Meanwhile, in Assembly Hell ...

 So remember a week or so ago, when Indiana's basketball team had won four in a row and the Blob saw fit to remind everyone that, yes, there was still quality hoops happening in Bloomington despite all the hoo-ha surrounding the football Hoosiers?

Well ...

That was a week or so ago.

Now you'd be forgiven for actually thinking, "Hey, where'd basketball go?", because right now Hoosier Nation isn't getting any. Not quality basketball, anyway. Not basketball an Indiana fan would actually want to watch unless he or she enjoyed cursing and throwing things at the TV.

This is because, since the Blob rashly sang the praises of the basketball Hoosiers, they've lost three in a row. Two of those losses were in Assembly Hell, er, Hall. Two happened because Darian DeVries' guys blew a 16-point second-half lead at home against unbeaten Nebraska, and gave up 19 straight points in East Lansing in an 81-60 loss to Michigan State.

And yesterday?

Yesterday the Hoosiers got ball-peened in the Hall by an Iowa team that was on a three-game skid. The Hawkeyes won by 17, 74-57. They never trailed -- never trailed -- after a 10-2 start. And after Indiana drew within four in the second half, the Hawkeyes went on a 21-5 run to close the lid.

Two Hawkeyes, Bennett Stirtz  and Tavion Banks, flame-broiled the Hoosiers for a combined 53 points, with Stirtz scoring 27 and Banks 26. Indiana, meanwhile, died again at the 3-point line, bricking 18-of-24 attempts. And once again the Hoosiers were beaten on the glass, albeit this time by just one rebound.

Thus the motif continues for the DeVries Hoosiers: They live and die at the arc because they don't have much of an inside game -- which means when the 3s are dropping they can beat anyone and when they're not ...

Well. When they're not, they lose by 17 at home to a struggling Iowa team.

Some numbers: In these last three losses, the Hoosiers have shot just 31.7 percent from Threeville, going 27 of 85. They've been out-glassed by 19 rebounds -- including a 37-19 beatdown at Michigan State. And they've been outscored by a combined 36 points in the second halves of those games.

Not exactly what anyone was expecting, I'm guessing, when Scott Dolson plucked DeVries from West Virginia, and before that the wilds of the Missouri Valley Conference.

But, hey. At least you still got football, Indiana.