Thursday, January 3
Bloomington, Ind.
7:00 PM
Indiana University
12-2, 3-0
73
vs
65
Illinois
4-10, 0-3
1
2
F
Illinois
32
33
65
Indiana
32
41
73
#21 Indiana Opens New Year with 73-65 Win over Illinois
1/3/2019 8:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Slow starts remain. So does Cream 'n Crimson winning, defensive tenacity and this thought:
Indiana owns a share of the Big Ten lead.
For now, a few days into a new year, with a seven-game winning streak and a 3-0 conference record, this is enough.
But success breeds this reality – more is needed, and the No. 21 Hoosiers know it.
Case in point -- unbeaten Michigan (14-0) looms next … in Ann Arbor.
So as IU contemplated Thursday night's 73-65 victory over young and struggling Illinois, during which it was out-played for most of the first half before ratcheting up the defensive ferocity, thoughts of Sunday's challenge against the nation's No. 2 team surfaced.
"It's not easy going into Ann Arbor," senior forward Juwan Morgan said. "I don't think I've won against Michigan since my freshman year with (guard Yogi Ferrell) and that 28-0 run. I know they still remember that.
"It will be a dogfight, for sure. We have to anchor down on the defensive end. We know Michigan is a great defensive team, so we have to really run our stuff and be crisp on that end."
IU (12-2 overall) beat Illinois (4-10 overall, 0-3 in the Big Ten) by once again ruling with defense. It set a school record by forcing six shot-clock violations.
This was no accident. The Hoosiers practice extensively on defending the final 12 seconds of the shot clock.
"When you have a defense that makes the offense work late in the shot clock," coach Archie Miller said, "you're not giving them their first or second look. They are having to work harder to get a good look. …
"When you get under 15 or 10 seconds, typically you're going to have to end up dealing with a drive or a ball screen, and I think we're pretty good at identifying our coverages.
"You're trying to make teams take challenging shots at the end of the clock."
IU continues to do that well even without point guard Rob Phinisee, one of its best perimeter defenders, who remains out with a concussion. Miller said Phinisee is doubtful against Michigan.
"Our guys are playing hard," Miller said. "We have a better (defensive) way about us understanding how you have to not give up easy baskets."
IU also forced 21 turnovers, which resulted in 22 points.
"We're right there where we can take another big jump," Miller said. "The big thing is understanding how hard you have to play defensively if you want to be any good."
Or, as Morgan put it, "Regardless if you're making shots or not, you can't let your defense go to waste.
"We were making them work for every shot, and I think we wore them down a little bit."
The numbers back him up. Indiana won the second half, 41-33, just as it had in its previous four games.
It helped to have Morgan and Romeo Langford, one of the Big Ten's best combinations.
Langford, a freshman guard, had a career-high 28 points, and added six rebounds and three assists.
Morgan had 15 points and 10 rebounds. It was his sixth double-double of the season and a follow up to his triple double against Jacksonville. He added four steals.
IU's two-week holiday layoff didn't help its early defense or offense, especially against Illinois' often frantic style.
"Early on we were going to have to play through some things," Miller said, "because it's a drastic style change, and we didn't handle it well early."
The Hoosiers allowed the Illini, one of the Big Ten's worst-shooting teams, to make seven of their first 11 shots and surge ahead 23-13 midway through the first half.
The Hoosiers' 5-for-15 shooting added to the woes.
"We knew it was going to be a weird game because of how frantic they play," Morgan said.
And then, as they had done so often during their winning streak, they picked up the defense, dialed in the offense and rallied.
"I don't think we ever let them keep hitting us," Morgan said. "We delivered a blow to them, too."
That double-digit deficit reached zero, at 32-32, thanks to IU forward Justin Smith's tip-in just before the halftime buzzer.
The Hoosiers opened the second half with an 8-0 run (Langford scored all the points) to take charge.
It was a cushion IU never lost, although a last Illinois surge cut a 15-point lead to four. The Hoosiers' win streak is their longest since winning 12 straight in the 2015-16 season. They share the Big Ten lead with Michigan and Michigan State.
"We just got a feel for what it's going to be like pretty much the next couple of months," Miller said. "Illinois was right there and had an opportunity to win most of the night."
And then it didn't.
