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(04/05/19 1:01am)
After stumbling against Wright State on Wednesday, 15-4, the Hoosiers jump right back into Big Ten play this weekend with a three-game series against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
In Indiana’s most recent loss against Wright State, the pitching struggled, using seven pitchers after freshman McCade Brown didn’t make it out of the third inning.
With the recent injury to Ryan Fineman expected to keep him out a few weeks, Indiana will turn to Wyatt Cross behind the plate, who struggled against Wright State. He committed two throwing errors and allowed two passed balls for runs as well.
The Hoosiers will need to have a short memory as they quickly enter back into Big Ten play. They’ll put their 5-1 conference record on the line this weekend against Penn State. The Nittany Lions come in with a 15-9 record, but they are 0-5 in conference play.
Let’s take a look at what Penn State brings to Bloomington this weekend.
Pitching
Penn State has a couple really solid starting pitchers, which they will likely throw at Indiana on Friday and Sunday. As a team, Penn State boasts a 3.85 ERA with 248 strikeouts.
The weekend’s probable starters are:
Friday:
Penn State: Dante Biasi (RHP)
Indiana: Pauly Milto (RHP)
Saturday:
Penn State: Bailey Dees (RHP)
Indiana: Tanner Gordon (RHP)
Sunday:
Penn State: Eric Mock (RHP)
Indiana: Andrew Saalfrank (LHP)
Indiana:
Let’s start with Penn State’s Friday starter, Dante Biasi. He’s the best on their staff statistically, leading the way among the starters with a 2.03 ERA in seven starters. He has 57 strikeouts to just 16 walks.
The issue is that Penn State has struggled putting up runs against opponents’ Friday night starters, especially in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are just 4-3 in his starts, and 0-2 in his Big Ten starts. His most recent appearance was a gem against Purdue, where he went six innings and allowed just one run and struck out six.
His worst outing was in non-conference play against Duke, allowing five runs in 4.2 innings pitched.
Bailey Dees, the Saturday starter, takes the mound with a 4.41 ERA in seven starts, the worst ERA of the three weekend starters. He has an impressive 40 strikeouts to just 10 walks.
Eric Mock is the probable Sunday starter. He has a solid 2.48 ERA in his five starts this season. His last start against Purdue was one of his best of the season. He went five innings, struck out seven and allowed just one hit and no runs. He also showed that he could go deep, pitching 8.2 innings against Fairfield back in February.
Hitting
Indiana leads the nation in home runs with 55. The next closest team in the Big Ten is Ohio State with 27. Indiana’s Cole Barr leads the conference with 11 long balls through 28 games.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1113611038728040449[/embed]
Penn State is toward the bottom of the Big Ten with just 13 home runs this season. Sophomore Kris Kremer and junior Gavin Homer lead the team with three long balls.
Only two Nittany Lions are hitting over .300 this season. Sophomore Mac Hippenhammer leads the team with a .356 batting average in his 14 appearances. He also boasts a .408 on-base percentage.
The other hot bat in the Penn State lineup is senior Jordan Bowersox. He is hitting .315 and slugging .427. He also leads the team with 28 hits and has two home runs this season.
As a team, Penn State is batting .239, ninth in the Big Ten. Indiana is two spots ahead, tied for seventh, hitting .261 as a team.
Coaching Connection
When Indiana Head Coach Jeff Mercer was a player at Wright State, he played under current Penn State Head Coach Rob Cooper. Cooper spent nine seasons at the helm of Wright State, from 2005-2013.
Just two days after Mercer coached against his former team, he will now coach against his former coach. He mentioned what it will be like to coach against Cooper after the game on Wednesday.
“Coach Cooper was one of the most influential people in my life,” Mercer said. “The standard that he held me to is the same standard I’ve carried forward into my coaching career… I love Coach Cooper. It’ll be a lot of fun to compete against someone you have so much respect for. Hopefully we come out and we play well.”
First Pitches:
Friday: 6:05
Saturday: 2:05
Sunday: 1:05
(04/04/19 2:53pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-303673382/indiana-baseball-podcast-the-midweek-struggles-continue[/embed]
Austin Render, Drake Garbacik and Jackson Yeary break down the most recent IU baseball action, including a Maryland series filled with home runs and a couple midweek losses. Take a listen for the latest on IU baseball.
(03/28/19 2:50am)
Indiana’s eight-game win streak came to an end Wednesday night due to a plethora of miscues and errors.
Kent State came into Bloomington and took advantage of Indiana’s many missteps and won a 12-inning contest, 9-8. The Hoosiers were able to overcome their four errors in the season finale against Iowa on Sunday. That was not the case Wednesday.
Indiana ended with six errors, two wild pitches, four hit-by-pitches, several passed balls and a balk. Only four of Kent State’s nine runs were earned.
“We really didn’t do anything well, literally anything,” IU Head Coach Jeff Mercer said. “It’s really a minor miracle that we were in the game into the 9th, 10th 11th innings… We did literally nothing fundamentally right. We didn’t execute any of the plans that we outlined before the game. We didn’t do anything that could even be confused for decent baseball.”
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1111098315603656705[/embed]
It all started in the second inning, where starting pitcher Cam Beauchamp allowed four runs, none of which were earned. Two errors, a wild pitch and two infield singles contributed to the four second-inning runs.
The errors continued in the seventh, where an error on first baseman Matt Lloyd cost Indiana another run. In the eighth, Kent State added another run after a throwing error from centerfielder Grant Richardson.
Despite all of this, Indiana was able to tie it up with back-to-back homers from Lloyd and Elijah Dunham in the eighth, forcing extra innings.
The theme continued in the 11th inning. The second extra inning included a balk, a hit batter, and most importantly, two runs from Kent State. After Indiana answered with a two-run homer from Wyatt Cross, Kent State scored what proved to be the game-winning run off a wild pitch in the 12th inning.
“You’ve gotta be able to go play and execute,” Mercer said. “We missed signs, we missed pitches, we didn’t execute the fastball.”
Coming into this game, Indiana had a .962 fielding percentage with 33 errors, an average of 1.4 errors per game. Normally, the bats have been able to hide poor fielding days. Even eight runs weren’t enough to do that on Wednesday.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1111104558632239104[/embed]
Indiana had four home runs, but 15 strikeouts combined with poor relief pitching and a multitude of fielding errors were too much to overcome just purely off of talent and long balls.
“I thought we got too big early in the game with our swings,” Mercer said. “We tried to do too much because the wind is blowing out and there’s a nice crowd and he’s throwing 85 miles per hour.”
This isn’t the first time the Hoosiers have struggled in the field this season. However, most would think eight runs would be enough to mask those miscues. Most would also think scoring that many runs and knocking four balls out of the park would result in some positive takeaways. However, Mercer wasn’t happy with any part of Wednesday’s performance.
“If we had won, let’s say somehow we win this game, I’m telling you the exact same thing, I’m telling those guys the exact same thing,” Mercer said. “We don’t have a choice but to refocus and get back to work.”
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1111098664594931712[/embed]
Mercer also mentioned that at times this season they’ve been too reliant on a star performance from a starting pitcher or a hot bat and at times they believe those performances and their talent will lead to a win, even with fielding errors and strikeouts.
“We don’t have the ability to go out and just show up and win games,” Mercer said. “When we won games, we haven’t played terrifically well. We haven’t played fundamentally. I think sometimes we think we’ll just score 12 runs and we’ll get a heroic performance from Pauly Milto or Tanner Gordon… I think we rely on our ability too much.”
Indiana is forced to turn around and get ready for a three-game series with Maryland this weekend. Mercer mentioned several times that they “don’t have a choice” about rebounding quickly with a Big Ten series starting in just two days.
