Saturday, December 9
Louisville, KY
2:00 PM
Indiana University
5-5
62
at
71
Louisville
6-2
1
2
F
Indiana
36
26
62
Louisville
35
36
71
Down, Not Out - IU Fades Down Stretch At Louisville
12/9/2017 5:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Indiana didn't manage victory from road defeat.
No Hoosier trudging out of KFC Yum Center bought that.
But the aftermath of Saturday's 71-62 defeat at shot-block-happy Louisville suggested the gap is closing.
In this case, down to about three minutes.
"I feel we're getting closer," forward Juwan Morgan said. "We still have a lot of things to work on. In those final few minutes, we had costly turnovers that came back to bite us at winning time."
Indiana lost its outside shot, and then its ball security, and then the game. It is 0-3 on the road this season.
Still …
"We played aggressive for about 35 minutes," Morgan said, "but it takes all 40 to get a win, especially against a great team like Louisville on their home floor. We have to put 40 minutes together."
IU is 5-5 with four non-conference games left. It has finals week to negotiate before facing No. 9 Notre Dame next Saturday at Indianapolis' Bankers' Life Fieldhouse as part of the Crossroads Classic. There are nearly four weeks before Big Ten play resumes at Wisconsin.
There is time, coach Archie Miller said, to get things right.
"It will come around. We're not even in January yet. There's time to get out of a rut. You've got to stay with it. Be an everyday guy. You can't get down on yourself or your teammates.
"We've got Notre Dame next week. We have to keep it moving."
Morgan continued his strong play. He just missed a second straight double double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Center DeRon Davis added 14 points and seven rebounds.
It wasn't enough. Not with Louisville scoring 17 points off of 15 Indiana turnovers. Not at KFC Yum Center, where the Cardinals (6-2) have won 60 of their last 62 non-conference games. Not with Louisville forward Ray Spalding totaling 10 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
"We had nine to 10 guys step up and make important plays," Louisville coach David Padgett said.
"Indiana is a heck of a team. You can see the foundation Archie is laying down. They play hard. They're very physical.
"Defense will always be an emphasis for us. We did a good job of challenging shots."
For a half, the Hoosiers hit tough shots, contested shots, shots that frustrated Louisville. They stayed poised even with their two best inside players -- Morgan and Davis -- limited to a combined 15 minutes because of foul trouble.
Guard Josh Newkirk took charge with 10 points of his 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Then things got complicated.
Three-point baskets disappeared. Turnovers mounted. Defensive lapses surfaced.
"On the road we have to tighten up a few things towards that 10th War that Coach talks about," Davis said. "We turned it over way too much in the second half. We want to keep it around 10. We had 15. You can't win like that."
Inconsistent perimeter shooting remains a problem. The Hoosiers were solid with their first-half three-point shooting (5-for-11) then went 0-for-12 in the second half.
"Our perimeter shooting really put a lot of pressure on us in the second half," Miller said. "You go 0-for-12 and that's tough to overcome.
"You have to make open shots. You won't get many against Louisville. We've got to have guys make shots. We've got to get that going."
Guard Robert Johnson is a key. He went 0-for-6 from the field, 0-for-4 from three-point range and didn't score for the first time all season, huge for a guy who started the game averaging 12.7 points.
"We tell him he's the best shooter on the team," Morgan said. "I tell him that all the time. I know he will knock down every shot he takes. We tell him, You're thinking too much. We know you can shoot. Just shoot it."
Johnson's struggles weren't new. He's just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc in his last four games. But Miller is convinced a turnaround his coming.
"Rob will finish strong because of his attitude," he said.
Louisville had won the last three meetings with Indiana, which was as relevant as disco. New teams and coaches (Padgett and Miller are in their first seasons with their teams) created new opportunity.
Could the Hoosiers take advantage as they didn't in their previous two road games, against Seton Hall and Michigan? Could they thrive against Cardinal length, shot-blocking prowess (they led the nation at 8.4 a game) and attacking defense.
The early answers – yes.
The early reason – Morgan.
He muscled his way to four quick points to set a tone. A three-point IU lead swelled to 10 in the game's first five minutes.
Louisville turned up the defensive heat. Indiana was briefly bothered, then adjusted. Not even foul trouble that sent Morgan and Davis to the bench could stop momentum. The Hoosiers pushed ahead 23-13 on Newkirk's second three-pointer.
Louisville closed the half in a rush sparked by a pair of forward Malik Williams' three-pointers. Still, IU led 36-35 at halftime and would have Morgan and Davis back on the court for the final 20 minutes
It could have made all the difference.
It did not.
The Hoosiers opened with a turnover and a missed shot, then gave up an open three-pointer to lose the lead for the first time in the game.
IU regained it by working inside to Morgan and Davis, but gave up two more three-pointers. Louisville took a 48-45 lead.
The Cardinals pushed ahead by five with eight minutes left, by eight two minutes later.
Then Davis found his free throw stroke. IU closed to 65-61, forced a couple of Louisville turnovers, and couldn't score a point, even from layup range. Another Davis free throw made it a three-point game with 58 seconds left before the Cardinals clinched it with a 6-0 burst.
