The Minute After: Oregon

Thoughts on a 74-63 loss to Oregon:

In its final shot at a regular-season Quad 1 victory, Indiana came to play on the road against Oregon.

The Ducks have more length and athleticism. It helped them hunt matchups and dictate the flow and pace of the game to start. But Indiana held tough. As Luke Goode headed to the bench with two fouls at the 6:33 mark in the first half, Kwame Evans Jr. hit a 3-pointer to give Oregon a nine-point lead at 28-19 right afterward.

With Goode sidelined the rest of the half, Indiana found some 3-pointers from an unlikely source: Kanaan Carlyle. The Stanford transfer made two from deep in the first half’s final minutes, helping Indiana gain a brief lead before heading into halftime down three points (35-32). Beyond Carlyle, Oumar Ballo (six points) and Malik Reneau (six points) found enough success down low. Trey Galloway (six points) worked his floater game. Anthony Leal (four points) even chipped in with two baskets.

Indiana kept coming in the second half. The 3-ball was falling. Goode returned and knocked home one early. Mackenzie Mgbako followed that up with two of his own. As Myles Rice dropped in another at the 13:21 mark on a fast-break pass from Galloway, the Hoosiers had made four 3-pointers in the first 6:39 of the second half. Rice’s make gave Indiana a 3-point lead at 50-47.

The game remained close for almost the entire rest of the contest. The lead changed hands a few times, with neither team getting up by more than three points. TJ Bamba, who had been defending Galloway well in high-ball screen action, chose to go under a Ballo screen for Galloway with the Ducks up two points (63-61). Based on Bamba’s decision, Galloway rose up for a 3-pointer and banged it home, giving the Hoosiers a 64-63 lead with 1:58 to play.

Indiana looked very much in line for an upset after that shot. But it ended up being the last points of the game for the Hoosiers. Oregon closed the game on a 10-0 run, making this one look less close than it had been.

On Oregon’s ensuing possession, Jackson Shelstad hit a deep 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to put the Ducks back on top 66-64. It proved to be the shot that broke Indiana’s back.

Galloway turned the ball over on IU’s ensuing possession. He then fouled Nate Bittle, who made two free throws. Down four and still with a shot at it, Indiana got Mgbako a good look at a 3-pointer that didn’t drop. From there, the Hoosiers kept fouling and not scoring on their end and the Ducks made 5-of-6 at the line to close it out.

It was a strong night from the line for Oregon as it made 19-of-21 (90.5 percent). The Ducks also rebounded 39 percent of their misses, which helped them to 23 second-chance points. Oregon is known as a team that doesn’t send its opponent to the line and the Hoosiers got there just seven times, making only three of those attempts.

A win tonight likely would have solidified a spot in the NCAA tournament for the Hoosiers. Its poor late-game execution — a problem for this team this season — instead means a victory against Ohio State on Saturday holds more importance.

Can the Hoosiers put it together one last time this regular season to finish at .500 in league play and help them finalize a trip to the Big Dance?

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

Category: The Minute After

Filed to: Oregon Ducks