Sunday, 5 May 2024

Hoosiers top Northwestern after roller coaster week

Tyler Smith December 1, 2018 0

(Romeo Langford scored 20 points in his first Big Ten Conference game. Photo by: Getty Images)

By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor

BLOOMINGTON —  It’s been a roller coaster kind of week for the Indiana Hoosiers basketball program.  After losing 90-69 at Duke on Tuesday, Indiana regrouped to have a big weekend.  On Friday, they landed 2019 5-star recruit Trayce Jackson Davis.  And on Saturday, the Hoosiers opened conference play with a 68-66 victory over Northwestern at Assembly Hall.

Even the game itself was a roller coaster of emotions.  Neither team led by more than five points from wire to wire.  Senior Juwan Morgan went down with an injury with just over three minutes to play.  And the Hoosiers survived, making enough plays down the stretch to start the conference season at 1-0.

Freshman Romeo Langford made the game’s biggest plays, driving into the lane for a bucket to give Indiana a 65-63 lead with 35.5 seconds to play.  He then deflected a pass that caused a Northwestern turnover on the next possession.  The Wildcats decided not to foul, which led to a fast-break lay-up from Justin Smith.

Langford scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting in his first Big Ten game.  When Morgan went down, Langford knew Coach Miller wanted him to step up. “I feel like that was already stated without having to say it,” Langford said. “We knew that Juwan went down, got injured, and we just knew it was crunch time.”

Before getting injured, Juwan Morgan put together another huge game with 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Coach Miller did not have an update on his status immediately after the game.  Hoosier Nation will hold its collective breath, as their entire season could rest on that pending news.

Coach Miller was pleased with the effort, and just happy to get the win. “To find a way to win a conference game in December is a good thing,” he said. “I can’t imagine playing in this league in January and February. I don’t see a team that’s not very good.”

Junior guard Devonte Green had similar thoughts:

Miller continued: “We had a lot of guys in there who have never been in that situation in conference play, so they got some experience today.

Turnovers and Free-Throw shooting continue to be things to watch for this team.  The Hoosiers committed 13 turnovers on Saturday, but four of them came in the first seven minutes.  Free-throw shooting also improved down the stretch when they needed it most.  After going just 4-of-10 from the line, Indiana went 7-for-9 from the stripe down the stretch.

“We work on free-throws every day,” said sophomore Justin Smith. “We just have to concentrate.  They’ll start falling.  We’ve just got to make them. They’re free.”

The Hoosiers were just 3-of-11 from 3-point range, but made 24-of-38 (63%) in their 2-point attempts.  Winning games without shooting well from deep or from the line is hard to do, and Indiana passed that first test.

As for landing another top recruit, Archie Miller had this to say: “Hopefully that builds confidence that the best want to come here. We worked tirelessly with him and his family. To get that caliber player, obviously, from the state is huge.”

Miller added that Romeo Langford coming to Indiana definitely has an impact on others. “Romeo deciding to come here was a feather in the cap for our program and staff. I have no doubt it has an affect on other recruits.”

Indiana has a very short turnaround, as they play at Penn State on Tuesday night.  If the last week is any indication for how the season will go- Hoosier nation needs to buckle up for a wild ride.

 

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