Indiana will put their perfect 3-0 Big Ten record on the line starting on Friday against the Maryland Terrapins in College Park. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
(03/25/19 11:01pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-303673382/indiana-baseball-podcast-the-bats-are-hot[/embed]
The baseball guys are back in the studio to discuss the hot bats of the Hoosiers and the 8-game win streak. From pitching, to batting, to the weather, we discuss it all. Take a listen.
(03/25/19 5:07am)
Indiana’s season ended more than two thousand miles away from where it began. After knocking off Texas in the first round Friday night, Indiana wasn’t sharp enough to defeat the No. 2 seeded Oregon Ducks, ultimately falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 91-68.
Indiana got away with being heavily out-rebounded and playing a sluggish second quarter against Texas, escaping with a four-point win. Those mistakes compounded today, and they weren’t able to overcome them against a national-title contender.
Against Oregon, the Hoosiers missed too many easy buckets, turned the ball over too many times and struggled on both ends against their length and athleticism.
Ali Patberg led the way for Indiana with 16 points and five assists while Jaelynn Penn added 15 points and six rebounds. Indiana finished the game shooting 46 percent from the floor. They went 4-for-17 from beyond the arc, a 24-percent performance in their season finale.
On the other end of the floor, Oregon shot 52 percent from the floor and 45 percent from long range. Oregon out-rebounded the Hoosiers 41-to-27 and capitalized off Indiana’s 12 turnovers, scoring 26 points those mistakes.
"I thought we lost our discipline for several moments, but I loved our effort," Moren said. "That’s one of the things that I’ve loved about this team from the beginning of the season. Why we’re sitting here tonight is because they are truly competitors. They’ve just shown time and time again their toughness and their grittiness to win ball games and be in ball games."
The season also ended with something Indiana has dealt with all season. Bendu Yeaney and Jaelynn Penn struggled with nagging injuries all season and Ali Patberg missed three games due to a shoulder injury. On Sunday night, Yeaney went down with what appeared to be a non-contact lower leg injury in the third quarter and didn’t return, ending her season early.
[embed]https://twitter.com/JoshEastern/status/1110005416916865024[/embed]
Yeaney was playing in front of many friends and family members for the first time since leaving her hometown of Portland, Oregon for Bloomington last season. She appeared to be a good amount of pain as she was helped off the court to the locker room. Before she went down, Yeaney had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“She’s struggled throughout the season with some Achilles issues. At this point, I can’t comment," Moren said. "She came out there and hit a jump shot early in the second half to try to get us going, so it was a shame that she couldn’t finish out the game in front of her family and friends but for us, in particular.”
As Indiana watched their season slowly come to an end in the fourth quarter, a foul was called on the Hoosiers that brought Moren to her feet. She showed her displeasure and was eventually assessed a technical foul for her actions. Even though Oregon was up almost 20 at this point, Moren refused to quit on her team, and while they struggled throughout this one, this team never gave up on her.
It would have been easy to pack it in after losing six of seven. It would have been easy to give up on the season after being embarrassed at Northwestern. This team never quit. They upset No. 10 Iowa in Patberg’s first game back and routed Purdue to finish the regular season. Then they won a game in the Big Ten tournament and earned a trip back to the NCAA Tournament.
[embed]https://twitter.com/IndianaWBB/status/1110034678122045440[/embed]
To top it all off, the Hoosiers won an NCAA tournament game and played admirably for three quarters or so against the two-seed Ducks on their home floor in front of a packed house. It would have been easy to be content, as a 10 seed, to win your first tournament game and be done. However, this team wanted more. And for a few portions of the first and second quarters, they even had a lead on the two seed.
“We started off really strong, and coach told us at the beginning of the season that we were going to have lows and we had to fight threw them," Patberg said. "I think, personally as a leader, there are certain times in the season that I let my guard down, but every game and practice is important. I know that I learned that personally this season, and my teammates learned that.”
If you remember anything about the 2018-19 Indiana women’s basketball team, remember that they never gave up. They faced numerous ups and downs during the 34-game season. In the end, Moren and company won 20 games for the fourth straight season and earned their second NCAA Tournament berth and tournament win in four years.
