Hoosiers outclass Iowa in defensive struggle
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — With two games left in the regular season, No. 1 Indiana is inching ever closer to its first outright Big Ten regular season title since 1993.
An old saying holds that any achievement requires blood, sweat and tears. All three were present Saturday.
Star and fan favorite Cody Zeller supplied the blood, leaving the game midway through the second half with a busted chin after an hour and a half of throwing his body about with reckless abandon. Trainers applied a patch that Zeller still wore when he sat in front of reporters at a postgame news conference.
“Any time you can get an extra possession, you want to take full advantage,” Zeller said. “(Iowa) is a tough team. They’ll fight you until the end. The thing that kept us going was defense.”
Baby-faced point guard Yogi Ferrell threw in the sweat, working up a good pregame lather, as he has all season, and losing even more fluids after the opening tip, scoring and scoring some more until he had a career-high 19 points on only eight shots.
“He works extremely hard,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “He’s really grown. When we had to take him out our offense didn’t move as well. He’s just a two-way player. Yogi pushing it might be a speed break. That’s a whole different level.”
Tears? Sure. Crying over spilled milk loomed as a memory of the past, and the Hoosiers remembered it, steadfastly refusing to feel sorry for themselves.
“We had to work through a lot of fouls,” Crean said. “We had to work through our offense not being where it needed to be. Our defense never wavered, and that’s the sign of a mature team. They understand they can’t win without it. That’s the story of the game. When shots aren’t falling they’re continuing to play at a high level.”
Here’s how it went down inside a late-to-fill Assembly Hall:
IN A NUTSHELL: Indiana (25-4, 13-3 Big Ten) looked nothing like its usual self on offense, making a season-low two 3-pointers, missing 13 free throws and shooting 39 percent. And yet Iowa (18-11, 7-9) never could make a game of it. The Hoosiers went on a 15-4 run midway through a first half full of missed shots and inept offense, with Zeller scoring seven points in the spurt, to amass a double-digit lead that would stand the test of time. Indiana scored 26 points in the first half, its worst period of the season, and yet still led by 12 at the break. The Hoosiers led by as many as 17 and no less than eight in the second half, when fans watched the clock as much as any player. Indiana improved to 35-2 at Assembly Hall over the past two seasons. Roy Devyn Marble led the Hawkeyes with 20 points, but Fran McCaffery’s team shot 38 percent for the game and dug a fatal hole with 14 first-half turnovers.
STAR OF THE GAME: All Zeller did was contribute 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Iowa center Adam Woodbury – who lagged far behind with four points and four fouls in 17 minutes of action – was no match. Zeller emphatically attacked the basket and dove to the floor with abandon in pursuit of loose balls. “We want to get it in the paint whether it’s throwing to the post or driving it,” the player of the year candidate said. “I just wanted to be aggressive. We always look to get to the free-throw line. That’s a good skill. We got in the bonus early. That was a key for us.” Zeller attempted 13 free throws, one shy of his season high, and made eight. Crean said Indiana is a better team when the ball touches Zeller’s hands, no matter what he does with it.
BEHIND THE SCENES: Zeller continues to progress toward being a first-round NBA draft selection, but to whom much is (about) to be given, much is expected. The 7-foot sophomore from sleepy Washington, Ind., was shown up by Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe on Tuesday. Zeller had just nine points as Mbakwe shined on both ends to lead his team to the upset victory. Zeller’s bounce-back night against Iowa quieted increasingly critical voices who question his readiness for professional basketball. “Cody will be better for having endured the scrutiny he goes through and being held to the standard he is,” Crean said. “He’s at a high level. It is an absolute honor to work with that young man every day and how his faith is as a person and how he’s been raised.” The coach said Zeller is bumped, knocked, bruised, bodied and hit as frequently as any other player in Division I. “You never see him change his expression,” Crean said. “He just keeps going. He’s a tough guy.”
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Christian Watford’s inconsistency has returned. Watford drifts in and out of games on occasion, but despite averages of roughly 13 points and seven rebounds, Indiana cannot simply pencil in those totals on a nightly basis. Watford scored just eight points in the loss to Minnesota, a total buoyed by two late 3s once the game was mostly decided. He was a non-factor on offense, and a detriment defensively and on the boards as the Golden Gophers rampaged in the paint. On Saturday, Watford managed five points and five rebounds, going 0-for-8 from the field. “It needs to touch Watford’s hands,” Crean said. Watford enjoys several advantages. He’s a senior, blessed with experience and wisdom. He’s strong. He’s a blistering 3-point shooter. And yet now, after a career-best run of 17 straight games with at least 10 points, Watford has fallen off the map. Watford typically eats third on the food chain, but that third scorer is critically important. When he is engaged and contributing, Indiana is at its best, because Watford has a proven track record in big games and clutch situations. More than likely, the power forward is enduring a two-game blip, but just one disappearing act in the NCAA tournament could be devastating.
YOGI-ISMS: Ferrell decisively outplayed Iowa counterpart Josh Oglesby, who finished with two points. By now it should be clear that Ferrell is mature beyond his years on the defensive end. Many teams – most famously Michigan State – have found the Hoosiers very tough at the point of attack. “We noticed we weren’t really making any shots,” Ferrell said. “We were hoping one would go down. It was a low-scoring game. The defensive tone set us up for the second half. The crucial thing was stops.” Ferrell continues to be a heady point guard with a good feel for the game. He had five assists Saturday, right on his season average, against just one turnover. His future projects so optimistically that Ferrell could one day average seven or eight assists over an entire season, much like Kendall Marshall did at North Carolina when Roy Williams surrounded his floor general with offensive weapons. Indiana continues to attract some of the most skilled players in the country, and Ferrell has three years to master his craft.
NEXT: Ohio State will be here Tuesday night in the Hoosiers’ final home game of the season. The No. 16 Buckeyes will be seeking revenge after Indiana won in Columbus in January. Thad Matta’s team is 21-7 and still a rugged bunch defensively.
Also: Cliff Brunt’s Sports XChange/Reuters story focusing on Ferrell: Indiana 73, Iowa 60.
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