The Minute After | Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis

The Minute After: Syracuse

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | March 29th, 2013

Thoughts on a 61-50 loss to the Orange:

The dream dies tonight.

No Banner Six from this group, no march onwards to the Elite Eight for a matchup against Tom Crean’s former Marquette team. In a season filled with so much promise and so many expectations, the Hoosiers are done. They advance no further than last year’s Sweet Sixteen appearance, and it’s a disappointment.

This was a special team with special kids. But Syracuse’s zone defense, its length and athleticism, was just too much for Indiana. It was a style and a group of athletes the likes of which the Hoosiers hadn’t faced this season. And, save for a brief glimmer of hope early in the second half, they were dominated for much of the contest because of it. Indiana turned it over on 28.4 percent of its possessions (a season-high 19 turnovers). The Hoosiers were so overmatched in the first half, they were once down 18. Six different Syracuse players recorded a total of 10 blocks, about half of them coming on Cody Zeller field goal attempts. Zeller is an elite college player, but the truth is this: His style of playing low to the ground makes him susceptible against length and athleticism, and he struggled against it all year — no more glaring than tonight.

Syracuse’s D got so stingy that Christian Watford couldn’t even get off desperation 3-point attempts at the end of the contest. It was a tough matchup they simply couldn’t overcome. Yet, the Orange only scored 61 points (.910 points per possession). On most nights this year, that’s not enough to best the Hoosiers. But tonight, with so much on the line, it was. After the game, IU players, including Jordan Hulls and Remy Abell, spoke of thinking too much instead of just playing. There was a certain deer-in-the-headlights look to the Hoosiers tonight, and it did little to help matters.

Before this season, there were questions about a starting backcourt of Hulls and Yogi Ferrell. Could such a small duo defend night in and night out? It was a narrative that never gained much steam because Indiana’s overall defense was so much better than last season and matchups were never that big of an issue for them … until tonight. Brandon Triche (14 points, 6-of-12) abused Jordan Hulls time and again. Yogi Ferrell didn’t even start the second half. The duo failed to score (a combined 0-of-8). Hulls finished the month of March just 9-of-37 from 3-point range (24.3 percent).

“It will haunt me for the rest of my life,” Hulls said of his late season shooting struggles tonight after the game, and that just rips your heart out.

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The Minute After: Temple

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | March 24th, 2013

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Thoughts on a 58-52 win against the Owls:

They did it. Finally.

The Hoosiers, in a grind-it-out game reminiscent of losses this season, got over the hump in a low-scoring affair and willed themselves to victory in crunch time.

It was tough and far from beautiful. But they survive, and D.C. and the Sweet Sixteen are calling.

Much was made of the Khalif Wyatt-Victor Oladipo matchup. Wyatt owned the first half, scoring 20 points in 20 minutes on 8-of-14 shooting. Crean tried others beyond Oladipo like Remy Abell and Will Sheehey, but Wyatt kept old-manning IU, kept hitting while his teammates only mustered nine of the team’s first half points. IU trailed 29-26 at the break, as Jordan Hulls iced his shoulder in the locker room and Cody Zeller sat with two fouls.

Temple, a team that played five-straight one point games during the season, was physical and grabbed this game by the throat. It got second-chance opportunities with offensive rebounding. It slowed the Hoosiers into a halfcourt game. This is the formula to beat Indiana, and the Owls were sitting pretty. Had they hit more shots in the first half (heck, had they hit more shots period with just a 33.9 percent mark from the field for the game and a terrible 3-of-24 performance from distance), and Indiana might be heading back to Bloomington with tail firmly between its legs.

But the Hoosiers played the second half exactly how they needed to in this type of game. Cody Zeller had a rough afternoon (six turnovers, 4-of-10 from the field), but Indiana went to him time and time again early in the second half and he kept drawing fouls, which set up an early bonus situation for IU. The fruits of that labor were capitalized on at the end of the contest, as Indiana got two double bonus trips to the line in the closing minute of the game, where Oladipo hit 1-of-2 and Watford hit 2-of-2. The Hoosiers finished the game 16-of-20 from the line.

And because Temple couldn’t buy a bucket — and because Wyatt went cold for a stretch amidst all his barking and jawing and cursing — Indiana never trailed by more than six and was always within striking distance.

“The big thing for us was that Temple never got any separation,” Crean would say after the game.

And so a late strike would be made.

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The Minute After: James Madison

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | March 22nd, 2013

Thoughts on an 83-62 win against the Dukes:

This was how it was supposed to go.

Indiana did not mess around, did not let the Dukes for a second think an upset was brewing. Yogi Ferrell, with JMU perhaps keying on Cody Zeller and all the shooters around him, hit on drives at the rim and from beyond the arc. He scored the Hoosiers’ first nine points as JMU scored none. 9-0 Hoosiers, and the blowout was on.

This had the look and feel of an early season non-conference home game for the Hoosiers. The talent gap between them and their opponent was vast and the game was pretty much over at halftime. But as we also saw in those games, Tom Crean made sure his Hoosiers remained engaged after halftime. They would full-court press; they would trap in the halfcourt; they would keep the pedal firmly to the metal. Their edge remained intact. Some late 3-pointers from JMU would take this from a 30-ish point victory for the Hoosiers to where it finished up — a 21-point win.

The numbers impress: The Hoosiers ended the game scoring 1.297 points per possession with an eFG percentage of 60.9. Indiana also snagged 41.4 percent of their offensive rebounding opportunities for 12-second chance points and scored 15 points on the fastbreak. It also was pretty good with the ball, turning it over on just 14.1 percent of its possessions.

They held JMU to .969 points per possession and just 41.9 shooting from the field. (Though, Andre Nations, who had five blocks in the Dukes’ win against LIU-Brooklyn deserves some love here. He led all scorers with 24 points and appears to have a bright future ahead of him as a two-way player.) Ferrell finished the early evening with a (sorta) near triple-double: 16 points (7-of-12), eight rebounds and six assists. This was a terrific debut for Indiana’s quarterback to start the NCAA Tournament. Jordan Hulls got out of his slump some, as he hit 2-of-5 from distance, 3-of-6 overall and 2-of-2 from the line for 10 points. Others joined Hulls and Ferrell in double-digits. Zeller had 11 (4-of-5 from the field, including some strong dunks, 3-of-4 from the line). Victor Oladipo scored 11 (3-of-7, 4-of-4 from the line).

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The Minute After: Wisconsin

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | March 16th, 2013

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Photo via Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Thoughts on a 68-56 loss to the Badgers:

CHICAGO — Another shot at the Badgers for Tom Crean’s Hoosiers, and a frustratingly familiar result. Indiana had its chances to finally put together the Wisconsin puzzle, but it still remains unsolved with Indiana left picking up the pieces.

Jared Berggren worked hard and denied Cody Zeller post touches. Against the Illini, Zeller dominated a weak frontline. But he had to work and work and work this afternoon and found but a few decent looks all game. Mike Bruesewitz said after that Berggren “set the tone early” by knocking entry passes away and made “life miserable for (Zeller).” The numbers back such a statement. Zeller didn’t score his first bucket until the 3:49 mark of the first half — against a less-skilled post defender in Frank Kaminsky. He finished the game just 4-of-10, though a 5-of-7 performance from the line allowed him to sneak into double-digits (13 points).

“They do a nice job inside of not fouling, clogging the lane a lot,” Zeller said of Wisconsin’s defense.

But it was more than just the job the Badgers did on Zeller. Wisconsin’s defense suffocated Indiana’s offense over the final 9:45 of the game. After pulling to within one at 50-49, Indiana would score just seven points the rest of the way. The Hoosiers sat at 49 until a Christian Watford score at 5:13 gave them 51. Another score from Watford at the 3:42 mark and a late 3-pointer from Jordan Hulls (:34) would be the only points the Hoosiers mustered. They tried freeing Hulls. They tried Victor Oladipo going around ball screens. They tried going inside to Zeller. They tried converting on second-chance opportunities at the rim, only to miss. Wisconsin simply froze them in the halfcourt, took them out of what they tried to do.

“I think we played great defense,” Ryan Evans said.

They did. Wisconsin’s defensive efforts this afternoon resulted in Indiana’s lowest offensive output of the season (.89 points per possession). It was Indiana’s first double-dight loss of the season and the lowest final point total (56) of the season, too. The only other times Indiana has been held under 60 in 2012-13? Its previous loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 15 (59) and its loss to Ohio Sate on senior night (58).

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The Minute After: Illinois

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | March 15th, 2013

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Thoughts on an 80-64 victory over Illinois:

CHICAGO — Two D.J. Richardson free throws closed the gap to 60-52 with 8:17 to go, and you wondered: Would it happen again? Would the Illini make a late charge like they did all those weeks ago in Champaign and make a game of it after the Hoosiers had controlled it for so long?

Nope. Not this time, not this team. It was as close as Illinois would get the rest of the way, as Indiana simply wouldn’t allow for a collapse. It finished the game on a 20-12 run — enough for a comfortable 16-point victory and punctuated with a breakaway #nomee 360-degree slam from Victor Oladipo, who shut down a whining Brandon Paul (2-of-13) and posted yet another double-double (12 points, 11 boards).

Both teams would have difficulty adjusting to the United Center’s sight lines to begin the contest. By the second TV timeout, the Hoosiers and Illini were only a combined 5-of-19 from the floor. At half, the teams combined to shoot only 2-of-14 from distance. It was also a bit of a slopfest; they combined for 19 turnovers. But the Hoosiers were able to take a 14-point lead (35-21) into the break because of their ability to score at the cup (18 points in the paint) and get to the line (10-of-12) — accounting for 28 of their 35 first half points. Indiana also put on a defensive clinic and held the Illini to just a 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) shooting from the floor.

Things opened up a bit for both team’s in the second half, which allowed Illini that run to cut the gap to eight. But by game’s end, the Hoosiers held U of I to under a point per possession (.96), just about what the Hoosiers’ defense averaged in league play (.98).

