GRAHAM: Another Buzzer-Beater? Could Be.
2/22/2019 10:11:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Iowa and Indiana each had shots in air at the buzzer Tuesday night, one in Iowa City and the other in Bloomington.
Either could have provided a valuable home-court win.
Neither went in.
But that's basically where the similarities end.
Iowa's No. 21-ranked host Hawkeyes enter Friday's 9 p.m. tipoff with Indiana were winners of four straight games (and nine of 11) before falling in the final seconds Tuesday against No. 24 Maryland.
Before that, the Hawkeyes (20-6, overall, 9-6 Big Ten) had become accustomed to prevailing at the end.
Including 80-79 Feb. 10 versus Northwestern on Jordan Bohannon's 3 with 0.6 seconds left. And then No. 16 at Rutgers, 71-69, via Joe Wieskamp's banked 3 from the left baseline at 0:00.2.
Bohannon's late fadeaway 3 from well beyond the key also had a lot to do with Iowa's 77-72 win at Indiana, too, Feb. 7.
That was just one Hoosier setback out of 11 in their last 12 games – many of the painfully close variety, most recently Tuesday's 48-46 loss to No. 15 Purdue that featured ferocious defense on both ends and a decisive tip-in at 0:03.1.
"I was really proud of how our guys competed," IU coach Archie Miller said Thursday. "I thought Purdue competed equally as hard. (It was) probably one of the most physical, hard-played games that we have been a part of.
"We came up a little short, but in reviewing the game with our team and some of the things that we did, we have some positives that we can take out of that. This needs to stay with us as we finish up the remainder of our last three or four weeks here as the regular season concludes."
Indiana is trying to maintain intensity and find confidence after seeing a 12-2 start turn into a current 13-13 record (4-11Big Ten).
IU's previous matchup against Iowa came in the immediate wake of the Hoosiers' Feb. 2 overtime win at No. 6 Michigan State, and the Hawkeyes also entered off an impressive victory, a 74-59 romp over then No. 2 Michigan. The Hoosier effort was good but Iowa made too many plays – including Bohannon's bomb – at crunch time.
"They made some tremendous opportune baskets at times that were deflating in the game," Miller said of the Hawkeyes. "Under five seconds on the shot clock, under two on the shot clock. They really came up big, making some shots.
"We didn't take care of the ball as well as we needed to and it changed the course of that game at the end of the first half. So they played with a lead and we were able to get it within one possession, but they made some really key plays down the stretch."
Bohannon's 25 points led all scorers (to go along with his six assists and zero turnovers), and Iowa also got 21 from 6-foot-9 junior frontcourt standout Tyler Cook and 13 from Joe Wieskamp, who hit all four 3s he shot in the first half (and is hitting an impressive .436 from behind the arc for the season).
Indiana got 22 points from freshman Romeo Langford, 17 from senior Juwan Morgan and 13 from sophomore Aljami Durham – but Morgan had to get his in just 22 minutes on the court, due to foul trouble.
"We are going to have to be better in a lot of areas going over there on Friday night, in particular being able to play hard without fouling," Miller said. 'Foul trouble was a problem in that first game. Juwan (Morgan) wasn't able to stay in.
"And then we are going to have to do a better job of taking care of it against their (changing) defenses. Obviously we understand how good they are, especially in such a hard place to play."
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery noted the understanding is mutual.
"The thing that's impressed me about them is they continue to fight," McCaffery said of the Hoosiers. "They really are competing, and I think that's what you look for. They've lost some games maybe they thought they were going to win, but they keep coming.
"Our game (with them) was very difficult, the Ohio State game was really intense, the Purdue game – obviously that's an in-state rival, packed house, you know what that game is going to be. They keep coming. They've got some young guys that keep getting better."
Langford leads IU's scoring at 17.1 points per game and fellow frosh Rob Phinisee has emerged again as the starter at the point.
"You sort of expect it from Romeo, but you forget how young he is," McCaffery said. "He's been tremendous coming down the stretch in games. Morgan (averaging 15.1 points and a team-high 8.2 boards) has been great and so have a lot of their other guys.
"We know what that team is, and we just experienced it three games ago."
Early in the season, Indiana saw its defense travel fairly well – and if the Hoosiers keep defending like they did Tuesday night, they will challenge Iowa and pretty much any team they face. The defense nearly allowed IU to overcome its own frigid (27 percent overall, 20 percent from 3-point range) shooting against Purdue.
"Without question, I think it's one of our – maybe our best defensive performance of the season against a really good offensive team," Miller said. "And I'm sure Purdue felt like they could have made more shots, as well. But it was definitely a game that as you look at it and you hang your hat on what can you control, our effort level was right there for 40 minutes."
Defense will matter Friday, too. Iowa is a potent offensive team, averaging 80.5 points per game. The Hawkeyes shoot 38 percent from behind the 3-point arc, and 75 percent from the foul line, as a team.
Iowa made just nine turnovers at Indiana and has 416 assists on the season against 317 errors, compared to Indiana's nearly even 344 assists and 342 turnovers.