"I’m just really proud of how this team has stayed connected and how they enjoy playing with one another," Moren said. "They love each other, care about each other, and want each other to have success. That’s what you want as a coach, as well as winning and playing in the NCAA Tournament. The love for each other is there, we just have to get better individually as players. When we do that, our team will benefit and get better as a whole. I’m really just proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish."
Senior forward Kym Royster finished her IU career with 8 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting night. She and former walk-on Grace Withrow will graduate, but everyone else is set to return next season. However, it’s not the time to think about next season.
Now is the time to reflect on the season that was. A season that contained its fair share of adversity, with injuries and losing streaks. But it was a season that ended with an NCAA tournament appearance, a tournament victory and a respectable performance that fell short against a talented Oregon team.
"I’m just extremely proud of everyone," Penn said. "We fought really hard through our season and this game. We weren’t supposed to be here, so next year we will be back.”
(03/14/19 8:37pm)
Indiana’s last trip to the NCAA tournament was in 2016. That drought looks like it will continue after the Hoosiers’ early exit from the Big Ten tournament, this time in the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Indiana came into the day as the first team out of Joe Lunardi’s bracketology. Most other bracketologists had the Hoosiers in a similarly precarious position. Ohio State was among most people’s “Last Four In.” Almost everyone believed this game on Thursday afternoon was a play-in game for the NCAA tournament.
With their season and a berth in the NCAA tournament on the line, Ohio State looked like the better team. This was after Ohio State had lost three straight and six of their last eight games. It was also after Indiana had won four straight games and become a part of most people’s brackets, or at least close.
But a slow start bit the Hoosiers again. They went down 11-5 early and would eventually trail by seven at the break. With 7:30 to go in the second half, Ohio State was up by 20.
When asked why the energy wasn’t where it needed to be, Romeo Langford said, “I don’t have an answer for that.”
The Hoosiers looked like a whole new team in the final 7:30. The 20-point deficit started to slowly shrink as Devonte Green got hot from long range. Green continued to knock down threes from everywhere on the court, finishing with 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1106296237278531584[/embed]
“Once I hit a couple I felt hot, got in a rhythm,” Green said.
His rhythm wasn’t enough to bring IU back. Ohio State wins by four, and Indiana misses what might have been their final opportunity to get into the field of 68.
How come for the first 32:30, Indiana played without urgency but the last 7:30 they looked like a Big Ten contender? Why has consistent play within a 40-minute period been such a problem for Indiana this year.
“I have no idea,” De’Ron Davis said, “I have no idea.”
Everyone in the locker room seemed to be searching for answers, just like Davis. He said they had a great start to the day and people looked locked in. Everyone woke up ready to go, even with a 7:45 a.m. wake-up call.
“It was actually surprising because of how we handled everything this morning,” Davis said, “It was kind of disappointing to see how hard we worked, especially over the last few weeks, and to be at this point right now.”
So now what? It was a general consensus the loser of this game would be eliminated from NCAA tournament consideration. We won’t know for sure until the committee releases their bracket on Sunday, but the odds are heavily stacked against the Hoosiers.
But honestly, what’s next for this Indiana team? If it’s not the NCAA tournament, is it the NIT? Indiana tried that in 2017 and lost immediately on the road at Georgia Tech.
“If we’re in the NCAAs, then we’re right back to work. If we’re in the NIT, we’re right back to work,” Davis said, “If coach decides not to go to the NIT, we’ll still get back to work. The grind’s gunna be the same regardless.”
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1106302948525645824[/embed]
If not the NIT, is this the end for the 2018-19 Hoosiers? Was Thursday the last time Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford will wear the cream and crimson? Archie Miller wasn’t ready to give up hope of the NCAA tournament after their most recent loss.
“We’ll wait and see,” Miller said, “It’ll be difficult. We played a ridiculous schedule and obviously have beaten teams that have made the tournament. This team can win a game in the tournament… Are we capable? Yes. Did we do enough? I’m not sure. I believe if we are in the tournament, our guys are capable of winning a game.”
