Here are some talking points:

+ It didn’t seem like Indiana had much going offensively in the first half — except for all those shots the IU radio team said Jordan Hulls put three-quarters of the way down that came back out — but Maurice Creek absolutely lit it up with 17 points, largely on the back of the four threes he hit. It was a large reason the Hoosiers had a lead at half, 34-29. But it should have been a bigger lead than that, as Boston only shot 20 percent — 20 percent! — in the first half.

But Creek didn’t register a point in the second half, and with a chance to tie the game with under 30 seconds to go, he missed what would have been a game-typing three pointer.

+ IU did a much better job taking of the ball tonight, as they only registered 12 turnovers. But it was negated by an awful showing on the boards. Boston snatched 19 offensive rebounds, and scored 19 second-chance points to IU’s three. The Terriers were the ones with the turnover problems tonight: they had 21, which led to 14 points off turnovers for IU.

+ IU did  a better job with free throws this evening, too. But it still wasn’t that great. They were 14-of-22 for 63.6 percent. Make a few more, and a four-point loss suddenly becomes a one-point win.

+ This would have been a good victory for this young squad, especially as far as confidence is concerned. But alas, they just were never able to mount a lead of any substance in the second half and let the Terriers hang around until they grabbed a small lead in the final minutes, and that was that. And IU has George Mason next, which is no cakewalk, either.

This is what this Hoosiers team can be. Running the break efficiently, not letting teams get set up on D, pushing the pace, getting controlled buckets in transition with Jeremiah Rivers and Verdell Jones leading the charge. It actually looked slow to me at points, because IU wasn’t trying to do too much — just simply taking what they were offered.

Rivers had a nice play during this stretch, as he grabbed an air ball and went coast to coast. But then Ole Miss turned up the pressure, started dominating inside, starting hitting shots, blocking IU’s shots, and IU began turning the ball over at an alarming rate. What was once a 20-11 lead quickly became a double-digit deficit.

Ole Miss just had too much to throw at the Hoosiers. They blocked a ridiculous 12 shots on both lines (starters DeAundre Cranston and Eniel Polynice had two each; Terrico White had one, while the bench picked up the remaining seven), and scored at will in stretches. They overpowered IU. The Hoosiers were able to make mini-runs here and there — something last year’s team would not have done — and had it to 69-61 with a bit over 5:00 to go. But after yet another turnover on a fast break (an errant Devan Dumes pass), that was basically it for their chances at a comeback.

THE BAD: TURNOVERS AND FREE THROWS.

So far this season, what killed IU last year is killing them this year. Sure, there’s more talent at pretty much every position. And a turnover from Rivers this early evening might not look as bad as a Daniel Moore one from last year. But the fact remains: this team is having an awful time taking care of the ball. They had 14 turnovers at half, and 21 for the game. Rivers led the way with six (though some of his drives to the rim were pretty, no?), while Maurice Creek had five. And free-throw shooting was bad again as well: the Hoosiers only hit 12 of their 27 attempts for 44 percent.

It’s tough to win a game, no matter how well you play otherwise, when you’re shooting under 50 percent from the free-throw line and turning the ball over more than 20 times in a contest.

I have faith the Hoosiers can correct the sloppiness as they begin to adjust to Crean’s up-tempo style. But sometimes with free-throw shooting you either have it or you don’t.

THE UGLY:

Tom Pritchard’s air-balled free throw. Back-to-back-to-back missed threes from nearly the same spot late in the second half: the first two from Dumes, the last one from Maurice Creek. The near empty gym:

Watford continues to impress. He’s been billed as a guy that can do it all, and this game really highlighted that: he got boards, hit shots, created in the lane, got some steals, a block, and he even brought the ball up the court on one occasion. For the night he had 17 points, 10 boards, two steals and one block. He’s not a dominant player yet, but he has the tools to develop into one.

Elston was a lot of fun to watch tonight. He showed off his range with a 3-ball, and on another one that he missed in the second half, he did a good job of following his shot, which led to a board and a bucket for him. (This is something I don’t remember Matt Roth doing once last season.) Elston also had a nice tip-in follow on a miss from Verdell Jones. He’s got a nice nose for the ball, works hard and is a polished player for a freshman. I’m really liking his game thus far.

