Thoughts on a 67-61 loss to Northern Iowa:
Defense, experience and execution.
UNI, a Sweet 16 team last season, brought all three to the table tonight, and it was all just a little too much for the Hoosiers to handle.
The Panthers were up in the Hoosiers’ grill on defense for much of the evening — a calling card of this team — holding them to only 42.6 percent shooting from the field (20-of-47) and 15.4 percent shooting from three (2-0f-13), both well below their season averages.
UNI held the tempo down for long stretches of this game, a move that plays to their slow-paced styled — as color man Steve Lappas often told us, the Panthers were averaging 54 possessions per game, fourth slowest in the nation — while Tom Crean and his Hoosiers are more comfortable getting out and getting after it a bit.
And the Hoosiers often looked lost on defensive assignments, as a lack of communication on ball screens gave UNI open looks and room to operate.
But still, despite going down by double digits in the first half, Indiana was right in this thing when it mattered. On the strength of Derek Elston and Christian Watford — more on them later — the Hoosier amassed 26 points in the paint. And despite the communication troubles, Indiana did a good enough job on D, holding the Panthers to 42.9 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three after they hit 50 percent in the first half.
So there the Hoosiers were, tied up with the Panthers at 59-59 with 2:35 to go.
But on UNI’s next possession, Jordan Hulls got exposed on defense, as Johnny Moran, who was raining three over three on him in the first half, slipped behind Hulls on the baseline without him noticing and was assisted on a reverse layup. After a Maurice Creek miss, UNI’s ensuing possession saw Watford getting lost on a backdoor cut, allowing Lucas O’Rear — was that a mullet? — to score two on an easy layup.
And Watford, for all his strides this season, tried too hard to do it all himself on Indiana’s next possession to get a bucket, as he dribbled into traffic and coughed the ball up — reminiscent of his play at the end of the Kentucky game.
That was about all she wrote.
The Hoosiers may have been the more talented team, but talent can be negated with experience, defense and execution — as UNI proved on this rainy Las Vegas night.