No matter where this team goes, if they go anywhere, the consensus from the locker room is that no one wants this season to be over.
“We’d be happy to keep playing as long as possible with our seniors,” Green said.
Indiana’s hope now lies in the hands of the selection committee. They’ll find out what’s next on Sunday, but it feels as though Indiana let their final opportunity to save this season slip away on Thursday in Chicago.
(03/09/19 3:36am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- With 4:52 to play, Indiana and Iowa went to their respective benches for the final media timeout of the game. The 10-seed Indiana Hoosiers held a 54-53 lead over the 2-seed Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder said there was no panic in the team during that timeout. They came out, hit a big three, regained the lead, and never looked back. Iowa pulled away late, winning 70-61 and advancing to the Big Ten tournament semifinals.
This matchup was just 15 days after IU hosted Iowa and knocked off the then No. 10 Hawkeyes. That previous matchup was also the return of Ali Patberg after she missed three and a half games due to a shoulder injury.
In the five games since her return, Patberg is averaging 19 points per game. In the two Big Ten tournament games, she averaged 22.5 points per game and knocked down 6-of-8 from long range.
“She’s pretty special,” Teri Moren said postgame. “Her ability to score it, her ability to facilitate, the energy she plays with… I thought Ali was really good the last two days. But it’s not anything any of us are surprised by because that’s how Ali Patberg plays.”
(03/07/19 12:38am)
Indiana sits squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. In the latest bracketology, IU is slotted as an 11-seed and in the “Last Four In” category. That means there is a lot at stake this week for the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament.
Their matchup against Minnesota is a rematch of their tilt in Bloomington on February 6. The Gophers won round one 65-61 in the game Indiana guard Ali Patberg suffered a shoulder injury that forced her to miss most of the second half and the following three games.
If Indiana wants to make the NCAA Tournament, a win against Minnesota seems like a requirement. Here are some things to watch for in Thursday night’s matchup.
(03/06/19 12:00am)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-303673382/indiana-womens-basketball-podcast-win-and-youre-in-maybe[/embed]
The trio is back as Josh, Austin and Connor discuss Indiana's blowout win over Purdue as well as their road through the Big Ten tournament coming up this week. What does Indiana need to do to make the NCAA tournament? Tune in to find out what the guys think.
(03/04/19 9:37pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-303673382/iu-baseball-podcast-bounce-back-weekend[/embed]
Austin Render, Drake Garbacik, Jack Ankony and Jackson Yeary break down the season so far for the Hoosiers and dive into this past series at Coastal Carolina. Take a listen to the first IU baseball podcast of the season.
(03/04/19 5:41pm)
The Big Ten tournament bracket is out, and the matchups are set. Indiana slides into the 10-seed, matching up with the seventh-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers.
With the tournament beginning on Wednesday, let’s dive into the 2019 Big Ten women’s tournament in Indianapolis.
Indiana’s path
The Hoosiers needed a good week to get out of playing Wednesday afternoon as the 11-seed. They were blown away on Tuesday at Northwestern and their odds of earning a bye in the tournament looked slim. However, their luck changed on Sunday.
Indiana dominated Purdue, Iowa defeated Northwestern and Minnesota won against Michigan State, allowing Indiana to pass Purdue and earn the single bye and the 10-seed.
Now Indiana will match up with Minnesota Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. The Gophers defeated Indiana in their one regular season matchup, 65-61. That was the game in which Ali Patberg injured her shoulder in the third quarter and missed the remainder of the game.
Indiana trailed throughout the entirety of their matchup in Bloomington on February 6. They made a late surge in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to just one possession, but Minnesota got a key stop and knocked down its free throws late to secure the victory.
Minnesota’s win over Indiana was part of a six-game win streak and the Gophers are winners of seven of their last nine games to end the regular season.
