[February 28, 2014]BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana senior
forward Will Sheehey started hot and never cooled off against Iowa on
Thursday night.
Behind a career-high 30 points from Sheehey, Indiana upset No. 20
Iowa 93-86 in Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers (16-12, 6-9 Big Ten) defeated a ranked team in Assembly
Hall for the third time this season. The Hawkeyes (19-9, 8-7) lost
its third game in a row.
Indiana received a career-high 17 points from guard Stanford
Robinson and 12 points from guard Evan Gordon.
"We really felt like it was going to be an important night for guys
like Stanford Robinson, Evan Gordon and (forward) Jeremy Hollowell,"
Indiana coach Tom Crean said, "and low and behold, they did it."
Guard Roy Devyn Marble led the Hawkeyes with 20 points. Forward
Aaron White added 19 points, and forward Melsahn Basabe scored 14.
For Sheehey, the night started with him being recognized for scoring
1,000 points, the 46th Hoosier to do so. He accepted a commemorative
ball before the game, then went to work.
Sheehey scored six of Indiana's first eight points to keep the
Hoosiers in the game after it looked as if they might get run out of
the gym early. Late in the contest, he had a tip-in followed by a
dunk with 1:35 to go that brought the crowd to its feet and gave
Indiana an 82-73 lead, all but sealing the outcome.
Sheehey made 13 of 20 shots from the floor overall.
"Will's performance -- just fantastic," Crean said. "What an
unbelievably ironic thing to have his career high on his night he
gets honored for his 1,000 points. Really, I thought he was going
for 2,000 tonight considering he (topped) 1,000 a few weeks ago."
After the game, Sheehey was quick to give the credit to his
teammates for his big night, saying they found him in transition.
Sheehey's momentum-swinging dunk in the closing minutes insured that
Indiana would not blow a second-half lead. The Hoosiers have
struggled to close out games this season, as they did Tuesday night
when they lost to Wisconsin after squandering a 10-point lead.
After falling behind by as many as seven points early in the second
half Thursday, the Hoosiers quickly clawed back, tying the game
three times before retaking the lead for good on a three-point play
by forward Devin Davis with 9:33 to go.
"Really proud of our players and the way they just kept taking
punches and responding to it," Crean said. "From the beginning of
the game to the second half, it was a game of runs, and we were
right in the middle of it. I thought our response, our intent, our
resiliency was excellent."
Sheehey hit a jumper with 8:16 to go to give Indiana a 71-68 lead.
Sheehey added another jumper, and Robinson made a three-point play
as the Hoosiers stretched the margin to 77-69 with 6:29 to play.
Iowa got within five before Sheehey made his late-game push. The
Hawkeyes once more pulled within five with less than 10 seconds to
go, but Gordon hit two free throws to ice the game.
"It just gives our team confidence," Gordon said of the win.
"They're one of the best teams in the country. For us to get that
win under our belt, I think it's a big building block that we can
move forward on."
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery expressed frustration with his
performance. Despite limiting Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell to eight
points, the Hawkeyes came up short.
"Defense wasn't great," McCaffery said. "You can't go on the road
and turn it over 18 times and expect to win."
Iowa led 52-49 at intermission after a frantic first half of
offensive basketball.
The speed allowed Indiana to get into transition frequently, leading
to the Hoosiers piling up points.
"Good things happen when we run," Robinson said.
The Hawkeyes led or were tied with the Hoosiers until the 10:25 mark
of the first half. After then getting behind by as many as eight
points, the Hawkeyes retook the lead at the 1:16 mark on a dunk by
White to make it 50-49.
Sheehey scored 19 points in the first 20 minutes, just three points
shy of his previous career high.
It was a game of runs in the first half. Iowa raced out to a 10-2
lead, but Sheehey scored four points and Indiana tied it at 10-10.
Iowa then went on a 7-0 run, and Indiana answered with its own 7-0
run to tie the game again.
"Bottom line is, when we get an opportunity to run, we think we're
pretty good at that, too," Crean said.
Iowa played at a high pace in its last game, too, falling 95-89 to
Minnesota on Tuesday.
"We're fine with the pace," McCaffery said. "We like to play at that
pace, but clearly they played better tonight at that pace."
After a brief Iowa lead, Indiana tied the game at 23 on a 3-pointer
from Ferrell.
Indiana took the lead for the first time at 25-23 when freshman
forward Noah Vonleh made two free throws. The game would be tied two
more times in the half.
Marble had 14 points at the break to lead the Hawkeyes.
NOTES: Iowa shot just 4-for-20 from 3-point range, while Indiana hit
six of 15 shots from beyond the arc. ... Indiana's 49 points at the
break and 93 points total were both season highs for Big Ten play.
... There were a total 35 turnovers between both teams ... Iowa
scored 50 points in the paint. ... The Hoosiers play host to No. 22
Ohio State on Sunday. The Hawkeyes return home to play Purdue on
Sunday
