BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Coach Fran McCaffery saw things in Iowa’s 77-63 win over the Indiana Hoosiers that can help the surging Hawkeyes get on track for the upcoming postseason.
“We do a great job of sharing the basketball and understanding how to break a defense down and move the ball,” McCaffery said. “We’ve played with great composure all year, I think, especially on the road.”
The win was Iowa’s seventh win on the road this season and the first seventh true road win since the 1986-87 season.
Aaron White had 21 points and five rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes.
Jarrod Uthoff had 14 points and six rebounds, and Gabriel Olanseni added 13 points for the Hawkeyes (20-10, 11-6 Big Ten), who have won five straight.
Nick Zeisloft scored 15 points, all from 3-point range, and James Blackmon, Jr. finished with 14 points and five rebounds for the Hoosiers (19-11, 9-8), who have lost two in a row.
Olaseni’s go-ahead basket with 5:40 left in the first half to make it 25-24 gave Iowa the lead for good.
Peter Jok, who finished with eight points, made two 3-pointers and Uthoff scored to put the Hawkeyes ahead 61-48. They led by as much as 16 when Anthony Clemmons scored a free throw with 1:10 left to play.
Against the Hoosiers, it was White and Olaseni who led the way.
Blackmon hit a 3-pointer early in the second half to put the Hoosiers within a point, but then the Hawkeyes went on a 12-2 run.
“We knew they were quicker than us at just about every position so the key was team defense,” White said. “And stopping their transition game. I think we did a good job of that the whole night.”
White made a layup and dunked, and Olaseni scored on a put-back dunk and later a jumper to put Iowa ahead 40-31 with 13:54 remaining.
Iowa took an 11-point lead when Olaseni scored to make it 44-33, but then Troy Williams scored a layup and Yogi Ferrell a 3-pointer to get Indiana back within six.
The Hoosiers played sloppy most of the game, had 14 turnovers, shot 38.3 percent, and found themselves on the receiving end of jeers at the end of the game.
“They got too many easy baskets and got into the game,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “We had trouble getting back from that.”
But when Indiana scored, the Hawkeyes answered.
After Ferrell’s 3, Olaseni made a jumper to extend the Iowa lead again.
Later, Zeisloft scored a 3-pointer to make it 48-43, but Olaseni scored a 3 of his own.
Things started to fall apart for the Hoosiers when Iowa went on an 8-1 run to take a 23-20 lead on a basket by Adam Woodbury with 6:55 remaining in the first half.
Stanford Robinson scored two free throws and Hanner Mosquera-Perea made a layup to regain the lead, 24-23, but the Hoosiers failed to make another field goal until Robert Johnson’s basket at the buzzer to make it 32-28 at halftime.
White has combined to score 71 points and grab 27 rebounds over the last three games. He scored 21 points in Iowa’s 81-77 overtime win at Penn State on Saturday and 29 in a win over Illinois on Wednesday.
Iowa hosts Northwestern Saturday.