"We're moving on to our next opponent, which is Michigan, and there's not a lot to be said for how good they are," Miller said.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Slow starts remain. So does Cream 'n Crimson winning, defensive tenacity and this thought:
Indiana owns a share of the Big Ten lead.
For now, a few days into a new year, with a seven-game winning streak and a 3-0 conference record, this is enough.
But success breeds this reality – more is needed, and the No. 21 Hoosiers know it.
Case in point -- unbeaten Michigan (14-0) looms next … in Ann Arbor.
So as IU contemplated Thursday night's 73-65 victory over young and struggling Illinois, during which it was out-played for most of the first half before ratcheting up the defensive ferocity, thoughts of Sunday's challenge against the nation's No. 2 team surfaced.
"It's not easy going into Ann Arbor," senior forward Juwan Morgan said. "I don't think I've won against Michigan since my freshman year with (guard Yogi Ferrell) and that 28-0 run. I know they still remember that.
"It will be a dogfight, for sure. We have to anchor down on the defensive end. We know Michigan is a great defensive team, so we have to really run our stuff and be crisp on that end."
IU (12-2 overall) beat Illinois (4-10 overall, 0-3 in the Big Ten) by once again ruling with defense. It set a school record by forcing six shot-clock violations.
This was no accident. The Hoosiers practice extensively on defending the final 12 seconds of the shot clock.
"When you have a defense that makes the offense work late in the shot clock," coach Archie Miller said, "you're not giving them their first or second look. They are having to work harder to get a good look. …
"When you get under 15 or 10 seconds, typically you're going to have to end up dealing with a drive or a ball screen, and I think we're pretty good at identifying our coverages.
"You're trying to make teams take challenging shots at the end of the clock."
IU continues to do that well even without point guard Rob Phinisee, one of its best perimeter defenders, who remains out with a concussion. Miller said Phinisee is doubtful against Michigan.
"Our guys are playing hard," Miller said. "We have a better (defensive) way about us understanding how you have to not give up easy baskets."
IU also forced 21 turnovers, which resulted in 22 points.
"We're right there where we can take another big jump," Miller said. "The big thing is understanding how hard you have to play defensively if you want to be any good."
Or, as Morgan put it, "Regardless if you're making shots or not, you can't let your defense go to waste.
"We were making them work for every shot, and I think we wore them down a little bit."
The numbers back him up. Indiana won the second half, 41-33, just as it had in its previous four games.
It helped to have Morgan and Romeo Langford, one of the Big Ten's best combinations.
Langford, a freshman guard, had a career-high 28 points, and added six rebounds and three assists.
Morgan had 15 points and 10 rebounds. It was his sixth double-double of the season and a follow up to his triple double against Jacksonville. He added four steals.
IU's two-week holiday layoff didn't help its early defense or offense, especially against Illinois' often frantic style.
"Early on we were going to have to play through some things," Miller said, "because it's a drastic style change, and we didn't handle it well early."
The Hoosiers allowed the Illini, one of the Big Ten's worst-shooting teams, to make seven of their first 11 shots and surge ahead 23-13 midway through the first half.
The Hoosiers' 5-for-15 shooting added to the woes.
"We knew it was going to be a weird game because of how frantic they play," Morgan said.
And then, as they had done so often during their winning streak, they picked up the defense, dialed in the offense and rallied.
"I don't think we ever let them keep hitting us," Morgan said. "We delivered a blow to them, too."
That double-digit deficit reached zero, at 32-32, thanks to IU forward Justin Smith's tip-in just before the halftime buzzer.
The Hoosiers opened the second half with an 8-0 run (Langford scored all the points) to take charge.
It was a cushion IU never lost, although a last Illinois surge cut a 15-point lead to four. The Hoosiers' win streak is their longest since winning 12 straight in the 2015-16 season. They share the Big Ten lead with Michigan and Michigan State.
"We just got a feel for what it's going to be like pretty much the next couple of months," Miller said. "Illinois was right there and had an opportunity to win most of the night."
And then it didn't.
"We're moving on to our next opponent, which is Michigan, and there's not a lot to be said for how good they are," Miller said.
Team Stats
ILL
IND
FG%
.431
.479
3FG%
.286
.167
FT%
.583
.714
RB
33
32
TO
21
15
STL
8
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
11
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
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