COLUMN: Hoosiers Finding Other Ways To Win
1/11/2018 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – A revelatory sequence during Tuesday night's first half produced no Indiana points, but exemplified why the host Hoosiers eventually earned a 74-70 victory over Penn State.
What amounted to a single elongated possession – due to Hoosier hustle on the offensive glass – generated four open 3-point shots. None of which went in.
And the first three of those four shots were taken by Robert Johnson and Collin Hartman, both of whom entered the season as career 40-percent 3-point shooters.
But the Hoosiers still forged a 35-31 halftime lead, despite hitting just 3 of 17 shots from beyond the arc, because they made the hustle plays and the smart plays.
IU had just two turnovers at that juncture. It had three steals. It had eight assists on 12 made baskets.
The Hoosiers made plays that weren't quantifiable, too. Alertness and positioning on defense. Coming to help a teammate whose dribble had expired. Keeping a rebound alive for a teammate to claim. Making a cut to get open off the ball. Heady plays. Winning plays.
IU redshirt junior Zach McRoberts played his second straight great game while not scoring a point. But he did supply a combined 13 rebounds, seven steals, six assists, just one turnover and plenty of plays that didn't make the box score to help his team win twice.
By now Indiana fans know they aren't often going to get dazzled by glitz with this team. But they are knowledgeable fans who appreciate grit.
So McRoberts received a prolonged ovation when he fouled out with 16 seconds left.
The last two games weren't always aesthetically pleasing, to be sure. But beauty is in the eye of the basketball beholder, and IU fans tend to take a more nuanced look.
And they'll see a team that is learning how to win, even when shots aren't falling.
"Really good win for our team," IU coach Archie Miller said. "I thought we really grinded one out here today when we didn't shoot the ball particularly well. Found other ways to make the plays that we needed to make to win.
"Find a way to get the win – I think that was a big boost at Minnesota being able to get that one (75-71 on the road Saturday). Tonight, against a good Penn State team, I thought we played to win. I didn't think there were any shenanigans going on, whether sloppy turnovers or lack of detail.
"We weren't great, by any stretch of the imagination. But our guys were locked in, playing to win. I think we had a good mindset in terms of that, and we've got to keep growing."
Penn State shot 50 percent from the field to IU's 40 percent. But the undersized Hoosiers allowed PSU just four second-chance points the entire game, outrebounding their long and talented foes, 36-31. That bespeaks both toughness and desire.
And those are the sort of traits that Miller was always going to bring to Bloomington. His Dayton teams during his successful six-season stint there embodied them.
"In days gone by, when we shot the ball the way we shot it in the first half, we tended to get really frustrated and go away (but) that didn't happen tonight," Miller noted. "I thought we continued to fight and battle through.
"We ended up 35-31 at the half when it, in all reality, could have been (us) down or tight … it's important to start the second half with a lead. And then I think we played pretty comfortably in the second half."
Penn State only led for 59 seconds of play Tuesday night, turning an 8-0 run into a 24-23 lead with 5:40 left in the first half, but the Hoosiers responded quickly with a Hartman 3 and never trailed again.
"We didn't really back down, even when they went on the run and took, I think, it was like a one or two point lead," said Juwan Morgan, whose team-high 21 points and 11 boards marked his second straight double-double. "We got together and we fixed it right there on the court. We didn't need a timeout.
"I think it speaks to volumes of leadership that's come a long way since the beginning of the Big Ten."
Johnson, who had a tough shooting night but joined teammates in finding ways to win, agreed.
"I just thank God for the growth of this team," Johnson said. "I think this is the first time all season we was able to string together two consecutive, what we felt were, 40-minute efforts. I think that's big for us moving forward."
It was a marked improvement over what happened the last time the Hoosiers were coming off a big win.
The Dec. 16 overtime win over Notre Dame was followed by a debacle against Fort Wayne. This time the key road win at Minnesota was followed by another gritty W.
"We addressed that, that we had done that twice – had the big win and then a fall-off," Hartman said. " … You can't get too high. You can't get too low. You can't listen to the outside noise. It's (about) what we do every day and it's who we are every day. And we can't get away from that.
"Coach brought it up first, and I think it trickled down through all the guys, older guys all the way down. And our mental preparation our physical preparation – everybody getting extra treatment, doing whatever you have to do, getting up extra shots – (helped.) We watch film, prepare. It's just mentally locking into everything that you do and not taking any steps back in any area of the game."
And so even on an off-shooting night, just 22 percent from 3-point range, Indiana found away.
The Hoosiers did it with hustle, grit and smarts. With 25 points off the bench compared to Penn State's one. With improved overall guard play. With clutch free throw shooting, with Josh Newkirk and Devonte Green combining to sink eight straight (four apiece) at crunch time to help IU finish 18 of 22 at the stripe (.818).
"Shooting the ball (from the field), for whatever reason, has been the one frustrating thing with this team," Miller said. "I've always said this: I think we're a better 3-point shooting team than we've shown. Guys are getting good looks, they're just not going down.
"We're playing through that now. There are other ways you can win the game. You can win the game with stops and with rebounding and win the battle at the free-throw line (and), hey, don't turn the ball over."
Especially if the shooting woes continue from beyond the arc, IU will need to bring the rest of its game to bear Sunday when hosting Northwestern for a 4:30 p.m. tip.
"It will be the same on Sunday – every game we play is going to be very, very difficult," Miller said. "We know that. If we could ever find our touch behind the line here at home, it would make some things a little bit easier.
"But I'll tell you, it feels good to win, especially in this conference."
Indeed. Aesthetics aside, that has a beauty all its own.
