Men's College Basketball

Iowa vs. Indiana postponed after huge piece of falling metal hits stands

LOOK OUT!

By Ricky O'Donnell Feb 18, 2014, 4:41pm EST

Big Ten basketball can be difficult enough to watch even when there aren't massive pieces of metallic debris falling from overhead and destroying seats in the stadium. With that in mind, Indiana has postponed its Tuesday night game with Iowa after an eight-foot piece of metal fell from Assembly Hall and damaged the stands.

This was no joke. Check out the picture:

PHOTO: A view of the damaged seats at Assembly Hall. Can confirm game is postponed. #iubb pic.twitter.com/HgajY8Bhac
— Jordan Littman (@JordanLittman) February 18, 2014

But wait! There's a Vine too, and it's every bit as scary as you would expect:

Here's the statement issued from Indiana AD Fred Glass:

IU AD Fred Glass, via IU release: "Our University engineers have advised us to postpone events in Assembly Hall..." (ctd..) #iubb
— Jordan Littman (@JordanLittman) February 18, 2014

Glass: "until it can be determined what caused the facing to fall and ensure the safety of everyone attending an event in the facility."
— Jordan Littman (@JordanLittman) February 18, 2014

The Hoosiers have lost three straight and four of their last five. Looks like everything associated with this particular Indiana season just wants it to end, Assembly Hall included.

Update: Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta responded with a statement saying they were discussing an alternate time to make up the game:

Obviously, we are disappointed tonight's game had to be cancelled. Fran and his team are in contention for a Big Ten title and were looking forward to the opportunity to getting back on the court. The most important part of this equation is safety. We are in full support of Indiana's decision to postpone the game based on the issues with Assembly Hall. Coach McCaffery and his team are returning from Indiana tonight. We are working with Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass and the Big Ten Conference to determine when and, possibly, where to play the game.