Hawkeyes Too Much for Visiting IU

The messages were everywhere, and even if one didn’t hear them, the howl and bite of the post-blizzard wind carried its own instruction.

Stay home.

So, of course, there were few empty seats in Carver-Hawkeye Arena for No. 3 Iowa’s 84-57 win over No. 14 Indiana on Saturday night.

The Hawkeyes (17-1 overall, 6-0 Big Ten), winners of 14 consecutive games, took sole possession of the Big Ten lead, breaking the tie with the Hoosiers (14-2, 5-1) and ending their 13-game winning streak.

It would have been easy to stay at home — the game was televised nationally by FOX. But Caitlin Clark plus national TV plus a big game usually adds up to another show by the Iowa guard, and Clark delivered.

Thirty points, 11 assists, foul trouble, and a fourth-quarter limp that caught everyone’s breath when she left the court and one giant exhale when she quickly came back up the tunnel and checked in at the scorers’ table before coach Lisa Bluder could even find out what happened.

It was another Clark masterpiece and her teammates came along for the ride and that, Indiana coach Teri Moren said, was a problem.

And when it was done, the Hawkeyes were all alone at the top of the conference, with a notch in the tiebreaker with the defending regular-season champion and one of the biggest challengers for this season’s crown.

Still, Bluder marveled at the packed house on a night when the local authorities were suggesting to stay off the roads as the snow from the night before was flying anywhere and everywhere.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it that loud in Carver,” said Bluder, which is a bold statement considering some of the more raucous nights during Clark’s three-plus seasons of brilliance. “So thankful — we’re not supposed to be outside because of the wind chill and we have 14,000 people here.”

Bluder expected a decent crowd.

“But I don’t know if I expected this,” Bluder said. “I mean, it’s dangerous outside and our fans don’t care.”

“Savages,” Clark muttered with a smile of admiration.

Clark was 10-of-21 from the field, 6-of-16 in 3-pointers on a night when she missed her first six shots behind the arc. It was the 52nd double-double of her career, her 46th career game of 30 or more points.

“She almost is best in the big moments,” Bluder said. “I mean, she really is.”

Moments are moments, Clark said.

“I think I enjoy being in these moments, enjoying these moments,” she said.

It was her 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer that gave Iowa a 43-37 lead. It was her layup that started the 11-2 run to open the second half, a stretch capped by back-to-back possessions of a Clark 3-pointer and then her assist on a Gabbie Marshall three.

The Hoosiers were staggered.

“Caitlin hits the three that put them up six (at halftime),” Moren said. “We were turning the ball over too much (in the first half), but we were still in the game. And then we come out and give her the backdoor layup and we’re down (eight) and then it got out of our control.”

It wasn’t just a Clark stat-stuffing night. Molly Davis had 18 points, including seven points in the second-quarter stretch when Clark was out after getting her second foul. Marshall had 12 points, and Kate Martin added 10 points to go with 12 rebounds.

“You know that Cait’s probably going to get our average, but you don't want to let those other guys have big nights and unfortunately, we let too many of them have their way with us,” Moren said.

For Bluder, it was about defense. The Hawkeyes held the Hoosiers to 20 second-half points, but it was not about any defensive adjustments made at halftime.

“That second half, I thought, was beautiful,” Bluder said. “I thought our players really played well together. defensively and offensively. I think everyone knows what this team can do offensively, but tonight they did the job defensively as well.”

Bluder knows there’s a big chunk of the Big Ten schedule remaining, but she also knew what Saturday night meant.

“I think we all feel really good about the way we're playing,” said Bluder. “The culture of our program, everybody's attention to detail is really good. I think the sky's the limit.”