The Minute After: Kentucky

Tayton Conerway jumps in the air against Kentucky.

Thoughts on a 72-60 loss to the Wildcats:

This game was there for the taking.

But Indiana collapsed in the second half and its seven-point lead at halftime evaporated into a double-digit loss.

Start here: The Hoosiers blew this one because of ball-security issues. Up seven points after a Tucker DeVries bucket with 14:18 to play, Indiana then went on a putrid streak. DeVries missed a 3-pointer on Indiana’s next trip. From there, the Hoosiers turned it over on five straight possessions.

First possession: Tayton Conerway got up in the air and was met by two defenders. He opted to pass out to the perimeter, but it was intercepted. Second possession: Conerway traveled in the paint. Third possession: Nick Dorn lost the ball trying to dribble off the perimeter. Fourth possession: DeVries hit the middle of the lane and tried feeding Reed Bailey with a short pass near the basket, but the pass was picked off. Fifth possession: Dorn pulled a similar move to Conerway’s first one, getting off his feet near the basket and losing the ball as he appeared to try to pass it to Sam Alexis in the paint.

Five turnovers in less than two and a half minutes of game action.

This was the defining stretch of the game, when Indiana lost its lead and never regained it. On the other end, during this same stretch, Kentucky started to assert itself on the boards. The Wildcats snagged a whopping six offensive rebounds, which led to six second-chance points. Mouhamed Dioubate had three, Otega Oweh two and Brandon Garrison one.

The final numbers tell the tale of the details: Indiana turned the ball over on 27 percent of its possessions, which included 12 second-half turnovers. Kentucky had just four all game for a turnover percentage of six. The Wildcats scored 23 points off turnovers to Indiana’s six. Kentucky bested Indiana in second-chance points, 18-6.

Maybe Indiana could have overcome all this with a hot shooting night, but that didn’t happen. IU’s .90 points per possession were its lowest of the season. The Hoosiers shot just 4-of-24 (17 percent) on 3-pointers and made only 15 shots all game. Lamar Wilkerson made 16 shots all by himself last time out against Penn State. Other than a 26-of-29 (89.7 percent) performance at the line, Indiana didn’t have much to write home about on offense.

DeVries finished 1-of-9 from deep. Dorn missed all three of his attempts from distance. Bailey didn’t score and only played eight minutes. Conor Enright played 30 minutes and missed all three of his shot attempts.

Wilkerson picked up his fourth foul early in the second half (17:58) and didn’t return till the 9:30 mark. Only four Hoosiers made a basket for Indiana tonight: Wilkerson (5-of-11, 15 points), DeVries (4-of-13, 15 points), Conerway (3-of-6, 11 points) and Alexis (3-of-4, six points). Everyone else got their points at the line.

Kentucky went just 3-of-15 from deep, and its effective field goal percentage of 41 was only a little better than Indiana’s 39. But the Wildcats got 14 more shots (58 vs. 44) in this game due to their offensive rebounding and Indiana’s turnovers.

“Turnovers and the offensive rebounding, that flipped the game around in the second half,” Darian Devries said after the game.

The reality of Indiana’s season right now? Sure, the computer numbers are still solid enough. But with the non-conference season just about wrapped, it failed to secure a victory that’s likely to look strong on its NCAA tournament résumé. Marquette is 5-6 on the season and No. 99 on KenPom. Kansas State is hanging in okay at No. 70 with a 7-4 record.

Other than that, Indiana lost to Louisville in a game it struggled to compete in. It just lost to a Kentucky squad that’s underperformed so far this season.

The Hoosiers will have plenty of chances to stack quality wins in conference play. But that’s true most years in the Big Ten. Winning the games is another question entirely. And right now, things are looking shaky for Indiana in that regard.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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