National Basketball Association
Indiana 74, Iowa 68
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
Officials:
# D.J. Carstensen, # Terry Oglesby, # Bart Lenox
Attendance:
17222
By Field Level Media
After missing the last two games with an injured ankle, 7-foot sophomore Kel'el Ware produced 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to spark Indiana to a 74-68 Big Ten win over Iowa on Tuesday night in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers (13-8, 5-5) needed Ware to play 35 minutes in his return because top scorer Malik Reneau (16.7 ppg) left for good just 2:33 into the game after rolling his right ankle. Indiana also lost sixth-year point guard Xavier Johnson with 2:12 to play when he landed hard on his left arm after getting fouled on a violent dunk attempt.
In their stead, senior guard Anthony Leal contributed career highs of 13 points and seven rebounds and Mackenzie Mgbako added 11 points.
Payton Sandfort tied his career-high with 26 points and added eight rebounds as Iowa (12-9, 4-6) erased a 17-point first-half deficit, but couldn't hold on to a two-point edge in the final two minutes. Tony Perkins scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and Josh Dix finished with 10.
After failing to make any 3-pointers Saturday at Illinois, the Hoosiers got off to a blistering start as Mgbako drilled two 3-pointers in the first two minutes. When Ware dunked a missed Mgbako trey at the 15:38 mark, Indiana seized a 15-7 lead.
Less than five minutes later, Indiana embarked on a 12-0 spree to build a 31-15 margin. Ware opened the run with a dunk and a banked 3-pointer, then the lightly used Leal -- who entered the night with two 3-pointers on the season -- swished back-to-back treys.
Ware's short bank with 1:27 left pushed Indiana's lead to 39-22, but Iowa cut the margin to 39-28 by halftime.
Indiana pushed its lead to 44-32 on Johnson's free throw with 17:04 to go, but then Iowa dug in defensively, and Sandfort and Perkins took over on offense. They scored 29 of Iowa's 40 second-half points, but Dix's 3-point play with 8:43 to go gave the Hawkeyes a 54-53 edge for their first lead since 3-2.
Sandfort swished a catch-and-shoot 20-footer from the corner with the shot clock running out to give Iowa a 68-66 lead with 1:43 left. But that would be the Hawkeyes' last score as Gabe Cupps hit the go-ahead 3-pointer, Trey Galloway turned a steal into a free throw, and Ware threw down a second-chance dunk to claim the win.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Iowa |
|
Indiana |
|
Payton Sandfort 26 |
Scoring |
Kel'el Ware 23 |
|
Tony Perkins 3 |
Assists |
Trey Galloway 4 |
|
Payton Sandfort 8 |
Rebounds |
Kel'el Ware 10 |
|
Payton Sandfort 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Kel'el Ware 6 |
|
Tony Perkins 3 |
Steals |
Trey Galloway 2 |
|
Tony Perkins 2 |
Blocks |
Kel'el Ware 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Iowa
|
68 |
35.4 |
6-22 |
16-19 |
10 |
26 |
3 |
9 |
3 |
| Indiana
|
74 |
45.6 |
8-22 |
14-22 |
18 |
37 |
8 |
3 |
11 |
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