The University of Iowa men’s basketball team capped the third-largest comeback in school history on Thursday night with a, 91-89, win over Indiana on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa overcame a 21-point deficit to pick up its first Big Ten Conference victory of the season.
Junior Kris Murray matched Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis as the game’s leading-scorer with 30 points, his second consecutive 30-point scoring game and fourth-such effort on the season. Murray also posted a double-double with 10 rebounds, two steals and one block to seal the game against the Hoosiers.
The Hawkeyes trailed by as much as 21 in the first half, but a three from redshirt senior Connor McCaffery propelled Iowa to an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to bring the deficit back to single digits.
Following an Indiana technical foul with 2:30 left in the first half, junior Tony Perkins downed two free throws and a jumper to cut the lead once again to single digits. Following an and-one bucket down low from fifth-year Filip Rebraca, the Hawkeyes trailed just 45-40 with one minute remaining in the half.
A pair of Indiana scores would extend the gap back to 50-40 at the break, with the Hoosiers headed into the locker room shooting 66 percent (19-of-29) from the floor.
The second half saw five ties and five lead changes, the first of which came a Murray three pointer to draw the game even, followed up by a Rebraca and-one conversion on the following possession to put the Hawkeyes up, 64-61, with 11:35 to play.
The lead changed hands multiple times over the ensuing nine minutes, with Indiana claiming an 84-79 advantage with 3:29 remaining.
With under just three minutes remaining, Murray notched Iowa’s final field goal of the game on a driving fastbreak layup to cut the gap to two.
Following an Iowa defensive stand, Rebraca and McCaffery combined for 4-of-4 on one-and-one free throw opportunities to shift the deficit to an 86-84 Hawkeye lead with just over two minutes left on the clock.
Iowa finished shooting 22-of-25 (88 percent) from the free throw line in what down the stretch became a duel at the charity stripe.
The Hoosiers got the ball trailing by one point with 53 seconds remaining, but the possession ended with a Murray block to retake the ball and a three-point lead with a pair of free throws on the other end.
Up two with three seconds remaining, Murray broke free on an in-bounds heave and hurled the ball toward the rafters to put away the historic comeback.
Murray has recorded at least 29 points and nine rebounds in each of his last three appearances. Rebraca joined him with a double-double of his own on 19 points, ten boards, two assists and a block.
Rebraca was one of three Hawkeyes to finish with at least five free throws (5-of-6), four of which came in second-half crunch time.
McCaffery closed out with 16 points, including team-best 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. Perkins (10 points) and sophomore Payton Sandfort (11 points) also finished with double-figures scoring for the Hawkeyes.
Indiana posted a 66 percent (19-of-29) total in the first half, including 5-of-7 (.714) scoring from behind the arc. In the second half, the Hawkeye defense held the Hoosiers to 43 percent (13-of-30) shooting while posting a 54 percent (15-of-28) scoring effort on the other end.
Iowa outrebounded the Hoosiers, 37-32, including a 13-9 advantage on the offensive glass and 23-12 difference in the final 20 minutes.