Thursday, February 5, 2009

Here's the box score, in all its glory. Going 1-17 won't be any treat, if it happens, but at least the Hoosiers won't enter next season 0-for-2009 or with a losing streak in excess of 20 games. As it was, IU tied, but did not break, the school record losing streak, and can't break the record this season. That's what we'll take as success this season.

As with everything else in 2008-09, this was not easy. IU had a 20 point lead (49-29) with 11:58 remaining, but with a 31-10 run, Iowa pulled to within 3 points with 44 seconds remaining. Fortunately, the Hawkeyes turned the ball over twice in the last 24 seconds, and IU finally made some free throws and preserved the win.

If my math is correct, this was roughly a 59 possession game, so IU's 11 turnover performance isn't as good as it might appear (around 18 percent, still pretty good for this team). Still, after 5 turnovers in the first 4:08, IU turned the ball over only 6 times in the final 36 minutes of the game. IU's failure to make free throws in the second half gave Iowa a chance to win the game, but the Hawkeyes didn't, and I'll take whatever IU gets this season.

As for the individuals:

Devan Dumes was perhaps even better than Matt Roth was against OSU. Dumes scored 27 points on 8-9 from the field (including 5-5 from behind the arc) and 6-8 from the line.

Nick Williams scored 14 points on 9 attempts, thanks to 6-6 from the line. He also had 9 rebounds.

Malik Story scored 9 points on 8 attempts. Unfortunately, Story committed 3 fouls in 15 minutes, which limited his play. Story is averaging a foul every 7.6 minutes, every 6.8 minutes in Big Ten play. Story has quite a bit of potential, but has to find a way to stay on the court.

Tom Prtichard is struggling a bit. He scored only 2 points and fouled out.

Fortunately, Kyle Taber picked up the slack with one of his best games as a Hoosier. Seven points on six shots, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks.

Well, that's a relief. We'll leave the 0-fers to Northwestern. IU goes to Michigan State on Saturday, where the Hoosiers haven't won since 1991. Let's worry about that one tomorrow.