The tournament’s impact on Indiana’s NCAA hopes
If Indiana wins on Thursday, the second-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes await the Hoosiers, a rematch of Indiana’s upset win on February 21, just two weeks ago. A win over Minnesota would be a solid win over a team that’s on the fringe of the NCAA tournament. A win over Iowa would be a huge win to help possibly solidify the Hoosiers’ spot in the big dance.
This morning, ESPN released their newest Bracketology, listing Indiana in the “Last Four In” as an 11-seed in the Miami regional. While these predictions often times aren’t correct, it gives us a look into where Indiana would be according to the numbers. The Hoosiers are the third to last team in the field according to bracketologist Charlie Creme.
Even though the Hoosiers are in the field according to Creme, a win against Minnesota on Thursday seems like almost a requirement to keep themselves in the field, and an upset win over Iowa would possibly solidify a spot in the field of 64.
The Big Ten tournament bracket as a whole
Maryland won the Big Ten regular season championship, earning them the top seed in the tournament this week. Iowa slides in at the two seed, and Michigan beat out Ohio State for the four seed and the double bye. Purdue, Wisconsin, Penn State and Illinois will play on Wednesday in the first round.
Maryland is a three-time Big Ten tournament winner, but they were knocked off last season by Ohio State. The Terrapins will look to win their fourth tournament in their five years in the league.
Meanwhile, teams like Michigan, Michigan State and Rutgers are either eight or nine seeds in the latest Bracketology on ESPN.com, meaning there is a lot at stake for these teams in this tournament. Indiana is among the “Last Four In” category, meaning they need some wins to improve their chances of making it in. Maryland is a three seed, looking to get some big wins to possibly jump to the two line.
There is plenty to play for, and with a balanced league this season, it feels like anything can happen this week in Indianapolis.
(03/01/19 9:05pm)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-303673382/indiana-womens-basketball-podcast-all-of-the-scenarios[/embed]
Josh and Austin are joined by Griffin Gonzalez to talk about the past couple games for the Hoosiers as well as all the scenarios for the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament on the first day of March. Take a listen.
(02/25/19 10:34pm)
Fresh off their upset-victory over No. 10 Iowa, the Hoosiers are back in action twice this week to wrap up their regular season. First, they’ll travel to Evanston to take on the Northwestern Wildcats followed by a home contest against Purdue on Sunday.
Earlier this season, Indiana played a week of basketball where it lost to Northwestern at home on Wednesday then traveled to Purdue and lost on a last-second shot from the Boilers on Sunday.
Indiana has a final week of basketball, not only to improve its standing in the Big Ten and national landscapes, but to avenge two of their Big Ten losses.
Believe it or not, the calendar will turn to March later this week, and the Hoosiers’ play this week will determine how far they can play in March and what postseason tournament they will participate in.
(02/21/19 12:03am)
[embed]https://soundcloud.com/user-303673382/indiana-womens-basketball-podcast-the-sense-of-urgency-has-passed[/embed]
With Indiana in the "First Four Out" section of the latest bracketology, the guys discuss if there's any hope for turning this season around and where the team may be seeded in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. Can this team make a late run to end the season with Ali Patberg coming back? Josh and Austin discuss.
(02/16/19 10:22pm)
Another lifeless effort doomed the Hoosiers at Minnesota Saturday afternoon. Indiana fell to the Golden Gophers 84-63, marking its 10th loss in the last 11 games.
The same issues that have plagued them since the new year continued on Saturday. Indiana got off to slow starts to begin both halves. They didn’t have the physicality to guard Minnesota’s forwards and gave up way too many open threes. It was also one of Indiana’s worst shooting performances from beyond the arc.
Somehow, Indiana continues to be mentioned in everyone’s bracketology. Every loss seems to be the nail in the coffin for the Hoosiers, and yet their non-conference resume keeps them in the conversation. Saturday's loss is another example of why Indiana doesn’t belong in the NCAA Tournament.
Slow starts hurt again
With 11:33 to go in the first half, Minnesota opened up a 23-11 lead. They would hold serve for the rest of the half and keep that 12-point lead into the halftime break.
