I am amazed at how extreme fans get in analysis of the game. If the Hawkeyes are so bad, why did they have a lead well into the game?
I don't think most of us recognize the fine line between winning and losing. For instance, Fran talked about how a missed shot at the rim on one end and a layup at the other is the difference between a 9 point lead and a 5 point lead. All it takes is a few of these going the other way and the game is won.
Or to put it another way: would fans be complaining so much about how bad the team is if just a few things had gone their way and they had won? It wouldn't be that they really played that much differently, just that a shot went in here and a shot didn't go in there for Indiana.
Ultimately, you have to assess a team on wins and losses, but the quality of play is not always that much different in a win and a loss.