Turnovers Cost IU in 90-69 Loss at No. 3 Duke

Tuesday, November 27

Durham, NC

9:30 PM

Indiana University

5-2

Duke

6-1

Indiana

Duke

11/27/2018 11:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

DURHAM, N.C. – What do you do when a powerhouse basketball team unleashes that power, and a hoped-for-upset victory ends faster than you can say, Take Care of the Ball?

If you're the Indiana Hoosiers, you try to learn and grow.

Lessons were everywhere you looked Tuesday night when No. 3 Duke beat visiting Indiana, 90-69.

The Hoosiers (5-2) will look, and if they find them, benefits could follow, especially with Saturday's Big Ten opener against Northwestern at Assembly Hall looming.

"We have to get back to work," coach Archie Miller told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer in the post-game radio show. "We have to be 1-0 in the Big Ten. That's our goal.

"You can't lose this game twice because you're in the doldrums. It happened. We've got to learn from it."

IU arrived in Durham, N.C., seeking opportunity and reality ruined it.

Turnovers mounted -- 20 in all – against Duke's ferocious defensive pressure.

Frustration grew.

Blue Devils freshman standout Zion Williamson dunked.

The Hoosiers had no answer.

"We got sped up way too many times against their press early," Miller said. "When we had numbers, we didn't take advantage of it. Then they are about as good as it gets in transition.

"They hit us with that first shot. You have to absorb it. We had a chance, but we weren't good enough in terms of organization.

"That comes back on me. You can put a lot of the organization, a lot of the communication and a lot of the demand on taking care of the ball on me and our staff. We're turning the ball over too much. It is killing us."

So did senior forward Juwan Morgan's foul trouble, which limited him to 24 minutes and eight points on 4-for-8 shooting.

"It was a huge factor," Miller told Fischer. "It hurts when he's not out there. In this environment, we need him."

Freshman Romeo Langford led IU with 13 points. Evan Fitzner had 12 points, all in the first half. De'Ron Davis came off the bench for 10 points.

IU's prime-time challenge included playing at Cameron Arena, one of the nation's most intimidating home courts. Duke has won 142 straight non-conference home victories since a one-point loss to St. John's in February of 2000.

Beyond that, the Blue Devils (6-1) stirred talk of an unbeaten season when they throttled Kentucky in the season opener, lost it when they fell to Gonzaga in last week's Maui Invitational finals.

Still, their potential is obvious.

"It's stunning how quick Duke is to loose balls, offensive rebounds, and how fast they are," Miller told Fischer. "They are a very talented, long and explosive team. I don't think you're going to find one quite like it. As they get more experience, they'll only get better."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has mastered one-and-done recruiting territory formerly dominated by Kentucky coach John Calipari. Freshmen R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish project as top four picks in next summer's NBA Draft, with classmate Tre Jones not far behind.

On Tuesday night, they combined for 72 points.

IU countered with its own freshman superstar in Langford, a veteran game-changer in Morgan and improving health with the return from injury of guards Devonte Green and Zach McRoberts.

It wasn't enough on Tuesday night, but might be on Saturday, and beyond.

"It was their first game back," Miller told Fischer, "and it was not an easy one to throw yourself into. They all did some good things. They'll only get better and we'll only get better with more bodies."

Miller's pregame message to the Hoosiers had been clear -- if you're worried, don't make the trip.

Morgan, for one, fully bought in, saying before the game that, "It will be fun. I can't wait to get there."

As it turned out, fun ended shortly after tip-off.

From a strategy standpoint, Cream 'n Crimson keys were limit turnovers, push transition offense for easy baskets and protect the rim.

Easy to say, not so easy to do.

Duke jumped to a 15-8 lead after the first five minutes, in part because of IU's four turnovers. Two minutes later, the Blue Devils pushed the lead to 22-10 and Miller called a timeout.

It didn't help.

IU couldn't shoot or protect the ball or keep the Blue Devils out of the lane in general, Williamson in particular. He finished with a game-high 25 points.

The Hoosiers hit just six of their first 20 shots with eight turnovers, saw Morgan and Davis each pick up two early fouls and fell into a 26-12 hole.

Fitzner's three-point shooting briefly raised Hoosier hope. Turnovers dashed them.

Duke ended the half on a 10-0 run for a 53-29 lead. IU did win the second half, 40-37.

"When you're on the road," Miller told Fischer, "you have to be poised. Those first four minutes we were trying to be poised with the ball, take care of it and get back (on defense).

"Those were two things we talked a lot about, but once you get out here and start to feel the environment and the pressure, sometimes that happens on the road. We got off to a tough, tough start. We fought uphill from that point forward."