Samantha Axon, Reporter
@SAxonCourant
With it being Rivalry Week, there is no shortage of important games this week that will determine conference titles. In the Big 10 the Indiana Hoosiers and the Iowa Hawkeyes will face off as the number one and two ranked teams in their division, respectively. Currently, Indiana has clinched at least a shared title for the conference. As long as Indiana loses their next two games, and Iowa wins theirs, the title will be split among the two teams. Michigan State, Maryland, and Wisconsin are also in the running for a piece of the Big 10 championship.
Earlier in the season, the two teams faced off at the University of Indiana where the Hoosiers won 85-78. The Hawkeyes had lead the majority of the game, but Indiana had a late surge after being behind 16 points in the second half. Iowa has the ability to beat the Hoosiers, yet cannot expect that a notable lead will discourage Indiana.
This time, the overall ranked number 12 Hoosiers will travel to Iowa City, Iowa to face off their second to last opponent of the season. The team has been most notable in their average points scored per game as well as assists. In both categories, the team is lead by guard and senior Yogi Ferrell. Ferrell averages 17 points per game along with 5.5 assists. In the team’s last game against the University of Illinois, he was able to guide his team to yet another victory, 74-47. Despite being down by 10 points throughout much of the 1st half, he lead the team with 27 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds.
The number 16 Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to secure a shared Big 10 title. This game is a must-win as the team must win their next two games, and Indiana must lose theirs. The Hawkeyes are significantly better at getting rebounds, and average 38.3 per game. Despite this statistic, the Hawkeyes have struggled in converting rebounds to points. Less than half of these rebounds have been able to be converted to points. If Iowa can find a way to convert these rebounds into easy points, they have the ability to score more, which is an important area where they have not been the strongest.
The Hawkeyes have been lead on both offensive and defense by center Adam Woodbury. He has the highest field goal percentage on the team at 57.1 percent. But, he only averages 8.0 points per game, therefore his impressive percentage does not contribute greatly to the total points. In addition, he leads Woodbury leads the team in rebounds with 8.3 per game. Since the team is strong in this aspect, it is crucial that he is ready for the possible layup or 2-pointer, which can improve the team’s struggling point average.
Prediction: Since college basketball is greatly influenced by winning or losing streaks, I will have to go with the Hoosiers for this game. Not only have they beat the Hawkeyes earlier in the season, but they are also on a three game win streak. The team’s last loss was to the Michigan State Spartans. In contrast, Iowa is on a three game lose streak against all unranked teams. While many believe that Indiana will automatically check out of this game since they have already clinched part of the Big 10 title, I do not believe that this will be the case. As long as the Hoosiers win their next two games, they will definitely be the sole winners of the conference, and will increase their ranking in March Madness.
