By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Indiana men’s basketball team used to be considered a traditional national power, a true-blue blood steeped in legend and lore.

Indiana still has its tradition, but it’s been a while since the Hoosiers have been considered elite.

Indiana hasn’t won a national title since 1987 or advanced to the Final Four since 2002.

Indiana also failed to make the NCAA round of 32 from 2017 to 2022.

But now there are early signs that former Hoosier great Mike Woodson might have the makings of an elite squad as Indiana will enter Saturday’s game against Iowa having won five straight games and nine of its last 10 games to improve to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play.

Indiana defeated USC, 82-69, on Wednesday in Bloomington.

Indiana’s 4-1 Big Ten start is its best since the 2015-16 season. The Hoosiers’ lone conference loss was an 85- 68 road defeat at Nebraska on Dec. 13.

Indiana has benefitted greatly from the addition of 7-foot, 260-pound Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo, who is averaging 14.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

“He’s a hand full,” Iowa head coach Frann McCaffery said of Ballo. “The thing about him that I like is he plays with energy. A lot of those wide-body guys don’t. They play in spurts. But he’s been able to sustain that and he’s skilled.

“He’s not just a load in the post. He can pass and he looks for his teammates. And that’s really good for your offense, so it puts pressure on us.”

Ballo shoots 68.1 percent from the floor, but he struggles from the free throw line, shooting 58.9 percent. He also has 28 blocks, averaging 1.9 per game.

Ballo had a game-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting in Indiana’s win over USC.

He will be matched against 6-10 sophomore forward Owen Freeman, who is third in the Big Ten and 12th nationally with a 63.2 field goal percentage, averaging a team-best 16.7 points per game.

Freeman is also the only Hawkeye to score in double figures in every game he has played.

“Obviously, he’s a great player,” Freeman said of Ballo. “The coaches are going to give us the right game plan heading into that game.”

Ballo is among four Indiana players that are averaging in double figures, along with forwards Malik Reneau (14.1 points), Mackenzie Mgbako (13.2) and guard Myles Rice (12.4).

Rice has a team-best 21 steals and has 54 assists, but he also has committed 40 turnovers.

Illinois transfer Luke Goode has started the past four games for Indiana, where he is averaging 11.3 points during the stretch. Goode has 11 3-pointers in the four games, including four against USC on Wednesday.

Iowa graduate guard Drew Thelwell is expected to play in Saturday’s game after having missed Tuesday’s 98-87 overtime win over Nebraska due to a minor lower leg injury that apparently happened during pre-game warm-ups.

Iowa overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half against Nebraska.

Iowa has come from behind to win four games this season when trailing in the second half.

Senior forward Payton Sandfort and junior guard Josh Dix led Iowa in scoring against Nebraska with 31 and 30 points, respectively. Sandfort scored all his points in the second half and overtime.

The duo is the first Division I teammates with 30 points and six 3-pointers in the same game in five years and the first high major teammates to do it since Notre Dame’s Ben Hansborough and Tim Abromaitis in 2011

Indiana (13-3, 4-1) vs. Iowa (11-4, 2-2)

When: Saturday, 7:05 p.m.

Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena

TV: FOX

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

All-time series: Saturday’s game will be the 190th game all-time between Iowa and Indiana.

The Hoosiers lead 107-82. Indiana snapped a four-game losing streak in the series last year in Bloomington, picking up a 74-68 victory. The Hawkeyes have won the last two meetings in Iowa City with Indiana’s last victory coming during the 2020-21 season.

Editor’s note: Hawkeyesports.com contributed to this report.