Midcourt three puts Iowa in final
INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon couldn’t recall how many times he had tried a long, game-winning three-pointer in his backyard. Or how many times the shots went in.
No matter. Because when it came to the real thing, he made it.
With the shot clock running down in a tie game, a berth in the Big Ten championship game at stake and the ball in his hands, Bohannon did what he always does: He took the shot, this time from just inside the midcourt logo.
In the blink of an eye, the ball banked off the backboard and through the net with 0.8 seconds left to give the No. 24 Hawkeyes an 80-77 victory Saturday against Indiana in the Big Ten semifinals. They will face No. 9 Purdue, which defeated Michigan State 75-70 in the other semi, for the title Sunday.
‘‘It’s something that can’t be put into words,’’ Bohannon said. ‘‘You dream about it in the backyard when you’re throwing up shots there or at the YMCA or wherever it might be. So when it went in, I just started running in circles because I didn’t really know where to go.’’
Bohannon scored only 12 points for Iowa (25-9), but he made three big three-pointers in the final 2½ minutes to give the Hawkeyes their third victory in three days. One more and they’ll have their first Big Ten tournament crown since 2006, which is part of the reason Bohannon returned this season.
While Iowa might not have advanced without Bohannon’s late-game shots, it still needed Keegan Murray to carry the load. He scored 32 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Bohannon’s final shot didn’t go the way coach Fran McCaffery drew it up.
‘‘He was supposed to get a shot in the corner, but [the Hoosiers] jammed it up,’’ McCaffery said. ‘‘But he just kept coming. You know, as long as he’s shooting, I think it’s better than anything I can draw up anyway.’’
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 31 points and 10 rebounds and Xavier Johnson 20 points and nine assists for Indiana (20-13).
‘‘I knew he was going to launch one, and it banked in,’’ Jackson-Davis said. ‘‘Sometimes that happens. It’s March Madness. That last shot, the ball doesn’t always bounce your way. Obviously, we were about one second away from going into overtime.’’