To start the second half, Minnesota’s Gabe Kalscheur knocked down a jumper and a three pointer to take a 17-point lead just over a minute into the second half. The Hoosiers would never recover.
“We didn’t play with the fight, the urgency that you need on the road this time of year,” Archie Miller said.
Indiana never seemed to be engaged in this game, especially in the second half. After a Dupree McBrayer three pointer with 15:55 to play, the lead never dipped below 16 points. With 13:15 to play, Jordan Murphy slammed home yet another dunk, stretching the lead over 20, where it would stay for the remainder of the contest.
The offensive woes continue
On a day when Indiana only turned the ball over 12 times, most would believe the offense would have been more productive. It was the complete opposite on Saturday afternoon.
It’s usually a pretty good idea to try and get your potential top-five draft pick some open looks. However, against Minnesota, Romeo Langford attempted just six shots. He also attempted four free throws. Langford finished with 10 points.
Juwan Morgan finished 4-of-11 from the floor for 14 points. He missed all three of his attempts from long range.
That was a common theme for the Hoosiers. Devonte Green hit a three to cut the deficit to five in the first half, and Al Durham hit a garbage time three in the final minute. That was it. Indiana finished 2-of-17 from three-point range, a dismal 11.8 percent. That included an 0-for-7 combination of Evan Fitzner and Damezi Anderson off the bench.
As a team, they shot just 37.7 percent from the floor and ended the game with only eight assists on 20 made field goals. Minnesota assisted on 19 of their 28 made shots.
Defensive lapses everywhere
This was arguably Indiana’s worst defensive performance of the season. There were breakdowns inside, with on-ball defending and three-point defense.
Indiana wasn’t the only team that suffered from an incredible performance from Jordan Murphy. He now has eight double-doubles in his last nine games. However, it felt like Indiana had no answer and if Minnesota wasn’t hot from three, he would have been even more dominant. Murphy finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds and went to the free throw line 13 times.
Minnesota also set a new season-high with 12 made threes, finishing 12-of-22, 54.5 percent from beyond the arc. Kalscheur finished 6-of-8 from long range, scoring 20 points for just the second time this season. This game also featured center Daniel Oturu’s first ever three-point attempt of his career---and he made it.
While two of those threes were banked in and another was from Oturu as the shot clock expired, many of them were wide open. There were too many Hoosier defensive breakdowns defending the long ball. Minnesota was shooting 31 percent from three coming into this game, ranking them 12th in the Big Ten.
“Minnesota played a terrific game. Much hungrier team, much more cohesive team today,” Miller said. “We had a lot to do with that.”
What’s next?
Indiana falls to 13-12 and 4-10 in conference play with this latest loss. They will host Purdue on Tuesday.
Is it true that the records are thrown out in this rivalry? Indiana fans better hope so, or else they’re set up for more of the same basketball they’ve watched all of 2019.
(02/13/19 6:47pm)
Indiana women's basketball freshman forward Aleksa Gulbe is adjusting to life in the United States. The Latvian-native has impressed on the court and The Hoosier Network's Austin Render sat down with her and assistant coach Rhet Wierzba to talk about Gulbe and her adjustment to basketball and life in Bloomington.
(02/12/19 3:48am)
Indiana couldn’t keep up with No. 24 Michigan State in the second half and fell 77-61 on Monday night. The Hoosiers couldn’t keep Spartans guard Shay Colley off the scoreboard throughout the contest, especially in the second half. Colley finished with 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting.
Indiana played their first complete game without its leading scorer, Ali Patberg, and it was noticeable at times throughout this ballgame, with a lack of flow offensively and a difficulty to guard Michigan State’s perimeter players defensively.
Indiana has now lost two straight and six of its last eight games. Here are my three takeaways from another tough loss for the Hoosiers.
(01/24/19 12:48am)
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The Other Guys are back, as Austin Render, Connor Hines, Mark Timko and Kurt Spitler discuss the MLB Hall of Fame, the NFL Playoffs, IU Basketball and much more. Take a listen to the first episode of a new season of The Other Guys.
