Indiana’s win over Penn State more important than it appears
By TIM MEYER
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — If Indiana finds itself in the NCAA tournament next month, Thursday’s triple-overtime win will be a big reason why.
Not that a home win against Penn State (12-11, 4-6) is a resume builder, but a home loss to the Nittany Lions would have been devastating to their postseason hopes.
The Hoosiers (15-8, 5-5) have been riding a roller coaster of a season. From impressive wins (Kansas, North Carolina), to head-scratching losses (IPFW, Nebraska), to gut-punching injuries (Collin Hartman, OG Anunoby, James Blackmon, Jr.), this season has been anything but ordinary.
ICYMI: Highlights from 55 minutes of action last night. #iubb ⚪️🔴 https://t.co/LGjzlBIlil
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) February 2, 2017
So what happened on Thursday night against Penn State should not have been surprising. After maintaining a comfortable lead for most of the game, the Hoosiers let a 13-point lead slowly drift away in the second half. Needing two clutch free throws from freshman De’Ron Davis at the end of regulation to force overtime, they then needed a miraculously close layup as time expired from junior transfer Josh Newkirk to force a second overtime.
Indiana was finally able to seal the deal in triple-overtime, giving them a 110-102 win that showcased a number of outstanding individual efforts. Thomas Bryant led the way with his second straight game of setting a new career-high in scoring, this time setting the bar at 31. Newkirk and Robert Johnson also set career-highs, each with 27 points.
Looking ahead…
The big question about this game is; “What does this win mean for the rest of the season?” Depending on if you’re a glass-half- full or glass-half- empty type of person, you can view this game two different ways. If the glass is half-full, this was a great team win that saw a lot of younger players get big minutes. Davis, Devonte Green, and Zach McRoberts played huge roles, which can only benefit them going forward. Also, going through that many late-game situations is a great experience for everybody to learn from.
However, if you’re a glass-half- empty person, IU was frustratingly predictable with 23 turnovers. The most alarming stat for the Hoosiers this year – Out of 347 Division 1 teams, IU is 320 th in turnovers, averaging 15.2 per game. Those kinds of problems can be a huge problem against even mediocre teams, but they are a killer against really good teams. And the upcoming stretch of games is brutal; five out of their final eight regular-season games are on the road, starting with Wisconsin on Sunday. Their three home games aren’t easy, with Purdue on February 9th, then Michigan who crushed IU at home by 30 points, followed by Northwestern, another team that won soundly against IU just last week.
The standard accepted rule is to win all of your home games and split on the road. If IU were to do that, the Hoosiers would be 20-11 going into the Big Ten Tournament.
That would keep IU off of the bubble, probably close to a 9-seed, which is what ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is suggesting right now in his Bracketology.
With James Blackmon, Jr. reportedly coming back for the upcoming Purdue game, IU has a chance to control its tournament destiny. But judging by this season so far, make sure you’re strapped in, it’s going to be a wild ride.
