Indiana University Athletics
IU Bench Heats Up At Right Time
3/20/2016 10:41:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com
DES MOINES, Iowa - Before things went right for Indiana against Kentucky, things went wrong. Almost too wrong.
Sophomore guard Robert Johnson and freshmen OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan all suffered injuries of varying degree during the Hoosiers' 73-67 win over the Wildcats to advance to the Sweet 16. Any or all of the three could have been detrimental to an IU team against higher-ranked UK squad.
But the Hoosiers didn't allow it.
"Did we really have an option?" junior forward Collin Hartman joked. "When those guys go down, everyone else gets better. That's just how it is."
Johnson's injury was the first. He went down clutching his ankle with about five minutes left in the first half. Then it was Morgan going down with a little over 12 minutes left in the second half thanks to a reoccurring instance of his shoulder popping out. Anunoby missed a little time after but wasn't out long.
All three expect to be ready for Friday's game against No. 1 North Carolina. But the only reason IU is heading there is because of the rest of the way players adapted.
"When those guys went down, everyone else needed to step up," senior forward Ryan Burton said. "I think everyone did at least a little bit."
At one point just beyond the midway part of the second half, Anunoby, freshman Thomas Bryant, junior Troy Williams and seniors Nick Zeisloft and Ryan Burton were all on the floor together in one of the more peculiar lineups head coach Tom Crean has put together this season.
Senior Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell was on the bench.
There was no point guard.
Burton, a walk-on, was guarding UK star Tyler Ulis.
That group inherited a one-point deficit and proceeded to string together a 9-2 run over 1:47 to give the Hoosiers a six-point lead. They never trailed after that.
"That group, they were very sound," Crean said. "They had to guard—every one of them. And they were making the simple pass."
Williams was the defacto point guard and served as the catalyst.
He started the stretch with an acrobatic layup through contact, finishing with a free throw to complete a 3-point play that he said began to restore his confidence after an inconsistent game up to that point.
Williams followed that up with a drive and feed to Bryant for a dunk plus a foul of his own.
Then he did the same thing again. Only, the second time he found Anunoby in the corner for an open 3-point that led to Kentucky head coach John Calipari calling a timeout that allowed Ferrell and others to check back into the game.
The rag-tag group had done its job.
"That's how we won the game," Zeisloft said. "That run right there probably got us the win."
IU spends time in practice preparing for those types of situations. It's more worst-case scenario than it is plan for beating Kentucky. That lineup may never see the floor again.
But it happened. It worked.
And IU moved on.
"When you want to win, someone has to be that guy," Williams said. "I think every one of us was that guy today."
DES MOINES, Iowa - Before things went right for Indiana against Kentucky, things went wrong. Almost too wrong.
Sophomore guard Robert Johnson and freshmen OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan all suffered injuries of varying degree during the Hoosiers' 73-67 win over the Wildcats to advance to the Sweet 16. Any or all of the three could have been detrimental to an IU team against higher-ranked UK squad.
But the Hoosiers didn't allow it.
"Did we really have an option?" junior forward Collin Hartman joked. "When those guys go down, everyone else gets better. That's just how it is."
Johnson's injury was the first. He went down clutching his ankle with about five minutes left in the first half. Then it was Morgan going down with a little over 12 minutes left in the second half thanks to a reoccurring instance of his shoulder popping out. Anunoby missed a little time after but wasn't out long.
All three expect to be ready for Friday's game against No. 1 North Carolina. But the only reason IU is heading there is because of the rest of the way players adapted.
"When those guys went down, everyone else needed to step up," senior forward Ryan Burton said. "I think everyone did at least a little bit."
At one point just beyond the midway part of the second half, Anunoby, freshman Thomas Bryant, junior Troy Williams and seniors Nick Zeisloft and Ryan Burton were all on the floor together in one of the more peculiar lineups head coach Tom Crean has put together this season.
Senior Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell was on the bench.
There was no point guard.
Burton, a walk-on, was guarding UK star Tyler Ulis.
That group inherited a one-point deficit and proceeded to string together a 9-2 run over 1:47 to give the Hoosiers a six-point lead. They never trailed after that.
"That group, they were very sound," Crean said. "They had to guard—every one of them. And they were making the simple pass."
Williams was the defacto point guard and served as the catalyst.
He started the stretch with an acrobatic layup through contact, finishing with a free throw to complete a 3-point play that he said began to restore his confidence after an inconsistent game up to that point.
Williams followed that up with a drive and feed to Bryant for a dunk plus a foul of his own.
Then he did the same thing again. Only, the second time he found Anunoby in the corner for an open 3-point that led to Kentucky head coach John Calipari calling a timeout that allowed Ferrell and others to check back into the game.
The rag-tag group had done its job.
"That's how we won the game," Zeisloft said. "That run right there probably got us the win."
IU spends time in practice preparing for those types of situations. It's more worst-case scenario than it is plan for beating Kentucky. That lineup may never see the floor again.
But it happened. It worked.
And IU moved on.
"When you want to win, someone has to be that guy," Williams said. "I think every one of us was that guy today."
Players Mentioned
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Center
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Forward
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