"We were right there for 37 minutes," Miller said. "We needed to get stops and make a couple of open shots.
"We didn't."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Indiana didn't manage victory from road defeat.
No Hoosier trudging out of KFC Yum Center bought that.
But the aftermath of Saturday's 71-62 defeat at shot-block-happy Louisville suggested the gap is closing.
In this case, down to about three minutes.
"I feel we're getting closer," forward Juwan Morgan said. "We still have a lot of things to work on. In those final few minutes, we had costly turnovers that came back to bite us at winning time."
Indiana lost its outside shot, and then its ball security, and then the game. It is 0-3 on the road this season.
Still …
"We played aggressive for about 35 minutes," Morgan said, "but it takes all 40 to get a win, especially against a great team like Louisville on their home floor. We have to put 40 minutes together."
IU is 5-5 with four non-conference games left. It has finals week to negotiate before facing No. 9 Notre Dame next Saturday at Indianapolis' Bankers' Life Fieldhouse as part of the Crossroads Classic. There are nearly four weeks before Big Ten play resumes at Wisconsin.
There is time, coach Archie Miller said, to get things right.
"It will come around. We're not even in January yet. There's time to get out of a rut. You've got to stay with it. Be an everyday guy. You can't get down on yourself or your teammates.
"We've got Notre Dame next week. We have to keep it moving."
Morgan continued his strong play. He just missed a second straight double double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Center DeRon Davis added 14 points and seven rebounds.
It wasn't enough. Not with Louisville scoring 17 points off of 15 Indiana turnovers. Not at KFC Yum Center, where the Cardinals (6-2) have won 60 of their last 62 non-conference games. Not with Louisville forward Ray Spalding totaling 10 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
"We had nine to 10 guys step up and make important plays," Louisville coach David Padgett said.
"Indiana is a heck of a team. You can see the foundation Archie is laying down. They play hard. They're very physical.
"Defense will always be an emphasis for us. We did a good job of challenging shots."
For a half, the Hoosiers hit tough shots, contested shots, shots that frustrated Louisville. They stayed poised even with their two best inside players -- Morgan and Davis -- limited to a combined 15 minutes because of foul trouble.
Guard Josh Newkirk took charge with 10 points of his 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Then things got complicated.
Three-point baskets disappeared. Turnovers mounted. Defensive lapses surfaced.
"On the road we have to tighten up a few things towards that 10th War that Coach talks about," Davis said. "We turned it over way too much in the second half. We want to keep it around 10. We had 15. You can't win like that."
Inconsistent perimeter shooting remains a problem. The Hoosiers were solid with their first-half three-point shooting (5-for-11) then went 0-for-12 in the second half.
"Our perimeter shooting really put a lot of pressure on us in the second half," Miller said. "You go 0-for-12 and that's tough to overcome.
"You have to make open shots. You won't get many against Louisville. We've got to have guys make shots. We've got to get that going."
Guard Robert Johnson is a key. He went 0-for-6 from the field, 0-for-4 from three-point range and didn't score for the first time all season, huge for a guy who started the game averaging 12.7 points.
"We tell him he's the best shooter on the team," Morgan said. "I tell him that all the time. I know he will knock down every shot he takes. We tell him, You're thinking too much. We know you can shoot. Just shoot it."
Johnson's struggles weren't new. He's just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc in his last four games. But Miller is convinced a turnaround his coming.
"Rob will finish strong because of his attitude," he said.
Louisville had won the last three meetings with Indiana, which was as relevant as disco. New teams and coaches (Padgett and Miller are in their first seasons with their teams) created new opportunity.
Could the Hoosiers take advantage as they didn't in their previous two road games, against Seton Hall and Michigan? Could they thrive against Cardinal length, shot-blocking prowess (they led the nation at 8.4 a game) and attacking defense.
The early answers – yes.
The early reason – Morgan.
He muscled his way to four quick points to set a tone. A three-point IU lead swelled to 10 in the game's first five minutes.
Louisville turned up the defensive heat. Indiana was briefly bothered, then adjusted. Not even foul trouble that sent Morgan and Davis to the bench could stop momentum. The Hoosiers pushed ahead 23-13 on Newkirk's second three-pointer.
Louisville closed the half in a rush sparked by a pair of forward Malik Williams' three-pointers. Still, IU led 36-35 at halftime and would have Morgan and Davis back on the court for the final 20 minutes
It could have made all the difference.
It did not.
The Hoosiers opened with a turnover and a missed shot, then gave up an open three-pointer to lose the lead for the first time in the game.
IU regained it by working inside to Morgan and Davis, but gave up two more three-pointers. Louisville took a 48-45 lead.
The Cardinals pushed ahead by five with eight minutes left, by eight two minutes later.
Then Davis found his free throw stroke. IU closed to 65-61, forced a couple of Louisville turnovers, and couldn't score a point, even from layup range. Another Davis free throw made it a three-point game with 58 seconds left before the Cardinals clinched it with a 6-0 burst.
"We were right there for 37 minutes," Miller said. "We needed to get stops and make a couple of open shots.
"We didn't."
Team Stats
IND
LOU
FG%
.400
.426
3FG%
.217
.346
FT%
.684
.714
RB
37
37
TO
15
12
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
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