Meet The Opponent: Indiana Seeks First Win At Iowa Under Mike Woodson

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s new-look roster may be starting to find its groove, but things are about to get more challenging.

The Hoosiers travel to Iowa for an 8 p.m. ET tipoff Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Coach Mike Woodson is winless in two games in Iowa City, but his team has won five straight games following its week off around Christmas.

Indiana most recently defeated USC 82-69 Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, improving its record to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play, though three of its conference wins have come against the three losingest Big Ten teams this season, USC, Rutgers and Minnesota. As of Thursday, 10 of Indiana’s next 11 games represent opportunities to pick up Quad 1 wins.

On the other side, Iowa is 11-4 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play after escaping with a 97-87 overtime win over Nebraska Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Here’s a full breakdown of the Hawkeyes.

Key players

Key departures

(2023-24 stats)

2024-25 schedule (11-4, 2-2)

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery reacts against New Hampshire at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Head coach: Fran McCaffery

McCaffery is in his 15th season at Iowa with a 291-195 overall record and a 138-130 record in regular season Big Ten play. He has led the Hawkeyes to one conference tournament championship and seven NCAA Tournament appearances, but they’ve never gone past the Round of 32. Prior to Iowa, McCaffery had a 112-51 record across five seasons at Siena, including three NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also the head coach at UNC Greensboro from 1999-05 and Lehigh from 1985-88, along with assistant coaching stints at Notre Dame and Penn. McCaffery, 65, played at Wake Forest and Penn from 1977-82.

Series history

Indiana leads the all-time series 106-81. Woodson began his Indiana tenure with four straight losses to Iowa, but he snapped that losing streak with a 74-68 win in Bloomington last season. Indiana has not won in Iowa City since 2021 under former head coach Archie Miller. Since 2000, the series is tied 22-22. The longest win streak in the series was 11 games by Indiana from 1971-77.

Strengths

Iowa continues to play a similar style year in and year out under McCaffery. Every player, save for one at most on the floor at any time, is a threat to make 3-point shots. The Hawkeyes rank 17th nationally shooting 39.1% from 3-point range as a team. They make 10.8 per game, 14th most in the country, and 27.6 attempts per game is 50th most. Six of Iowa’s main rotation players are shooting 39% or higher from 3-point range, and that doesn’t even count Payton Sandfort (34.5%), who leads the team with 39 made 3-pointers. Indiana must defend the 3-point line well in order to win this game.

The Hawkeyes play an uptempo style, good for 21st in the nation, and share the ball as well as anyone, ranking fourth with 19.9 assists per game. All of that leads to an offense that’s scoring 89.9 points per game, more than every team across college basketball except Alabama. Iowa also ranks fourth in effective field goal percentage and 20th in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Iowa is led in scoring by sophomore forward Owen Freeman, who shared the Big Ten freshman of the year award with Indiana’s Mackenzie Mgbako last season. He’s Iowa’s biggest shot-blocking threat at 2.1 blocks per game and shoots an efficient 63.2% inside. He’ll have a tough matchup against Indiana center Oumar Ballo, but has been a consistent force for Iowa this season with at least 13 points in each game. 

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Josh Dix (4) against Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Weaknesses

In many games, Iowa’s high-scoring, fast-paced offense makes up for its lackluster defense. But when shots aren’t falling, Iowa is often in trouble because it does not defend at a high level. The Hawkeyes give up 77.8 points per game, 320th nationally, and rank 125th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Wisconsin scored 116 points in Iowa’s most recent loss, its most points ever in a Big Ten game. 

Iowa does not have much size aside from Freeman, who can’t afford to get into foul trouble in this game. Freeman himself is not an outstanding rebounder, just 6.3 per game, and there’s not much reliable depth behind him from a defense and rebounding standpoint. A path to victory for Indiana could be to dominate the rebounding battle as Iowa ranks 293rd in rebounds per game.

Season and game outlook

Iowa was picked to finish 11th in the preseason Big Ten poll. KenPom projects Iowa to go 18-13 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes are No. 50 in the NET rankings, so this would be a Quad 1 win for Indiana. Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology does not list Iowa in the field or as one of the first eight teams out. 

The game will likely come down to whether Indiana can limit Iowa’s 3-point shooting, which it has struggled with in the past under Woodson. Indiana has the better center in Ballo, who’s averaging 21.6 points and 11 rebounds in the last three games, and the better point guard in Myles Rice, who’s averaging 16.8 points and four assists in the last four games. Indiana will be able to score on Iowa, but the real challenge will be putting together the complete defensive performance required to win this game.