Indiana-Iowa game postponed after metal falls from Assembly Hall roof

  • 02/18/2014 4:10 pm in

Indiana’s game with No. 15 Iowa scheduled for tonight in Assembly Hall has been postponed, the university has announced, after a piece of metal fell from the roof of the building at roughly 2:30 p.m. and damaged seating.

Here are the details, via IU media relations:

“Indiana University Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass has announced that tonight’s Big Ten men’s basketball game between Iowa and Indiana will be postponed as a result of a piece of metal falling from the ceiling into seats in the lower bowl.

Roughly 6 1/2 hours before gametime, a metal facing (roughly eight feet long by 14 inches wide), fell and damaged seats in the lower part of Section F, which is located in the northwest corner of the building.

“Safety is our No.1 priority,” noted Glass. Our University engineers have advised us to postpone events in Assembly Hall until it can be determined what caused the facing to fall and ensure the safety of everyone attending an event in the facility.”

The rescheduling of the Iowa contest and the status of tomorrow night’s women’s game with Michigan will be determined as soon as possible.

And here’s a photo of the affected area, via Inside the Hall’s Jordan Littman:

We’ll have more on this developing story.

UPDATE (6:25 p.m.): The Hawkeyes will return to Iowa City tonight and no make-up date has been set yet for a potential Indiana/Iowa game, per a statement from Iowa athletic director Gary Barta. Bankers Life Fieldhouse offered to host the matchup between the Hoosiers and Hawkeyes on Wednesday, however, Indiana told them the Hawkeyes will not be in town.

Here is Barta’s full statement:

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.

Also, ESPN released footage of the piece of metal falling from the Assembly Hall ceiling. That video is posted below.

 

UPDATE (7:37 p.m.): Here’s some video from inside Assembly Hall taken this evening:

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