, brings a 12-1 record into its league
lidlifter, and the team is riding a three-game win streak since suffering its
lone defeat versus Butler in overtime on Dec. 15. During their current run of
success, the Hoosiers have blasted the likes of Mount St. Mary's, Florida
Atlantic and Jacksonville by an average of 36.3 ppg. This is the first of two
straight IU will play away from home, and the team will play just nine true
road games this season.
Iowa has had similar success to its counterpart today, posting an 11-2 record
for its best start since the 2004-05 season. However, the Hawkeyes haven't
beaten many teams that anyone would consider to be of high quality, save for
perhaps Iowa State (80-71). Still, you can only play the games laid in front
of you so there is reason for UI fans to be excited as they hope their beloved
teams' non-conference mark is a precursor of things to come. The Hawkeyes are
riding a six-game win streak, with their latest victory coming in an 80-50
rout of Coppin State.
Indiana owns a 95-74 advantage in the all-time series with Iowa, but the
Hawkeyes won the last meeting, 78-66, on Feb. 19, 2012.
Indiana leads all Division I teams in scoring (89.4 ppg), and its 30.2 scoring
margin is also tops in the nation. Add one of the country's best field goal
percentages (.520), 3-point percentages (.421) and rebounding margins (+13.2)
to a defensive effort that allows just 59.2 ppg on typical shooting outputs of
.364 overall and .306 from beyond the arc and it's not surprising to see the
Hoosiers having the kind of success they are to this point. Cody Zeller (16.4
ppg, 7.9 rpg, 17 blocks) continues to pace the club in scoring, rebounding and
blocked shots, and he is joined by highly-productive teammates Victor Oladipo
(13.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Christian Watford (12.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg), Will Sheehy (12.4
ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Jordan Hulls (11.8 ppg, 3.8 apg) to give coach Tom Crean one
of the most talented core groups in the nation. In their final non-conference
game of the regular season, which also put the wraps on a lengthy eight-game
homestand, the Hoosiers blew out Jacksonville, 93-59. Hulls paced the team
with 20 points, while Zeller added 16, Oladipo and Sheehy each had 14 and
Watford chipped in with 11 for an Indiana squad that drained 11-of-25 3-points
attempts while shooting 50.9 percent from the field overall. A 24-5 edge in
points from the foul line was also key, as was the fact that the Dolphins
committed 20 turnovers.
While Iowa doesn't have the kind of impressive stats Indiana does, the
Hawkeyes have performed well this season, relying on a pair of double-digit
scorers as they go in search of their first seven-game winning streak since
2004. Roy Devyn Marble (15.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.9 apg) and Aaron White (13.6 ppg,
6.5 rpg) have been productive players for coach Fran McCaffery's club, which
averages 76.9 ppg while permitting just 61.2 ppg. Further evidence that UI is
enjoying a banner year is the fact that the team ranks first in the Big Ten in
3-point FG percentage defense (.278) and third in overall FG percentage
defense (.367). White was high man for the Hawkeyes in their 30-point win over
Coppin State, as he was a near-perfect 7-of-8 from the field in netting 20
points. Gabriel Olaseni came off the bench to contribute 14 points and seven
rebounds, while Marble tacked on 11 points. As a team, Iowa made good on 51.7
percent of its total shots, but missed every one of its 17 3-point attempts
and converted only 18-of-31 free throws. The Hawkeyes were also guilty of 20
turnovers, but were fortunate in that the Eagles were just as careless (19
miscues) while shooting a dismal 29.2 percent from the floor. Iowa dominated
the low post, easily winning the rebounding battle (54-29) while outscoring
CSU in the paint (50-16).
The Sports Network