IOWA CITY — Indiana Coach Tom Crean spent the first two minutes of his post-game news conference praising the direction of Iowa’s men’s basketball program under Fran McCaffery. Crean earned his first win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Monday after four straight losses. But Crean’s No. 5 Hoosiers, who had led the nation in scoring at [...]

IOWA CITY — Indiana won 27 games, beat the eventual national champion and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. But as effective as the Hoosiers were at virtually every position, there was room for improvement, especially at point guard. No. 5 Indiana (12-1) picked up top-flight Indianapolis point guard Yogi Ferrell, and the [...]

IOWA CITY — Tom Izzo might have the Big Ten’s sixth-best basketball team, and his Michigan State Spartans rank 19th in both major polls. “This league, definitely, has to be the best in my era,” Izzo said Monday morning. Izzo has coached the Spartans since 1995 and taken the team to seven Final Fours and one [...]

CHICAGO — Six years ago, Big Ten basketball was perceived as too slow, too defensive and too boring, kind of like the current rhetoric surrounding its football counterpart. The league was in the midst of its annual crushing in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. But the Big Ten brought in new coaches with winning pedigrees and aggressive [...]

No other league can match the Big Ten when it comes to competition from the league’s best to its last-place teams. For the first time since 1994, every Big Ten team won at least four league games. Every Big Ten team beat a ranked opponent, and seven Big Ten teams won at least three games [...]

IOWA CITY — Melsahn Basabe deservedly stood in front of cameras and microphones Sunday night, but the Iowa sophomore spoke less about his performance in a 78-66 win against Indiana and more about those around him. Basabe touted Aaron White and Devyn Marble for their rebounding and Matt Gatens’ shooting performance. Basabe talked up walk-on [...]

IOWA CITY — Matt Gatens’ bobblehead night conveniently is scheduled for Thursday. After the way the Iowa senior played Sunday against No. 18 Indiana, one might wonder if a Gatens statue seems more appropriate. Gatens scored a personal-best 30 points in a 78-66 win against Indiana at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The point output was impressive, but [...]

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s men’s basketball schedule could have the team headed in a favorable direction next season. The Hawkeyes played a grueling schedule last year that included 12 postseason teams and eight ranked opponents. The Hawkeyes finished 11-20, the second-most losses in school history, but seven losses were by five points or less. Of [...]

Iowa’s Big Ten opponent list is set for the upcoming season. The Hawkeyes know who and where they’re playing; they just won’t know when for a few more months. Until we get the dates and can dissect the Big Ten schedule in entirety, here’s a look at four opponents Iowa will face home-and-home in the [...]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Iowa freshman Melsahn Basabe was “posterized” early in the second half on a dunk by Indiana freshman forward Will Sheehey. Sheehey took the ball near the free-throw line and went down the lane right at Basabe, who couldn’t get into position to block the shot. Sheehey blasted the ball through the hoop [...]