THE BAD: THE FIRST HALF, TURNOVERS AND FREE THROWS.

This game had shades of last season, as the Hoosiers racked up 18 turnovers, and only went 16-of-30 from the line. The beginning of the game was particularly rough; the Hoosiers never built any momentum or rhythm and let the Spartans hang around. It was a very sloppy affair. It’s clear Jeremiah Rivers is a terrific passer, but he was a little off this evening as he had four turnovers. It was almost as if he was trying to do too much. IU isn’t going to turn the ball over like this all season, but heading into their first real test of the year against Mississippi on Thursday, it’s a little worrisome.

THE UGLY: DEVAN DUMES.

I feel bad for Dumes. Last year, outside of Tom Pritchard, he was expected to be the man on offense. But this year, with an influx of talent around him, Dumes has to swallow his pride and assume a new role, and it’s not something I’m sure he’s going to handle particularly well, at least to start. With more size on this team, he looks smaller out on the court now, too. He’s still going to pop when he has the chance, but tonight was a particularly rough one for him: in 20 minutes, he had four turnovers — a few that were real ugly — and shot 1-of-6 from the field, 0-of-3 for behind the arc and 0-of-1 from the line. He did have five boards, however.

This is but one game, so it’s a small sample size. Dumes has plenty of time to find his mark.

BONUS: GUS JOHNSON’S SPECS.

It’s not that I didn’t still watch, or didn’t still hope IU would win, it’s just that I didn’t find myself cursing out the TV every game, didn’t find myself hooting and hollering like I’d done so many times before.

Tonight was different. Tonight I cursed. Tonight I slapped my hands together and clapped. Tonight my heart skipped a few beats. This is what it’s supposed to be like; I had almost forgotten.

After Tom Izzo picked up that technical foul and MSU went on that ridiculous scoring drought, I believed. Believed IU had a legitimate shot at winning this game. We’ve been close countless times this season and I’ve thought the opposite. IU is bound to lose, IU will blow this, the Hoosiers are doing the same thing they always do: play hard and then watch it come crumbling down late in the game.

I’m not sure why I thought different tonight. Perhaps it was the dulcet tones of Steve Lavin and Brent Musburger. Perhaps it’s because I’m mentally to next season already, and an effort like this made me think the Hoosiers were already there.

Whatever it was, I was hooked, enraptured for the last ten minutes of this ballgame. It felt good, felt right. But as soon as Raymar Morgan did this with 27 seconds to go, that was just about it:

Sure, IU still had a legit shot to win, as the Hoosiers were only down four points. It was far from insurmountable. But this year’s feelings starting to creep in again. If they’d only shot better than 64 percent from the free-throw line, they’d be right in this still, or winning. If they only didn’t turn the ball over 22 times, they might be winning. If they only didn’t blow all those chances when MSU was missing shots and turning the ball over the last few minutes, they would certainly be winning this game.

But, as always with the 2008-09 incarnation of the Indiana Hoosiers, all the hustle, scrap and effort in the world can’t win you a basketball game if other components aren’t working in conjunction with all that.

But that will come next year. And I’ll be cursing at my TV right along with it. I can’t wait.

THE GOOD:

A hot start. IU rushed out to a 15-7 lead in the first five minutes, but once Northwestern switched to a 1-3-1 zone, they only mustered 38 points the last 35 minutes of the game.

Stopping Kevin Coble … for a half. I’m not sure if it had more to do with IU really D’ing up on Coble or the Wildcats just not finding him on the offensive end, but holding a guy averaging 15.5 points a game to only two points in the first half ain’t too shabby. Coble showed more signs of life in the second half, as he had some easy scores on Northwestern’s patented back-door cuts. He finished with 10 for the game. But where Coble faltered, Craig Moore and Michael Thompson shined.

IU outrebounded Northwestern 31-25 for the game and on the offensive end, buried them 15-5. (Though, we know why that is.)

The Hoosiers also tallied 16 assists on the night, which was their most since Jan. 31 against Ohio State.

THE BAD:

Turnovers. 17 of them. Long scoreless stretches. Holes in the defense. You know, same as it ever was this season.

