Thursday college hoops spotlight: No. 5 Iowa at No. 22 Indiana

No. 5 Iowa (19-4) at No. 22 Indiana (19-5)

9 p.m. ET, ESPN

With a full month to go in the regular season, first place in any league’s standings can be fleeting. For now, the Hawkeyes have it in the Big Ten. To keep it, however, they’ll have to handle one of the toughest road venues in the conference, as well as a Hoosiers squad that is in need of a confidence-boosting win.

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Indiana has, for the most part, taken care of business against league opponents who are down in the standings. But that changed last weekend with a head-scratching setback at Penn State that has fans wondering if the progress the team has made since November has been a mirage.

A return to Assembly Hall should help, as would better offensive efficiency. They also would be wise to let veteran PG Yogi Ferrell run the show. And they must rediscover their shooting touch, as Iowa makes it difficult to find points in the paint with Adam Woodbury and Jarrod Uthoff protecting the rim.

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