Indiana 74, Iowa 68 at the buzzer.
The Hoosiers didn’t make a 3-pointer in their loss at Illinois on Saturday, but they made a lot of them to start their game against Iowans at Assembly Hall. Five three-pointers helped the Hoosiers score 39 points in the first half, which is a great 1.25 points each possession.
Tony Leal and Mackenzie Mgbako both made two threes. Kel’el Ware scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds, and blocked two shots in 17 minutes in the first half after coming back from hurting his ankle.
Indiana’s defense was just as good. In the first 20 minutes, they held Iowa to 27.3 percent shot from the field and just.9 points per possession. At one point, Indiana wouldn’t let Iowa score for almost seven minutes.
Before the break, the Hoosiers were ahead 39-22 with 1:27 left in the half. But the Hawkeyes scored six straight points to cut the lead to 39-28.
After only two and a half minutes, Malik Reneau had to leave the game because someone stepped on his foot in the paint. Indiana played nearly the entire half without him.
At the 16:56 mark, Payton Sandfort made his fourth 3-pointer of the game, giving the Hoosiers a 44-35 lead. This came during the under-16 media timeout.
With 15:45 left, Sandfort made another three-pointer that pulled the Hawkeyes inside six points, 44–38.
A Tony Perkins layup with 10:37 left in the game tied the score at 49. A Josh Dix 3-indicate play with 8:43 left gave Iowa the lead. However, Indiana took the lead again with 6:58 left in the game thanks to a 3-pointer by Leal.
With 4:32 left, Kel’el Ware made two free throws to make the score 64–60. After the under-four timeout, Owen Freeman scored for the Hawkeyes to cut the lead to two.
Iowa scored six straight points to take the lead (66–64). With less than two minutes left, Xavier Johnson went for the basket, was fouled, and hit his arm hard, so he had to leave the game. To tie the match at 66, Trey Galloway hit both free throws instead of Johnson.
Iowa took the lead again at 68-66 after a timeout, but there were only 2.9 seconds left on the shot clock. Sandfort made a long two as time ran out. When IU got the ball again, Gabe Cupps made a 3-pointer to make the score 69-68.
The next time Iowa had the ball, they turned it over and fouled Trey Galloway. Galloway made one of the two free throws that made it 70-68.
On the next play, Josh Dix missed a 3-pointer, and Iowa fouled Leal. Leal made both of his free throws to preserve the win.
Sandfort missed a 3-pointer, and Mgbako missed a corner 3-pointer on Indiana’s next possession. However, Galloway found Kel’el Ware under his basket for a basket that made it 72-68 in 26.1 seconds left.
Anthony Leal scored 13 points, which was the highest score of his career, and Kel’el Ware got 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Indiana held on to beat Iowa 74–68 on Tuesday night, ending a three-game losing streak.
They came in having lost three of their last four games. Indiana hadn’t upset Iowa since a 67-65 win on February 7, 2021.
Ohio State lost to Indiana for the first time under coach Mike Woodson. Northwestern is still the only Big Ten team that Woodson’s team hasn’t beaten.
In the end, Ware made 8 of 10 shots and 6 of 11 from the foul line. Leal was Mr. Basketball in Bloomington, Indiana, and he came into the game averaging 1.8 points per game. He scored just 14 points this season and 16 points over the last two years.
With 2:12 left in the game and Indiana down 66–64, Xavier Johnson rushed the lane and tried to dunk, but Ladji Dembele fouled him at the basket. With 11 points, MacKenzie Mgbako made it 11 for Indiana.
Johnson’s feet slipped out from under him during the hit, and he looked like he landed on his left hand. He stayed on the ground, clearly in pain, for a while before going to the locker room.