THE UGLY:

From left to right: Tijan Jobe, Steven Gambles, Michael Santa. (Kory Barnett and Broderick Lewis were also on the floor at the end of the game.)

Who is Michael Santa, you ask? Well, he’s a manager Tom Crean thought deserved a jersey. And, he’s wearing Armon Bassett’s number! Apparently, Crean isn’t stopping there. He wants to suit up another manager, Brandon Profitt. But Proffitt is injured at the moment. Perhaps he pulled a finger reaching into a vending machine to grab a Diet Coke for Crean. (I kid; I’m sure these are both nice, hard-working guys that are giving their all in practice just like the rest of the team.)

But yeah, I’m not sure if it gets any lower than this: IU losing to Northwestern for the first time in 41 years at home and the first time ever in Assembly Hall, as a tiny crowd watches Santa and company in the final minute. Yeesh.

THE GOOD:

The second half. During their first matchup, Illinois was one of the teams this year that IU was never in the game against. At halftime, it sure looked like that was going to be the case again this afternoon. But, as we’ve seen so many times this season, IU did not quit. The Hoosiers did not give up. They fought. And though they never seriously threatened to win this game — six was as close as they got — they showed some amazing resolve in front of a packed crowd at home. Crawling back from a 21-point deficit to come as close as six is never an easy thing.

It was a combination of two things: IU shot 57 percent in the second half, and as Greg Anthony alluded to, IU switched up to a triangle and two on the defensive end, which slowed the Illini down a bit. Oh, also: Illinois stopped blocking all our shots.

Individually, Matt Roth continues to show no fear, as he went for 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

THE BAD AND UGLY:

Free throws. IU lost this game by 13 points. They missed 13 free throws. If they make half of those that they missed — in the six or seven range — the Hoosiers are in better shape the last few minutes of the game. And if they made them all, or close to them all, who knows?

The first half. I’m trying to block that out my memory of it, so I will just say one thing: It was bad. Real bad.

For the game, IU only turned the ball over 13 times.

THE BAD AND UGLY:

The first half. Whoa boy: it was tough to watch, even by this year’s standards. Turnover after turnover after turnover. And then a few more turnovers. When the fist half was said and done, IU racked up 15 of ‘em. Minnesota snatched nine steals on the Hoosiers during the first half, cutting into the passing lanes for easy deuces. For the game, IU had 26 turnovers.

Breaking the press. When Minnesota decided to go full-court press on IU midway through the second half, they went on an 11-0 run.

THE GOOD:

IU kept it close on the road against a team that has been ranked for part of the season. This is all coming from a team that started four freshman and Kyle Taber, and were without their leading scorer in Devan Dumes. IU also played great defense, as Minnesota struggled to get anything going on the offensive end.

Like I’ve written about before, tonight was another night where IU’s opponent played down to the Hoosiers’ level. The Golden Gophers had 18 turnovers on the night; they’re averaging 14.

After a Matt Roth three with a little under 13 minutes to go, IU actually had the lead, 34-33. But a win was not to be.

Lastly, props to Malik Story. When IU couldn’t get a darn thing going on the offensive end in the first half, Story tallied 11 of the Hoosiers’ 20 points.

– Jeremiah Rivers’ plaid shirt.

– Devan Dumes. He was 8-of-9 for the night, including 5-of-5 from 3-point land. He scored 27 points. You can’t ask for a better night than that.

- Kyle Taber looking crafty around the rim on two consecutive possession in the second half with around five minutes to go. I repeat: Kyle Taber looking crafty around the rim on two consecutive possessions with about five minutes to go.

– Only 11 turnovers this evening.

– Closing out a game. Finally. That has been perhaps the most infuriating aspect of this season to date. It wasn’t pretty, but those final two steals helped, as Chubs would say, “ease the tension.”

– WE WON!!!!

THE BAD AND UGLY:

– Free Throws. Horrible. Again. Tom. Pritchard. Dis. A. Ppeared. But. I. Don’t. Care. We. Won. YES.

