Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
(5) 26-7
(#12 seed) Chattanooga (First Round)
(12) 29-6
IU Defeats Chattanooga, Advances In NCAAs
3/17/2016 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DES MOINES, Iowa - Unlike the other 5-12 matchups across the country Thursday, there wasn't much drama in Indiana's 99-74 win over Chattanooga that advanced the Hoosiers into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Not that IU minded.
The Hoosiers (26-7) spent all but 44 seconds in the second half ahead of the Mocs by double figures to breeze into the second round at Wells Fargo Arena. Indiana will play longtime rival Kentucky (27-8) in the second round Saturday.
"It played out the way we wanted it to play out," graduate transfer guard Nick Zeisloft said. "And we're moving on."
In what was perhaps Indiana's most complete game since back-to-back January wins over Illinois and Northwestern at Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers shot 64.9 percent from the field all while keeping Chattanooga's offense from finding consistent momentum.
That combination made for a frustrating night for the Mocs.
"We had no answer for what they were doing offensively," Chattanooga head coach Matt McCall said. "You gotta give them a tremendous amount of credit. (IU) just beat us top to bottom the entire game."
Indiana briefly struggled against the Mocs' press, falling behind by three points not even four minutes into the game before IU's offense found its groove. As soon as it did, the Hoosiers began to score quickly without much getting in their way.
At no time was that more evident than in the first 3:16 of the second half where Indiana hit all five of its shots to take a 17-point lead.
The scoring outburst was a result of defense turning into offense, fifth-year senior Max Bielfeldt said.
"We were getting some stops," he said. "When we don't have to take the ball out after a make, we can kind of get it going. Their defense is a little bit easier to attack in transition, so we got that going, got some stops and went on a run."
Credit Anunoby's work there. He continued to build off a 6-for-6 shooting performance in the Big Ten Tournament with another career night in his first NCAA Tournament game.
Midway through the second half, a 3-point try bounced off the back of the rim and straight into the air only to fall back down to give the Hoosiers a 63-45 lead. He followed it up with a spinning layup off a fast break the next possession that would have been one of the more athletic plays of the night had it not been for a 360-degree dunk he threw down earlier in the game.
"Your jaw just drops when you see something like that dunk," senior Ryan Burton said. "He was at another level."
Anunoby, soft-spoken in public view, shrugged off most of the limelight.
"I just tried to come out and play hard and trusted my teammates," he said.
Even as Indiana pulled ahead by as many as 28 points in the second half, head coach Tom Crean refused to slow down. He was pleading with his players to keep pressing and play through the entire 40 minutes because, as Crean said to his players, "That's what we'll need Saturday."
It reflected an attitude freshman center Thomas Bryant said his team has lived by throughout its NCAA Tournament so far. He said there's not much time for a break when a loss sends a team home, particularly when the likes of Kentucky is lined up on the other side.
"We were happy that we won," Bryant said, "but we still know we have more jobs to do."
