Rob Phinisee scores against Iowa on February 7, 2019 — Mike Schumann / The Daily Hoosier

Iowa 77 Indiana 72: Three Keys | Final Box Score | Specialty Stats

February 7, 2019 Mike Schumann IUBB 0

The feel good Saturday night win over Michigan State is now firmly in the rear view mirror.

Indiana dropped a 77-72 contest against Iowa in Bloomington on Thursday night and have now lost eight of their last nine games.

Indiana (13-10, 4-8) will host Ohio State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

Check back for our comprehensive game summary on Friday with The Report Card.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Iowa’s changing defense gives IU trouble. Indiana went on a 13-2 run early in the game. The crowd was buzzing. Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery called a timeout. The Hawkeyes came out of the timeout in a zone defense and the game was never the same. Indiana struggled to get movement out its offense and Iowa was aggressive in passing lanes. When it looked like IU might be figuring out the zone, Iowa switched to a press, and on it went.

2. Indiana’s defense improved in the second half. But it wasn’t enough. After giving up 46 first half points, Indiana looked lost on defense going into the break. Iowa was getting the ball down low in the post too easy and IU struggled to keep up with the crisp Hawkeye ball movement. While the defensive energy improved substantially in the second half, the Hoosiers could never put together a run, thanks again in part to that Iowa defense. Hawkeye guard Jordan Bohannon finally put things out of reach late with two three-pointers in the final two minutes.

3. Juwan Morgan in foul trouble again. Indiana couldn’t afford to lose Morgan in this one. This game was too evenly matched, and too competitive for IU’s best player to only play 22 minutes. Two quick second half fouls put him on the bench during a 10 minutes stretch that left the Hoosiers unable to make a meaningful dent in Iowa’s 10 point halftime lead.