(01/20/19 10:09pm)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Indiana suffered from another lackluster shooting performance, falling to arch-rival Purdue 56-53 in West Lafayette Sunday afternoon.
This performance comes on the heels of a poor all-around performance against Northwestern, one that Head Coach Teri Moren said they lacked the toughness and energy to win.
Sunday’s outing against Purdue was different. There was a different toughness to the team. There was a different focus to the team. And for three quarters, Indiana played good basketball.
The third quarter continues to be an issue for Indiana. Moren described it as their “Achilles heel,” mentioning that their third quarter struggles have happened many times this season. Indiana was outscored 17-11 in the third quarter and allowed the momentum to swing back in favor of Purdue.
(01/17/19 3:29am)
Indiana came out sluggish against the Northwestern Wildcats Wednesday evening and never recovered, falling 75-69 for their second loss in their last three games.
The Hoosiers opened up the game missing their first 10 shots and falling behind 8-0. They didn’t hit their first field goal until the 3:04 mark of the first quarter.
Northwestern led by as many as 18 at one point in the fourth quarter before Indiana rallied off nine straight to come within nine. There was a point in the fourth where Northwestern didn’t score for almost five minutes. However, the hole was too deep to climb out of for the Hoosiers and their comeback fell short.
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The loss wasn’t a result of poor shot selection, a multitude of turnovers or from Northwestern shooting the lights out. The main issue for the Hoosiers was toughness, especially on the glass. Indiana was outrebounded 42-29, including 15-10 on the offensive glass.
“Offensive rebounds, rebounds in general, is all about toughness and grit and I think we didn’t exceed their toughness and their grit in those moments,” IU forward Brenna Wise said.
The Wildcats turned the ball over nine times in the fourth quarter and shot four-of-12 from the field. However, their ability to get offensive rebounds and get to the free throw line was the difference.
“They were much better than we were on the boards, outrebounding us 42-29. That’s a toughness, that’s a grittiness category and that was very frustrating to watch,” IU coach Teri Moren said. “Tonight, Northwestern came in and they were the tougher team, and that’s disappointing.”
Indiana had plenty of open looks, but shots were not falling for the Hoosiers at any point. As a team they finished 40 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. Ali Patberg went eight-of-20 and Jaelynn Penn shot just five-of-17. The two guards combined for five-of-16 from long range.
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The Hoosiers have won several games this season without their best shooting nights. They’ve won plenty of games with grittiness and toughness, especially on the defensive end. That wasn’t the case tonight.
“Sometimes there’s been moments where that level of toughness I’m describing has won us games. It didn’t tonight,” Moren said. “I thought you could say we were a little bit feistier and grittier in the fourth, but that’s too late.”
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Indiana got off to fast starts against Ohio State and Wisconsin, but struggled to finish strong, losing at Ohio State and surviving a big run from the Badgers. Wednesday was much different, with the Hoosiers trailing by as many as 11 in the first quarter.
Inconsistency has plagued the Hoosiers recently, but they’ve been solid in games following losses. Indiana now faces a tough challenge on the road against Purdue on Sunday. A big game against an arch-rival could be a motivator for the Hoosiers, but they believe every game is motivating in the Big Ten.
“Certainly, this loss will be motivating, as it should be,” Wise said. “But every game is motivating, you have to be ready every game.”
Indiana is now 15-3 and 4-2 in the Big Ten heading into the showdown in West Lafayette. The Hoosiers are in the midst of an up-and-down part of their season, but they are currently 2-0 in games following a loss.
With 12 games remaining, the coaching staff is aware there is plenty more basketball to be played, and it’s important to keep the team in the right mindset, especially after a difficult loss.
“One of the things that this group has continued to show is they’ve been resilient, they’ve been usually pretty ticked off,” Moren said. “But we have to understand that with every season comes peaks and valleys. As we always caution our kids, you can never get too high, you can never get too low.”