IU basketball: Indiana 74 Iowa 68 — Three keys, highlights, final stats

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana defeated Iowa at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Tuesday by a final score of 74-68.

IU led at halftime 39-28. The Hoosiers were led in the game Kel’el Ware with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Leal added a career high 13 points.

The three keys to the game, highlights and expanded stats are below.

Indiana (13-8, 5-5) will next host Penn State on Saturday.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Ware guts it out with no Reneau. Indiana center Kel’el Ware returned after missing two games with an ankle injury. He reaggravated it several times during the game, but with Malik Reneau down with an injury suffered in the first half, Ware knew he couldn’t come out. He gutted it out and scored 23 points and added 10 rebounds and three blocks. IU was +13 in Ware’s 35 minutes. He made 8-of-10 shots on the night.

2. Leal provides a boost, Cupps is clutch. Little used senior guard Anthony Leal played 22 minutes and scored a career high 13 points including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He added seven rebounds and was sound defensively throughout the night. Another sub, Gabe Cupps, made a critical 3-pointer at the 1:26 mark to give IU a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Cupps was on the floor after Xavier Johnson went down with a late game injury.

3. Defense does enough. Iowa came into the game averaging 85 points per contest, but IU limited them to 35 percent shooting overall and 27.3 percent from three. Indiana only forced three turnovers, but they had eight blocks and held leading scorer Ben Krikke to two points. The Hoosiers were at their best defensively in the first half, when Iowa shot just 28.1 percent. But the Hawkeyes only scored two points in the final 2:20 to help the Hoosiers pull away.

HIGHLIGHTS