Indiana Falls Against Arkansas, 71-64

Sunday, December 29

Bloomington, Ind.

6:00 PM

Indiana University

11-2,1-1Big Ten

Arkansas

11-1,0-0SEC

Arkansas

Indiana

12/29/2019 8:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's Archie Miller coached from a sideline squat, lasering a glare at a tale of two-halves. Inside dominance had become long-range inconsistency. An 11-point, second-half lead had morphed into a seven-point crunch-time deficit.

Unwanted Sunday night drama against Arkansas -- and ultimately a 71-64 defeat -- had arrived.

Hold that thought.

In a second-half moment, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman pivoted and glared at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall roof, as if an answer could be found from above for Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis' relentless inside scoring.

It could not unless the Hoosiers went away from it.

They did -- partly their doing, partly the Razorbacks'

And so what could have been a grand Hoosier non-conference finale -- its first unbeaten non-conference record since going 13-0 in 2011 -- became, as Miller called it, "A tough night. Disappointing to say the least."

Indiana is 11-2 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten, with conference play to resume at No. 13 Maryland next Saturday.

"We had enough to win it," Miller said. "It shows the tide can turn quickly. We have to mature and grow up, run good offense, communicate on defense."

Miller kept coaching cool even as Arkansas (11-1) unleashed its 15-1, game-changing, crunch-time run. He calmly sipped water when freshman guard Armaan Franklin passed him the ball -- a costly IU turnover in a nail-biter moment -- then gestured for him to forget it and play on.

Against Notre Dame eight days earlier, that approach worked. Franklin hit the game-winning three-pointer as the Hoosiers rallied from a blown double-digit lead to win.

Against Arkansas, it did not.

"It's a similar theme for this team – we need better execution in the half court, better defense in covering the three-point line," Miller said.

"We can't let our offense affect our effort level. We had a few guys let things bother them. We weren't dialed in. We weren't sharp."

He paused. IU is, after all, very much in control of its destiny.

"We'll be all right," Miller said.

Late-game offensive agony for both squads featured missed one footers, refusing-to-fall tip-ins and Cream 'n Crimson free throw shooting that gained the complexity of quantum physics.

IU finished 9-for-18 from the line.

"In the second half, you've got to knock them in at home," Miller said, "and 9-of-18 is not what we're about. We can do better. We've done better here of late."

Jackson-Davis had 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, but was just 4-for-9 on three throws and didn't score or shoot in the final nine minutes.

Why couldn't the Hoosiers get him the ball?

It was a combination of Arkansas's defensive adjustment and struggling IU offense, Miller said.

"It's always going to come down to, 'Hey, why didn't Trayce get enough shots? Why didn't he shoot 27 times?'

"The other team has a little bit to do with it. You have a lot to do with it with the way you execute. He's not the only guy on the team who needs to catch the ball down low and get some baskets. We need to get more guys down there and do more."

In the first half Arkansas guarded Jackson-Davis with 6-3 Jimmy Whitt Jr. In the second half, it was 6-6 Adrio Bailey.

"Give them credit to for the adjustment," Jackson-Davis said. "They had No. 33 (Whitt Jr.) on me in the first half. They switched to No 2 (Bailey). He was a lot bigger and stronger. It was a good adjustment.

"But I need to be more aggressive, post up harder, show them my numbers while posting up."

Added Musselman: "In the first half (Jackson-Davis) out-ran us. It was offensive rebounds, loose change, running the floor. In the second half, we eliminated his inside shot attempts. We wanted to make them beat us from the perimeter. I thought it changed the game."

As far as his free throw shooting, Jackson-Davis said, "They all felt good. They were just long."

Guard Devonte Green had 14 points and four of IU's five three-pointers. Forward Joey Brunk had eight points and 11 rebounds.

IU was without reserve forward Jerome Hunter, sidelined by a thigh bruise suffered in practice.

"Jerome wasn't available and then Al not being available threw a monkey wrench in our plans, but we had enough in the tank to get it done," Miller said.

Arkansas' rally was led by guards Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones. Joe had six three-pointers and totaled 24 points, 18 in the second half. Jones had four three-pointers and 21 points, 15 in the second half.

"A couple of (Arkansas' three-pointers) were defensive miscommunications for sure," Green said. "Some of them were contested, but they were already hot, so they were hitting a lot."

After the first 13 minutes, there were 11 lead changes and three ties. With Jackson-Davis dominating inside with 11 points, IU led 22-21. No other Hoosier had more than three points.

The Razorbacks, struggling to get the ball inside with their four-guard lineup, relied on a jump-shot approach that kept them within range.

Durham was ejected for a flagrant foul at the 7:18 mark. The Razorbacks made one of two free throws for a 22-22 tie.

IU responded with a 7-0 run for its biggest lead. It ended the half leading 38-33. Jackson-Davis had 16 points.

Green opened the second half with five quick points as the Hoosiers pushed ahead 45-37 in less than three minutes. A minute later, the lead was 11.

Then Joe and Jones got three-point hot. Still, with eight minutes left, a Joey Brunk layup delivered a 61-52 Indiana lead.

Then it all disappointed.

Arkansas' 15-1 run put it ahead 67-62.

The Razorbacks had control and refused to concede it.

The Hoosiers will have to live -- and learn -- from it.

"You're up 11, win the game," Miller said. "Do a good job. Control what you can control.

"(In the second half), we did not run good offense. We didn't run the floor hard enough. We'll get better. We have a good group. It's humility. It's a wake-up call. Let's go."