First came the shot; then came the tears.
Iowa’s Luke Recker, a constant target of Indiana fans’ unrelenting disdain, hit a 10-foot baseline shot at the buzzer Saturday to propel the Hawkeyes past Indiana 62-60 and into Sunday’s Big Ten tournament championship game against Ohio State.
Recker’s stunning last-minute heroics–he had tied the game with a three-pointer shortly before delivering the game-winner–quieted the Hoosier faithful who crammed Conseco Fieldhouse and booed his every move. Recker, after all, had transferred from Indiana, bolting former coach Bob Knight’s program after his sophomore year, and Hoosier fans have never forgiven him.
But the last word once again went to the former Indiana Mr. Basketball, who also eliminated top-seeded Wisconsin with a last-second jump shot Friday. Recker leaped into the air after Saturday’s shot dropped, then hopped up on a sideline table and pumped his fist triumphantly.
“It was just a euphoric feeling,” Recker said. “I just jumped up and looked for my mom and I looked for my fiance.”
Tears were flowing as Recker was interviewed on the postgame show.
“The people of Indiana have been great to me,” Recker said later. “I love this state. My family still lives here. I’m very fond of Indianapolis. The people, the professors, the faculty at Indiana University, they’ve always been great to me. It’s just that 5 percent of fans who have acted in a classless manner that have probably made this more pleasurable for me to win.”
Recker, who finished with a game-high 17 points, drained the winner over 6-foot-10-inch Indiana forward Jared Jeffries to give Iowa (19-14) a shot at defending its Big Ten tournament title and earning an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
The Hawkeyes, seeded ninth in the tournament, were 5-11 in conference play and are unlikely to get a bid without securing the Big Ten’s automatic one.
The officials reviewed a courtside replay of Recker’s final shot before allowing the play to stand. Subsequent stop-action reviews of the play in the press room, however, suggested a half-second stoppage of the clock that might have negated the shot had it been recognized.
“Recker hit a big-time shot,” Indiana coach Mike Davis said. “He’s playing at a different level at this time of the year. I’m not happy we lost the ballgame, but a lot of these guys played with Recker. They like him. What you have to understand is, when you go out on the court, you go to compete.”
Indiana players were not moved by the significance of Recker’s clutch shot.
“It doesn’t matter who made it. We still lost,” said guard Tom Coverdale, who finished with 11 points. A.J. Moye led the Hoosiers with 14 points.
Indiana led 33-30 at the half and 60-57 after two Coverdale free throws with 1 minute 53 seconds remaining. But Recker’s three-pointer with 58 seconds left tied the score 60-60 and set the stage for his winner.
The Hawkeyes have won a record seven straight Big Ten tournament games and are one victory away from repeating last season’s unlikely title.
“That’s what you get when you put yourself in a position where you have to play four games in four days, but it’s a lot of fun,” coach Steve Alford said. “These guys are doing something special.”