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – A revelatory sequence during Tuesday night's first half produced no Indiana points, but exemplified why the host Hoosiers eventually earned a 74-70 victory over Penn State.
What amounted to a single elongated possession – due to Hoosier hustle on the offensive glass – generated four open 3-point shots. None of which went in.
And the first three of those four shots were taken by Robert Johnson and Collin Hartman, both of whom entered the season as career 40-percent 3-point shooters.
But the Hoosiers still forged a 35-31 halftime lead, despite hitting just 3 of 17 shots from beyond the arc, because they made the hustle plays and the smart plays.
IU had just two turnovers at that juncture. It had three steals. It had eight assists on 12 made baskets.
The Hoosiers made plays that weren't quantifiable, too. Alertness and positioning on defense. Coming to help a teammate whose dribble had expired. Keeping a rebound alive for a teammate to claim. Making a cut to get open off the ball. Heady plays. Winning plays.
IU redshirt junior Zach McRoberts played his second straight great game while not scoring a point. But he did supply a combined 13 rebounds, seven steals, six assists, just one turnover and plenty of plays that didn't make the box score to help his team win twice.
By now Indiana fans know they aren't often going to get dazzled by glitz with this team. But they are knowledgeable fans who appreciate grit.
So McRoberts received a prolonged ovation when he fouled out with 16 seconds left.
The last two games weren't always aesthetically pleasing, to be sure. But beauty is in the eye of the basketball beholder, and IU fans tend to take a more nuanced look.
And they'll see a team that is learning how to win, even when shots aren't falling.
"Really good win for our team," IU coach Archie Miller said. "I thought we really grinded one out here today when we didn't shoot the ball particularly well. Found other ways to make the plays that we needed to make to win.
"Find a way to get the win – I think that was a big boost at Minnesota being able to get that one (75-71 on the road Saturday). Tonight, against a good Penn State team, I thought we played to win. I didn't think there were any shenanigans going on, whether sloppy turnovers or lack of detail.
"We weren't great, by any stretch of the imagination. But our guys were locked in, playing to win. I think we had a good mindset in terms of that, and we've got to keep growing."
Penn State shot 50 percent from the field to IU's 40 percent. But the undersized Hoosiers allowed PSU just four second-chance points the entire game, outrebounding their long and talented foes, 36-31. That bespeaks both toughness and desire.
And those are the sort of traits that Miller was always going to bring to Bloomington. His Dayton teams during his successful six-season stint there embodied them.
"In days gone by, when we shot the ball the way we shot it in the first half, we tended to get really frustrated and go away (but) that didn't happen tonight," Miller noted. "I thought we continued to fight and battle through.
"We ended up 35-31 at the half when it, in all reality, could have been (us) down or tight … it's important to start the second half with a lead. And then I think we played pretty comfortably in the second half."
Penn State only led for 59 seconds of play Tuesday night, turning an 8-0 run into a 24-23 lead with 5:40 left in the first half, but the Hoosiers responded quickly with a Hartman 3 and never trailed again.
"We didn't really back down, even when they went on the run and took, I think, it was like a one or two point lead," said Juwan Morgan, whose team-high 21 points and 11 boards marked his second straight double-double. "We got together and we fixed it right there on the court. We didn't need a timeout.
"I think it speaks to volumes of leadership that's come a long way since the beginning of the Big Ten."
Johnson, who had a tough shooting night but joined teammates in finding ways to win, agreed.
"I just thank God for the growth of this team," Johnson said. "I think this is the first time all season we was able to string together two consecutive, what we felt were, 40-minute efforts. I think that's big for us moving forward."
It was a marked improvement over what happened the last time the Hoosiers were coming off a big win.
The Dec. 16 overtime win over Notre Dame was followed by a debacle against Fort Wayne. This time the key road win at Minnesota was followed by another gritty W.
"We addressed that, that we had done that twice – had the big win and then a fall-off," Hartman said. " … You can't get too high. You can't get too low. You can't listen to the outside noise. It's (about) what we do every day and it's who we are every day. And we can't get away from that.
"Coach brought it up first, and I think it trickled down through all the guys, older guys all the way down. And our mental preparation our physical preparation – everybody getting extra treatment, doing whatever you have to do, getting up extra shots – (helped.) We watch film, prepare. It's just mentally locking into everything that you do and not taking any steps back in any area of the game."
And so even on an off-shooting night, just 22 percent from 3-point range, Indiana found away.
The Hoosiers did it with hustle, grit and smarts. With 25 points off the bench compared to Penn State's one. With improved overall guard play. With clutch free throw shooting, with Josh Newkirk and Devonte Green combining to sink eight straight (four apiece) at crunch time to help IU finish 18 of 22 at the stripe (.818).
"Shooting the ball (from the field), for whatever reason, has been the one frustrating thing with this team," Miller said. "I've always said this: I think we're a better 3-point shooting team than we've shown. Guys are getting good looks, they're just not going down.
"We're playing through that now. There are other ways you can win the game. You can win the game with stops and with rebounding and win the battle at the free-throw line (and), hey, don't turn the ball over."
Especially if the shooting woes continue from beyond the arc, IU will need to bring the rest of its game to bear Sunday when hosting Northwestern for a 4:30 p.m. tip.
"It will be the same on Sunday – every game we play is going to be very, very difficult," Miller said. "We know that. If we could ever find our touch behind the line here at home, it would make some things a little bit easier.
"But I'll tell you, it feels good to win, especially in this conference."
Indeed. Aesthetics aside, that has a beauty all its own.
Players Mentioned
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