Iowa wants to close season on strong note

The Iowa Hawkeyes want to close the regular season with a strong second half and got things started with an 81-64 win over Penn State in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes were a disappointing 3-5 during the opening half of the conference race and coach Steve Alford says his team needs to look at what still can be accomplished and need to get back to having fun. Iowa visits Indiana tomorrow and while Alford made his first trip back to Bloomington two years ago, it will be the first trip back for Hawkeyes senior Luke Recker since he left the Hoosier program. Alford says Recker’s in his fifth year of basketball and has the maturity to handle the return. He says he expects Recker to respond after losing in the first matchup with the Hoosiers.Ryan Hogan was strong off the bench again for Iowa, he finished with 15-points in 16-minutes of action. Hogan says he looks forward to the rematch with Indiana, as they’re the only team to knock them off at home.