Northwestern: 77 Indiana: 75

THE GOOD:

For the first time in a long time — maybe all season? — the Hoosiers looked like they belonged. Despite the high number of turnovers, IU played so crisp and smooth at points, I had to stop and soak it in. Hey, these guys actually look pretty darn good. In the second half as the intensity crept up and Kevin Coble started dropping in ridiculous shots, IU responded time and time again. Unlike so many other games when I just knew no matter how close it was in the end IU was destined to lose, I genuinely thought they had this game. I was screaming as Matt Roth’s three hit the bottom of the net to tie the game with around 30 seconds or so to go. It’s been a while since I’ve been that emotional about this team.

As the announcers said all second half, this was just a flat-out enjoyable college basketball game to watch. It was extremely physical (who knew?), it was intense, it was two basketball teams that were hell-bent on winning.

Devan Dumes had one of his on nights. Try five 3-pointers in the first half and a career high 26 points on 9-of-16 from the field. IU out-rebounded the crap out of Northwestern, 30-19. And perhaps the best stat of the night: IU hit all 11 free throws it took in the second half, including six from Malik Story. For the game, they made 17-of-19. This is good to see.

THE BAD AND UGLY:

It’s such a cliche, and not to mention, nearsighted, to point to the last moments of the game and peg a loss on one specific play, but hell, I’m going to do it anyways: why, why, why, why, why, did Dumes foul Craig Moore several feet behind the 3-point line at the top of the key with six seconds to go and the game tied? It was an incredibly blatant reach in; it was just plain silly.

Immediately when it happened, I thought to myself: “Did he do that on purpose, so IU would get the ball back and he could hit a game winner?” That’s about the only explanation I can come up with on that.

And then, yup: the final turnover. Fitting, I suppose, that IU squanders its chance to tie or win the game with five seconds left on a turnover on the inbounds pass. It was No. 22 on the night.

So, there you have it: IU’s best game of the season results in its 10th straight loss. But, there was an incredible amount of encouragement tonight. That Big Ten win is coming soon. I can just feel it.

Penn State: 65  Indiana: 55

THE GOOD:

After a couple of woeful games, IU returned home Saturday night and played Penn State well enough to keep it interesting and fight for a win. There was no doom and gloom like we experienced throughout the Ohio State and Illinois games. Tonight’s team competed, and competed well. Sure, you may say it was just Penn State, but this is not the Penn State of old. This Nittany Lions incarnation has talent at many positions. They’ve beaten Purdue, and played very close against Wisconsin and Michigan State.

First thing to point out: Free throws. IU was a remarkable 12-of-14 for 85.7 percent. I think that’s the best they’ve shot all season. Too bad it wasn’t close enough at the end for this to make a difference.

IU also continues to out-rebound their Big Ten opponents. They snatched 32 to Penn State’s 25 tonight. I don’t know how much this has really helped the Hoosiers in Big Ten season so far, but it’s encouraging nonetheless. IU’s defense was also rather strong tonight. Though Penn State was hot, hot, hot for a stretch in the first half, things weren’t as quick and easy as they’ve been for our opponents the last two games.

Lastly, even when we went down 10 and this game looked like it was done and over, IU fought hard, hitting two threes late to try and keep it close. Credit the guys for not giving up, and the coaching staff for continuing to keep this team’s effort level high. Penn State scored 34 points in the second half. IU had 32.

It’s games like tonight’s when you realize if IU can keep this kind of intensity and hard work up once more talent arrives next year, the Hoosiers should be just fine.

THE BAD AND UGLY:

Argh, that first half. Twenty-nine percent shooting from the floor is not good. And those seven offensive rebounds are a little deceptive, as IU missed a lot of shots in close to the rim, got a rebound and then missed again.

It’s not just missing shots, it’s missing those bunnies, those lay-ups, those gimme-gimmies that IU should be making. If a couple of those fall, who knows how this one turns out?

These Hoosiers continually shoot themselves in the foot early on in games, by getting off to such slow starts, and then having to battle back if they want any chance at victory. Five to 10 minutes into some of these games, IU is barely on pace for 25 points. And yeah: 55 points tonight. It’s hard to win many games scoring that many points.

We’re now at eight straight loses, as we haven’t won since Dec. 10 against TCU. Sigh.