Key takeaways from the Indiana basketball 85-60 loss to Iowa

Indiana basketball was outmatched in every capacity on Saturday in a 85-60 loss to Iowa on the road.

The Hoosiers failed to show up in a critical game — a consistent theme under the Mike Woodson coaching staff.

Here are the key takeaways from IU’s loss.

Indiana’s offense continues to struggle: The Mike Woodson offense continues to be something of the past and it was night and day different than that of Iowa on Saturday. Iowa shot 54.2 percent while Indiana finished at 40.7 percent for the game, including 32.4 percent in the second half. On the night, IU averaged .870 points per possession and scored on just 40.6 percent of its possessions. The Hoosiers had 15 assists and 16 turnovers for the game, including 12 turnovers in the first half. IU was outscored 33-12 on 3s and showed little ability to maintain a fighters chance in the fast pace that the Hawkeyes wanted to play.

Transition D non-existent: There were numerous reasons for Indiana’s loss on Saturday but a main reason was IU’s inability to slow down Iowa offense, especially in transition. Iowa won the fast break points 26-2 on the night and it was a major reason for the loss. IU’s inability to slow down Iowa’s transition offense was on full display, rarely finding shooters and rarely limiting Iowa’s guards from getting into the paint. Iowa is an extremely perimeter oriented team and 67 percent of its scoring came from the four starting guards. Indiana not only struggled to pick up in transition, it struggled to limit the secondary break as well. Iowa not only puts pressure on opposing defenses, it comes at you in bunches. Indiana basketball was never going to shut down Iowa’s transition game and offensive output, but it failed to slow down that group in every capacity.

Starters were a no-show: In a nearly 30-point loss, everyone was a no-show but the starters for Indiana basketball were nowhere to be found. While Myles Rice and Oumar Ballo had decent showings, Luke Goode was -36 with his +/- with just three points, while Mackenzie Mgbako was -24 with six points on 2-of-6 from the field and Trey Galloway was scoreless with a +/- rating of -28. Not many times can you look directly at a singular group, but Indiana’s starters were terrible on Saturday and provided little to no quality minutes. While IU’s starting group has had good moments this year, this is now becoming a concerning theme in losses, with its inability to perform at a high level in much-needed moments.

Losses in Big Ten play now a consistent theme: Indiana basketball has 33 losses in Big Ten play — both regular and conference tournament play. 18 of those losses have been by 10+ points. Indiana’s inability to show up in key games is a consistent theme with this coaching staff and Mike Woodson has failed to make it any better than in year one. Saturday’s loss to Iowa should have been a 30-point deficit, but a three with 39 seconds left and a dunk at the buzzer made it 25. Those five points saved IU’s first 30-point Big Ten loss since 2017. Whether it is road or neutral site matchups, Indiana has been a non-existent program in significant matchups over the last four years and it hasn’t become better. A blowout loss against a team that is middle of the pack in the Big Ten in year four of Mike Woodson isn’t going to bring any confidence to a fan base that is already extremely restless.

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.

Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.