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Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com | Monday, Feb. 26, 2018
SPORTS Editors Dylan Wallace and Michael Ramirez sports@idsnews.com
Heartbreak
EVAN DE STEFANO | IDS
Hoosiers fall to Buckeyes’ final shot to spoil Senior Night By Andrew Hussey
80-78
aphussey@indiana.edu | @thehussnetwork
The moment will haunt IU Coach Archie Miller for a long time to come. Searching for Miller’s first victory over a ranked Big Ten foe at IU, the Hoosiers were left waiting even longer. For a few seconds, it looked like it was finally going to happen after a layup by junior forward Juwan Morgan gave IU a onepoint lead with seven seconds left to go in double overtime. Instead, Ohio State’s guard C.J. Jackson would be the hero. After Morgan’s shot went through the net, Jackson immediately got the inbounds pass and dribbled the ball and stepped into a game winning 3-point shot. IU would fall to Ohio 80-78 to finish the regular season 16-14 and 9-9 in conference play. “I thought we did enough there at the end, 50-50 plays we were right there,” Miller said. “Just a breakdown at the end to not be able to contest or be there on the show. Just probably stop the ball a little too deep.” It was another missed opportunity for IU this season against ranked teams at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers have had chances to upset Duke, Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State in the closing minutes, but couldn’t make the required plays to win. “It’s really tough,” senior guard Robert Johnson said. “Especially with it being two overtimes and coming down to that. We had the lead and he put up what seemed like a tough shot. For it to go in, it kind of stung a little bit. At the
IU against Top 25 teams
84-68 91-81 80-77 85-57 74-67 71-56 63-60 80-78
end of the day, I’m proud of how hard we fought all the way to the end.” Down the stretch of the end of regulation and both overtimes, IU had chances to put away the Buckeyes. In the final 3:55 of regulation, the Hoosiers went without a field goal and Johnson missed a game-winning layup with just seconds left on the clock. Johnson said he didn’t have the type of angle he wanted on the shot.
“I thought we did enough there at the end, 50-50 plays we were right there. Just a breakdown at the end to not be able to contest or be there on the show.” Archie Miller, IU head coach
In double overtime, IU was up one with just over three minutes to go and had a chance to take control of the game. But, freshman forward Justin Smith missed a layup that would’ve given the three-point lead. With under a minute to go in the game and the Hoosiers up one, Johnson got the rebound after Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop missed a three, but Johnson fell and
Senior guard Robert Johnson shoots a layup during the Hoosiers' game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers fell to the Buckeyes in double overtime, 80-78.
traveled. On the next play, Bates-Diop would make a layup. IU nearly was blown out by the Buckeyes. With just under minutes to go in the first half, IU trailed Ohio State by 12 and it looked like the Hoosiers had no chance. However, in just over a minute, Johnson hit a three and Morgan would complete the three-point play to slice Ohio State’s lead. The Hoosiers tied the game up heading into halftime when senior guard Josh Newkirk sunk two free throws. With another disastrous start to the second half, IU was back down seven before the first media timeout. Yet IU clawed right back in the game with a 12-5 run to tie the game and hung right with Ohio State the entire second half. With the regular season over, the Big Ten Tournament awaits. Instead of potentially carrying a six-game winning streak, IU is entering the postseason following two difficult defeats where the Hoosiers had ample opportunities to win. Even through the losses, IU’s attitude remains the same. “As of late, we’ve been fighting really hard as a team,” Morgan said. “We have to keep that momentum going and we can’t just let up. We can’t take some time off and let ourselves get lackadaisical. We have to go in with the same fight we’ve had coming down the stretch of the season.”
PHOTOS BY BOBBY GODDIN | IDS
Top Senior forward Freddie McSwain Jr. goes to the basket against Ohio State on Friday evening in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Bottom Senior guard Robert Johnson gives his senior day speech after the Indiana Ohio State basketball game Friday evening in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Johnson is one of five seniors on IU’s team.
Uncertainty surrounds IU heading into Big Ten Tournament Michael Ramirez is a sophomore in media.
It’s been a rollercoaster season for the Hoosiers, and after finally reaching its end, there’s still a cloud of confusion that surrounds the team going into postseason play. The defense has improved significantly since the first game of the season against Indiana State. The Hoosiers have gone from missing rotations and lacking awareness in the halfcourt to being ball hawks and becoming a forceto be reckoned with. IU is ranked 54th in the nation per KenPom.com in defense adjusted efficiency, but it’s been a process to get to where the Hoosiers are now. Losses to Indiana State and Fort Wayne are inexcusable. The results against fellow Big Ten competition against Wisconsin and Illinois were situations where
the Hoosiers let winnable games slip away. Yes, IU gave great games against top opponents, and were able to give teams like Duke, Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State a run for their money. But IU has to show they can pull wins out of games against that tier of opponent. Even without looking at the first half of the season, the Hoosiers have shown a lack of consistency for long stretches of time. We’ve seen this team play its best basketball during four of the last six games of the season, but the other two results, which were losses against Nebraska on the road and at home to Ohio State, have overshadowed the bright spots. Guard play showed a lack of consistency in the final two games, which saw sophomore and senior guards Devonte Green and Josh Newkirk split time at the
point guard role when one was failing to produce. The two have also gone back and forth in the starting lineup throughout the season, and at a time where IU needs a reliable figure running the show, the Hoosiers see themselves in the exact opposite situation. Miller said in the past how crucial guard play is to any basketball team. IU has senior guard Robert Johnson to thank. He’s been the lone guard who has played at a high level in the final stretch of the regular season. If either Green or Newkirk are going to step up, it starts with playing through Johnson up top, and feeding the big man, junior forward Juwan Morgan, down low. The other source of hope comes from the improved play of freshman forward Justin Smith, who’s dunk seems to get stronger and
more emphatic with each passing week. Smith is averaging nearly 14 points in the final five games of the Hoosiers’ regular season. His electric play and presence in the post will be huge for IU moving forward. There have been countless times where IU has missed a bucket and Smith has gone up and tipped or dunked the ball back in. His awareness in the paint has proved key to his success, and if IU is going to need a player to come off the bench and give significant production, it’s going to be him. The Hoosiers fought valiantly and showed fight and toughness against Ohio State, but those are the types of games that should see IU on the other end of the stick. A slow start hampered another winnable game that slipped through
the Hoosiers’ hands on the final possession. Home losses to Duke, Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State don’t look great heading into the conference tournament from the aspect of having to possibly play some of these teams again on a neutral court. IU has come out on the wrong end of the past two games, and it could hinder the Hoosiers’ confidence going into the Big Ten Tournament. However, if this team has shown one thing throughout this season, it’s fight. If all else fails, at least we know the Hoosiers will go out giving it their all. That’s all you can really ask for at this point in the season. The question is how many games, if any, will this team be able to grind out and win away from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall?