THE GOOD

After the Wake Forest drubbing Wednesday, I think we were all bracing for a slaughter this afternoon inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Gonzaga has size, experience, talent; they’re ranked No. 5 in the country and are serious contenders to make the Final Four.

IU was only down nine with 3:35 to go.

Now, this wasn’t so much IU playing their best game of the year, playing at a higher level than we’ve seen — it was Gonzaga only hitting 3-of-16 3-point attempts, the Bulldogs shooting 45.8 percent from the field and only 59.1 percent from the line. IU does deserve some credit for their defense, but in the first half Gonzaga seemed uncomfortable with the odd angles and sightlines at Lucas Oil. It was an off game for them on the offensive end.

But setting aside all that, IU was in this game until the last couple minutes. No matter how many times we turned the ball over, no matter how many times we got nothing going on offense and had to chuck something up in desperation as the shot clock ran down, we were in this game. Credit Tom Crean for getting these guys to scrap. Credit the team for not giving in and playing hard till the buzzer sounded. And credit the guys that went to the line today, as we hit a respectable 19-of-24. I’ll take it. Hitting 50 percent of our 3-pointers (6-of-12) in the second half helped out a ton, too.

(Aside: This is two games in a row now the general consensus was the other team — Wake, Gonzaga — played bad. Perhaps this is a trend. If IU can get teams like Penn State, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota or Iowa to play bad too, maybe we’ll sneak a couple wins out when Big Ten season rolls around.)

There were times in the second half when I wanted to believe. Just when Roth, or Dumes, or Taber drained a three and I thought “Well, maybe we can do it!” — Gonzaga came down and hit a quick three. Or Josh Heytvelt got position inside, dropped in a layup and got an and one. This is what good teams do. They finish. They respond. They overcome. They win.

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For a half, it appeared that Indiana just might have a shot to do the unthinkable — knock off a top 5 team in the first game ever played at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Hoosiers came into Saturday a 23-point underdog to No. 5 Gonzaga and trailed by just five points at halftime. And that was after Tom Crean’s club committed 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Unfortunately for Crean and IU, the second half started with much of the same as the Hoosiers committed six turnovers in the first five minutes and the Zags used a 9-2 run on their way to a 70-54 victory.

In all, Indiana committed 25 turnovers and it was the sixth time in eight games they’ve totaled more than 20.

Josh Heytvelt scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for Gonzaga (6-0) and guards Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin added 13 points each.

For the Hoosiers (4-4), it was much of the same when facing elite competition. IU managed just 30 percent shooting from the field and struggled to find their rhythm offensively against a physically superior team.

Devan Dumes led the way with 15 points, but shot just 4 of 15 from the field. Malik Story came off the bench to score 14 and Tom Pritchard chipped in 13.

Verdell Jones III missed his second consecutive game following a collision back on November 30 in the Cornell game. The freshman guard is listed as day-to-day.

Up next: The Hoosiers return to Assembly Hall to face TCU on Wednesday evening.

• Box score

Instead of our usual ‘let’s try to piece together what we know about our opponent writeup’ normally found in this here space, we’ve reached out to The Kennel Report, an unofficial, student run blog about Gonzaga, to get the scoop on IU’s next opponent. Our email exchange begins…Now.

Inside the Hall: One of the fascinating things about Gonzaga is how they’ve been able to keep Mark Few in Spokane despite obvious interest from other programs. Two-part question: 1. How has Gonzaga been able to hold on to Few? and 2. Why has Few resisted the temptation to jump ship? Was he scared off by the Dan Monson epic fail at Minnesota?

The Kennel Report: The decision by Mark Few to remain in Spokane despite overtures from programs like Indiana, Kentucky, and Stanford has been the key to Gonzaga sustaining this great run. Here is a story that took place today that I think might hold the answer to your question. After class this morning, I had some time to kill so I went to the student center on campus. After waiting in line to get something to eat I went and sat on a couch to pass the time before my next class. Sitting directly across from me was none other than Mark Few. He was reading the local newspaper and enjoying a cup of tea. For the 10-15 minutes he was there, nobody bothered him, asked for his autograph, or tried to explain why running a 2-3 defense would help the team. I don’t think the constant questioning and demand for time that the head coach at schools like Indiana or Kentucky has to deal with is appealing to Mark Few in anyway.

As you mentioned, the experience of Dan Monson also has had some sort of impact. I think Few learned that money doesn’t buy happiness or experience. Could he make more money at another school? Of course he could, but the pressure and expectations that he would have to deal with ruins the appeal of more dollar signs.

ITH: The three Zags getting the most attention seem to be Josh Heytvelt, Austin Daye and Micah Downs. Which of these three guys is the most indispensable and why?

TKR: This is a great question, and one that is very difficult to answer. Each one of the guys you mentioned brings so much to the table, and of course Gonzaga also has Jeremy Pargo, who is one of the top PG’s in the country. Of the group you mentioned, Heytvelt would have to be considered the most indispensable. While this team has Ira Brown and Robert Sacre to provide depth in the frontcourt, neither of the two mentioned can take over a game like Josh can. A great example of this is the Maryland game in the Old Spice Classic, when Josh scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds. We have no other player with his size and strength who is capable of dominating a game like that. Austin is certainly one of the more talented scorers in the country, but his game is more perimeter based. When Josh is healthy and focused, he can be one of the top post players in the country.

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