For five minutes Monday night, it appeared that Indiana would have no problem shaking off the rust from a nine day layoff. Fueled by five early points from Daniel Moore, the Hoosiers jumped to an early 12-3 lead.
And then the wheels fell off.
Northeastern (6-4) went on a 25-6 run to grab a 10-point halftime lead and controlled the game the rest of the way. The result: IU’s first home loss, 55-42.
“I think it was a microcosm of our week,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “We did not have a great week (of practice) and we have to continue to learn. This is a hard lesson to learn.”
The loss was the first in school history to a Colonial Athletic Association opponent for Indiana and it was the first win for Northeastern against a Big Ten school since 1991.
Tom Pritchard posted another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, but didn’t get much help from his supporting cast. Besides 12 points from Devan Dumes, no one else topped six points for Indiana.
The Hoosiers (5-6) committed 21 turnovers, bringing their season total to 222.
Matt Janning led the winners with 17 points and Chaisson Allen added 13. Northeastern hit 14 of 20 free throws and committed just 11 turnovers.
Gambles in uniform: Walk-on Steven Gambles dressed for the first time this season, but did not play.
Up next: Indiana will wrap up non-conference play Sunday at home against Lipscomb.
Indiana will take the floor Monday evening for the first time since a 72-54 loss at Kentucky on December 13 for a meeting with the Northeastern Huskies.
