Iowa can’t overcome early deficit at Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Iowa coach Fran McCaffery needed his team to be better Thursday night.

His players shot the ball all right.

They outscored the Hoosiers inside and they rallied from a 16-point deficit to take a four-point lead midway through the second half.

They just weren’t good enough.

Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell scored 14 points to beat Iowa’s defensive pressure, found open teammates and finished the game by making four straight free throws to help the Hoosiers hold on for an 85-78 upset victory.

Jarrod Uthoff led the Hawkeyes (19-5, 10-2 Big Ten) with 24 points, Mike Gesell had 17 points and Adam Woodbury finished with 13 points and tied a career high with 15 rebounds.

Peter Jok left for several minutes with what appeared to be a lower left leg injury before returning.

McCaffery also liked the way his team methodically trimmed the first-half deficit to 45-38 at the half and started the second half on a 9-0 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes.

With Ferrell running the show, the Hawkeyes couldn’t keep that lead long.

Indiana (20-5, 10-2) needed a 14-2 run to erase a four-point deficit, seize control and move into a share of the conference lead with the Hawkeyes and No. 2 Maryland.

Ferrell had plenty of help. Four other Indiana players reached double figures including Troy Williams, who had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Robert Johnson, who had 13 points and four rebounds.