Instead, Freeman and Iowa watched Purdue’s Keaton Grant hit the first of two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining, just enough to separate the Boilermakers from upset-minded Iowa 51-50.
“He got past me, and it caught me off guard. I thought I had ball, but I put the ref in a position where he had to make the call,” Freeman said. “It was a tough call, but I put him in a spot where he had to make it.”
Grant made the Hawkeyes pay.
Successful in all 26 of his previous attempts at the line in Big Ten play, the sophomore hit the first of two free throws before intentionally missing the second under orders from Purdue coach Matt Painter.
“Coach had to tell me. I didn’t think about it, and that was tough. It almost went down,” Grant said. “It’s not as easy to stand up there and miss.”
The Hawkeyes scooped up the loose rebound, and E’Twaun Moore, who led Purdue’s balanced attack with 12 points, intercepted a pass at midcourt as time ran out.
An equally odd three-point play by the Hawkeyes with :05 left led to the frantic finish.
Iowa tied the game at 50-50 when Jake Kelly knocked down a free throw after being fouled by the Boilermakers’ Scott Martin as he shot while driving the baseline.
Kelly’s shot didn’t drop, but a goal-tending call on Purdue’s Robbie Hummel inched Iowa within a point and allowed Kelly’s free throw to tie the game.
With :05 remaining, Hawkeyes coach Todd Lickliter opted not to put a defender on the inbounds pass, preferring to have his players prepare to defend in the half court.
“I didn’t want a defender behind the basketball. We wanted to keep them in front of us, play defense and rebound,” Lickliter said. “To his credit, Grant didn’t settle. He drove hard to the basket.”
And once he found himself at the line, Purdue (16-5, 7-1 Big Ten) earned its victory.
“We were lucky that we made one more play,” Painter said. “If you’re going to have a great season, you have to win a few of these types of games.“
Painter credited Iowa (10-12, 3-6) for pushing the Boilermakers to the limit.
“Besides their turnovers, Iowa was sharp, they were ready to play and their defense was tremendous,” Painter said.
Defense gave the Hawkeyes a chance. Iowa limited Purdue to 41 percent shooting, but in the end, 22 turnovers that led to 18 points proved to be too much to overcome.
“In the end, that was the difference,” Freeman said. “We have to take better care of the ball at both ends. It hurts to lose this way.”
Turnover issues started early for the Hawkeyes, who used a strong start from the field by Justin Johnson to stay within 25-24 at the half despite committing 14 first-half turnovers.
“You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out what beat us,” Lickliter said. “Early, late, you can’t give a team like Purdue that many extra possessions, certainly not in this type of a game.“
Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com.
Iowa items
- The Hawkeyes were efficient in the paint, hitting nine of the 10 shots they attempted.
- Iowa’s 22 turnovers were the team’s most in Big Ten play and equaled the Hawkeyes’ third-highest total of the season.
- With 14 points, Justin Johnson led Iowa in scoring for the first time since a Jan. 5 game at Wisconsin. Johnson went 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
- The Hawkeyes play their next two games at home, playing Ohio State at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
