After trailing by just five at halftime, Indiana couldn’t withstand a 19-0 run early in the second half and fell to St. Joseph’s 80-54 Tuesday afternoon in the Maui Invitational.
After IU got within one at 34-33 with 18:05 remaining on a Tom Pritchard dunk, the Hawks (2-2) reeled off 19 straight points fueled by seven Hoosier turnovers. In all, IU committed 23 turnovers.
Darrin Govins scored 23 points to lead St. Joseph’s. Govins hit his first six 3-point attempts and finished 7 of 9 from behind the arc.
Three other Hawks scored in double figures: Ahmad Nivins (18), Garrett Williamson (11) and Tasheed Carr (10).
The Hoosiers (2-2) shot just 37 percent from the field, 65 percent from the foul line and failed to have a scorer reach double figures for the first time this season.
Settling in for the long haul
MY COUCH – The Puerto Rico Tip-Off delivered just as promised.
But instead of a jump ball, the preseason tournament’s tip-off was more of the inside information variety.
The message was clear, whether you watched the games or the live blog. Despite the influx of talent, IU Basketball might not live up to the hopes some optimists placed on them before the season.
A double-digit win season now seems lofty. A .500 record would likely include a pair of glass slippers and a horse-drawn carriage made out of pumpkin.
Most Hoosier fans are currently mourning this weekend’s activities – and/or coming off a binge necessitated by the Old Oaken Bucket game – but I’m here to tell you that not all was lost in the gyms of San Juan.
My glass usually sits half-empty, but I can say without hesitation that the Hoosiers are a better team right now than they were at this point last season. As someone who had a courtside seat to Tom Crean and the greenest team in Cream and Crimson history all of last year, I can tell the Hoosiers have taken a step in the right direction.
Last season’s December losses to Northeastern and Lipscomb were gut wrenching; this year’s November defeats to Boston and George Mason are closer to stomach-able.
Although, certainly not enjoyable. After handing it to Howard and edging out USC Upstate to open the season, three consecutive losses reminds us just how far the men’s basketball program still has to go on its path to reclamation.
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