Hoosiers drop second straight game after 7-0 start
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — The stage was set for a wild day in Indianapolis on Saturday. It’s a day I’m not sure anyone thought was even possible over the years, with the Indiana Hoosiers playing in the Big Ten Football Championship at Lucas Oil against Ohio State. Before the evening fun began, the Hoosiers basketball team had a big one on the schedule as well, taking on the #6 ranked Louisville Cardinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Did you ever dream IU/Louisville would be the second biggest Indiana game of the day?
After dropping the conference opener at Minnesota on Wednesday night, the Hoosiers had a quick opportunity to redeem themselves against a strong opponent. The loss at The Barn made the Hoosier faithful nervous, and fans were hoping the team could calm some nerves in their follow-up game. Instead, those nerves were amplified to start Saturday’s game, with Lousiville taking a commanding 16-0 lead to start the game. It took the Hoosiers nearly six minutes to score, and that was the story of the afternoon. Indiana showed fight, cutting the lead to six at one point, before trailing 41-27 at Halftime. In the second half, Indiana cut the lead to eight as the building came alive. At the end of the day, the Cardinals were too big, too fast, and too good for Indiana. Louisville ultimately came away with an 87-78 victory.
“When you’re down 16-0 against a team like that, it’s tough,” said Head Coach Darien DeVries. “The mistakes we made, they made us pay. We had some moments, but overall it was too much of a deficit.”
Each time the Hoosiers made a run, Louisville came back with a dagger three. The Cardinals were led by Indiana native Ryan Conwell who scored 21 points. They had four others in double-figures and went 13-for-31 from behind the arc for the game. The Hoosiers were led by Tucker DeVries who scored 26 points, mostly due to a 12-for-13 night from the foul line. On the bright side, the Hoosiers outscored a great team in the final 35 minutes of the game. There are no moral victories, however, and you’ve got to play a full 40 minutes on this stage.
“There’s plenty of positives,” said Coach DeVries. “There’s positives and negatives. Our ability to continue to fight was good. I thought our guys had composure. Unfortunately we could never quite get over that hump to get us within a couple possessions.”
This Hoosiers team will likely live and die by the three all season long. On Saturday, they finished 11-of-24 from behind the arc, but a lot of the makes were in the closing minutes, including five of them from Nick Dorn. If the shots aren’t falling, you might see some frustrating losses throughout the season, followed by other nights where they look like an NCAA Tournament team. The Big Ten Conference itself will surely feature a long list of teams that can win or lose on any given night. With a brand new coaching staff and roster, it might also take a little time before the Hoosiers find their stride. For now, it’s a 7-2 start and no time to feel sorry for themselves. Indiana will take on Penn State at home next week, followed by a date with Kentucky at Rupp Arena next Saturday.
Indiana is still currently in the top 30 in the nation in KenPom and will have plenty of opportunities to grow and build their resume moving forward.
