Medicine Men: Hoosiers Build off Experience to Beat UConn

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Every game the Hoosiers play is a classroom opportunity.

Win or lose, every time head coach Archie Miller's team takes the floor, his players have the chance to learn lessons about what works, what doesn't, what they should do, and how they should react when plans don't go, well, according to plan.

When Indiana struggled early and never really recovered during its loss to Wisconsin in Madison Dec. 7, Miller knew his team had to pocket whatever could be learned from the loss, refocus, and move forward ready to respond differently should the situation arise again.
Miller didn't have to wait long to find.

Indiana fell behind 15-6 in the first 6:30 vs. Connecticut at Madison Square Garden, but after getting blitzed early, the Hoosiers regrouped following a Miller timeout. The coaches and players talked it over, and when the team returned to the floor, there was a different approach, a realization that the Hoosiers needed to pull together, and quickly.

Mark down the Wisconsin lesson as learned.

"It's not easy to take the medicine that we head to take (vs. Wisconsin)," Miller said. "We weren't playing the right way. Tonight, obviously, we were much better in the toughness category, much better in certain areas defensively. But guys stepped up."

Case in point: Redshirt junior forward Joey Brunk got off to a slow start on both ends of the court in the first seven minutes of the game, but he regrouped and was a critical cog in the Hoosiers' second-half effort to keep the Huskies from gaining momentum. Brunk was scoreless in the first half, but he scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting after the break, using a variety of moves and overall physical toughness to get to the rim.

It was Brunk who scored the first basket after halftime to get IU off to a solid start. It was Brunk who scored on a traditional three-point play that allowed the Hoosiers to go from a 42-40 deficit to a 43-42 lead, which they would never again relinquish. It was Brunk who scored on a pair of put-backs in key moments in the final six minutes of the game, the second of which broke a 45-all tie.

Against Wisconsin, Brunk scored two points in 16 minutes and struggled to assert himself. Against UConn, Brunk demanded the ball and ended up getting interviewed by ESPN reporters on the court after the game.

Again, lesson learned.

"I was really happy for Joey," Miller said. "He had struggled there for a little bit getting his feet on the ground. I thought he went back to basics of what he's been doing pretty well for us. He ran to the rim. He got a key transition post-up when we needed it. To his credit, he didn't get down. He stayed with it, and the guys on the team, especially the staff as well, kept everyone engaged."

Of course, it helped that sophomore guard Rob Phinisee returned to the lineup. Phinisee has struggled with a number of ailments that have left him missing practices and games, but he saw his first action in weeks at MSG, and he didn't disappoint. Phinisee played just 13 minutes and scored six points, but he made two free throws with 19 seconds to play that pushed the game to a two-possession battle.

Phinisee's toughness and ability to calm his teammates had been a missing piece of the Hoosiers' equation. His return gave IU a boost, and it gave Miller a full complement of scholarship players for the first time this season. Just having a healthy group of guys who are available for games will help Indiana improve over the next couple of weeks.

Ultimately, Tuesday's victory over UConn was about finding a way to battle back, which is a lesson every team needs to learn.

"You need to go through it," Miller said. "You don't need to get drilled like we did on Saturday, but you have to take your medicine. Some guys don't like the medicine. But in the last couple of days, the ante goes up and the pressure goes up and the coaching starts to hold guys more accountable for some of the mistakes that we got away with a few weeks ago. Coming into tonight's game, there was a serious, competitive balance to our team. Everybody brought the right attitude to the game. … We had some guys step up and talk and stay with it, which you need to do."

Indiana University Athletics

Medicine Men: Hoosiers Build off Experience to Beat UConn

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Joey Brunk

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