Cody Zeller is dominant in his own right, but against Illini’s weak frontline, he feasted all game long and was efficient in the process — a 9-of-11 performance for 24 points. He would post a perfect 6-of-6 line from the line and find Will Sheehey — who was strong offensively for a second straight game (11 points, 4-of-4) — on a nifty back door cut in the first half. His afternoon would not be without fault, though, as he did record four of Indiana’s 16 turnovers. The Hoosiers turned the ball over on 21.3 percent of their possessions.

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The Minute After: Michigan

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | March 10th, 2013

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Thoughts on a 72-71 win against the Wolverines:

This had the makings of a disaster.

The Hoosiers looked out of sorts for too long in the first half after bolting out to a 10-3 lead. Hanner Mosquera-Perea — who hadn’t played since MSU on Feb. 19 — and Remy Abell were hoisting misses during a nearly five-minute scoring drought. After a couple buckets, Indiana would then hit another four-minute scoring drought and find itself down a season-high 11 points, as the Crisler Center reached fever pitch.

It was maybe the most listless nine minutes of play from the Hoosiers all season in a game they desperately needed to bring it. But eventually the ship began to sail the right course again. Victor Oladipo got — what else? — a steal and a lay-in. Christian Watford (1-of-7) made his only bucket of the game on — what else? — a trailing 3-pointer. Cody Zeller, after looking soft, started to assert himself for scores and — what else? — trips to the free throw line.

At half, despite scoring under a point per possession, the Hoosiers were down just 33-30.

The second half would be a back-and-forth affair. Indiana went up 36-35 on a Jordan Hulls 3-pointer. The Wolverines then pushed the lead to six at the 15:22 mark, after back-to-back Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway 3-pointers. In the final 20 minutes, the Wolverines would connect on 7-of-12 from distance and never turned the ball over in a stadium they were perfect in this season … until this late afternoon. Burke continually broke down the D, kept his dribble to the baseline and found open teammates in the corner, who would connect on the 3-ball.

But the Hoosiers stayed in it all second half because they had some advantages of their own — namely size and offensive rebounding. Zeller would continue to attack and get to the line. He finished with a beastly 25 points (10-of-19, 5-of-8 from the line) and 10 rebounds. He must continue to attack and stay the course and want it like he did today, with tournament time officially here. It wasn’t all great, as Zeller recorded six of Indiana’s 14 turnovers, but with his aggression comes a bit of sloppiness now and again.

In a game they didn’t shoot particularly well, (42.9 percent from the field, 47.9 effective field goal percentage), second-chance points were enormous for the Hoosiers. They rebounded 57.1 percent of their misses and the effort led to 17 second-chance points. Jeremy Hollowell got a rebound and put it back in. Will Sheehey — who had a huge 10 points, including two triples — got a putback for a score. Victor Oladipo ripped a Watford airball prayer out of the sky as the shot clock was expiring and connected for two as the buzzer sounded.

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The Minute After: Ohio State

by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | March 6th, 2013

Thoughts on a 67-58 loss to the Buckeyes:

There would be no outright Big Ten title awarded on Senior Night, no fitting ending to the group that brought Indiana back to its rightful place on top of the college basketball mountain. No, the Buckeyes would come into this game like the Badgers did all those weeks ago, with confidence, no fear and the belief that they could rip the hearts outs of the Assembly Hall faithful, and that they did.

The second half was an absolute defensive clinic against the most efficient offense in the nation, a performance reminiscent of Ohio State’s comeback run against the Spartans at home a few weekends back — strips and steals and blocks on the defensive end leading to buckets, many of them coming from Aaron Craft. Craft is pest, a nuisance, a gnat on defense. But when he also has it going on the other end of the court, when he’s getting to the rim and hitting his jumper, he’s that much more integral to the Buckeyes. And he was doing that tonight. His line: 15 points (7-of-10), four steals, four assists. Dan Dakich called him the most important player on the floor on a few occasions on the call, and well: He was probably right.

By the final buzzer and Tom Crean’s speedy handshake to Thad Matta, the Buckeyes had racked up eight steals, seven blocks and scored 17 of their points off of Indiana’s turnovers. (Indiana would score nine in this department.) They’d hold the Hoosiers to just 39.6 percent shooting from the field and .96 points per possession. Cody Zeller (17 points) and Christian Watford (12 points) would be the only Hoosiers in double-digits on the evening. Saddled with foul trouble in the first half, Victor Oladipo wouldn’t even attempt a shot. He made up for lost time to start the second half, scoring five points in an out-the-gate run that saw IU score on seven of its first eight possessions. But the aforementioned OSU defense turned up the heat and Oladipo would finish with seven points (3-of-6) and an uncharacteristic four turnovers. Will Sheehey and Yogi Ferrell would end the night a combined 4-of-16.

Ohio State’s second-best defense in the conference on a per-possession basis did it’s thing tonight, and the Hoosiers had just too large a deficit (11 points, a season-high) with too little time left to make a run at a come-from-behind victory. The Buckeyes also did a better job of cleaning up their misses (an offensive rebounding percent of 35.3 compared to Indiana’s 28.6) and recorded 10 second-chance points to IU’s seven.

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