Iowa spent the past two months pushing the best teams in the Big Ten, but that was not enough to push the Hawkeyes into the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes, who open the NIT at home Wednesday against Indiana State, lost to five ranked teams in conference play by nine or fewer points. The third-seeded Hawkeyes have won seven of their past 10 games. Seven of Iowa's nine Big Ten losses came by four or fewer points, or in overtime. Iowa played in the NIT last season, losing in the second round to Oregon after beating Dayton at home.Indiana State makes a school-record fourth consecutive postseason appearance. The sixth-seeded Sycamores lost to Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals. Indiana State has won two of its past eight games. While these have played just once - 73 years ago - there are ties between the programs. Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing spent seven seasons as an assistant at Iowa; his father, Dave Lansing, is a member of the Iowa High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Iowa assistant coach Sherman Dillard spent three seasons as head coach at Indiana State. TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2.ABOUT INDIANA STATE (18-14): The Sycamores won't be fazed by playing on the road against a Big Ten school. Indiana State owns overtime victories over ACC champion Miami and SEC champion Mississippi. Junior guard Jake Odum is a first-team All-MVC performer who hits 36.7 percent of his 3-point attempts, presenting a challenge to an Iowa defense ranked eighth nationally in 3-point defense (29 percent). Odum finished in the top 10 in the MVC in scoring, assists and steals. ABOUT IOWA (21-12): Junior guard Roy Devyn Marble is a well-rounded player for head coach Fran McCaffery's squad, and one could say he was born to be a Hawkeye. The son of Roy Marble - Iowa's all-time leading scorer - Roy Devyn Marble is the sixth player in school history to surpass 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 200 assists as a junior. Marble leads the Hawkeyes in scoring at 14.1 per game, and has led the team in assists 12 times. The Hawkeyes lack a deadly 3-point shooter; they're 284th nationally from beyond the arc (30 percent).TIP-INS1. Wednesday's winner will face Massachusetts or Stony Brook in the second round.2. Iowa blocked 15 shots in two Big Ten tournament games, and ranks 26th nationally with five blocks per game.3. Iowa won the only previous matchup, 39-37 on Dec. 16, 1940. The next meeting could come later in 2013, as both teams are in the Great Alaska Shootout.PREDICTION: Iowa 67, Indiana State 61