The thought of Indiana winning even a sliver of the Big Ten title seemed far-fetched in January.

After two months of inspired and unexpectedly stellar play, the Hoosiers have claimed the crown all for themselves.

Yogi Ferrell had 20 points, including a crucial 3 with 37 seconds, and No. 12 Indiana clinched its second outright Big Ten title in four years by holding off No. 16 Iowa 81-78 on Tuesday night.

Troy Williams had 15 points for the Hoosiers (24-6, 14-3), who will be the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament.

Iowa fell behind by as many as 14 points before a 24-8 run put it back in front 74-72. The Hawkeyes then got the ball back with 6 seconds left down 3, but Peter Jok's potential game-tying 3 grazed the rim.

Jarrod Uthoff had 18 points to lead the reeling Hawkeyes (20-9, 11-6), who have lost five of six after a 10-1 start in the Big Ten.

A spirited late run, capped by consecutive 3s by Nicholas Baer, tied it at 70. Jok's scoop shot finally put the Hawkeyes back in front with 4:27 left.

But the Hawkeyes went cold down the stretch yet again, missing nine straight shots at one point. A 3 by Clemmons and a steal by Christian Williams gave them a shot at overtime, but Clemmons air-balled a 3 and Jok missed an open look from the corner.

Clemmons had 14 points for Iowa.

Thomas Bryant scored 12 points with 10 rebounds, and Nick Zeisloft had 11 points for Indiana.