Miller has sat some of his more turnover-prone players a bit lately. But when he talked of the need for "drastic change" following Indiana's deflating loss last Saturday at Minnesota, and he was mostly alluding to attitudinal approach.
"Communication is a big part," Miller said. "This team has got a quiet personality … you've got some reserved guys. But you've got to be, in-between the lines, and especially while you're working, you've got to be able to communicate with one another.
"That effort level right there (against Purdue) is something hopefully you can build on and hang your hat on. And say, 'Look, at the end of the day, make shots, don't make shots, good play, bad play, continue with the disposition that you're in a competitive mind state.' The whole team, Everyone that's in there. Everyone that's on the bench. Everyone who's working in practice.
"That's what we have to hold ourselves accountable to to find a way to crawl to the top and get a win. You know, emotional game (against Purdue), yes, disappointing (result), yes, but it's our responsibility to be ready for Iowa."
Coach Fran McCaffery saw his Hawkeyes finish 14-19 overall and 4-14 in league play last season and knows what the Hoosiers are experiencing – and knows things can eventually turn around.
"We are more mature (now)," McCaffery said. "We've been through it. Sometimes you have a chance to fail and you figure out what you can't do. Because even though last year … we kind of would have those little mini-stretches where things would fall apart, now you figure out how not to make that happen anymore.
"But we're also a better team. We've added pieces. Our guys are all a year older. You're bound to get better when the bulk of your team is that much older. We pretty much had everybody back that was a contributing member of the team, and then you add some other good players.
"Joe (Wieskamp) has been tremendous, Connor (McCaffery) has been great. So that gave us the depth in the backcourt we didn't have. So there's a lot of factors involved, and it's been fun to watch."
The Hoosiers haven't had much fun lately, at least in terms of wins.
IU senior co-captain Zach McRoberts – curtailed to just five starts and 17 limited appearances overall as one of several Hoosiers dealt injuries this season – said he and his team don't plan on waving white flags.
"Yesterday in practice just the mindset, having the mindset right, being able to continue that defensive presence we had, that's huge going into next game, too," McRoberts said. "And throughout the season."
But the season and McRoberts' college career is winding down. So he's not letting nagging injuries stop him.
"Just playing through some things," he said, "and then just knowing I've got a couple more games left here at IU – I want to be able to play through it and make the most out of it."
Making the most of it, for the Hoosiers, would mean reversing trajectory. That won't be easy in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where Iowa is 13-3 this season.
But McCaffery said the home team doesn't expect to have it easy Friday night, either.
"When you're playing Indiana and you know what they've done this year, they've had some great wins," McCaffery said. "We know what that game was down there, how difficult it was. Our guys know what's coming in here tomorrow night."
Could be, if recent history is indicative, another big shot at the buzzer is what's coming. The Hoosiers hope their luck in that regard is overdue to change.
(And who knows? Maybe the Indiana women set a tone Thursday night against a No. 10-ranked Iowa team in that regard.)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Iowa and Indiana each had shots in air at the buzzer Tuesday night, one in Iowa City and the other in Bloomington.
Either could have provided a valuable home-court win.
Neither went in.
But that's basically where the similarities end.
Iowa's No. 21-ranked host Hawkeyes enter Friday's 9 p.m. tipoff with Indiana were winners of four straight games (and nine of 11) before falling in the final seconds Tuesday against No. 24 Maryland.
Before that, the Hawkeyes (20-6, overall, 9-6 Big Ten) had become accustomed to prevailing at the end.
Including 80-79 Feb. 10 versus Northwestern on Jordan Bohannon's 3 with 0.6 seconds left. And then No. 16 at Rutgers, 71-69, via Joe Wieskamp's banked 3 from the left baseline at 0:00.2.
Bohannon's late fadeaway 3 from well beyond the key also had a lot to do with Iowa's 77-72 win at Indiana, too, Feb. 7.
That was just one Hoosier setback out of 11 in their last 12 games – many of the painfully close variety, most recently Tuesday's 48-46 loss to No. 15 Purdue that featured ferocious defense on both ends and a decisive tip-in at 0:03.1.
"I was really proud of how our guys competed," IU coach Archie Miller said Thursday. "I thought Purdue competed equally as hard. (It was) probably one of the most physical, hard-played games that we have been a part of.
"We came up a little short, but in reviewing the game with our team and some of the things that we did, we have some positives that we can take out of that. This needs to stay with us as we finish up the remainder of our last three or four weeks here as the regular season concludes."
Indiana is trying to maintain intensity and find confidence after seeing a 12-2 start turn into a current 13-13 record (4-11Big Ten).
IU's previous matchup against Iowa came in the immediate wake of the Hoosiers' Feb. 2 overtime win at No. 6 Michigan State, and the Hawkeyes also entered off an impressive victory, a 74-59 romp over then No. 2 Michigan. The Hoosier effort was good but Iowa made too many plays – including Bohannon's bomb – at crunch time.
"They made some tremendous opportune baskets at times that were deflating in the game," Miller said of the Hawkeyes. "Under five seconds on the shot clock, under two on the shot clock. They really came up big, making some shots.
"We didn't take care of the ball as well as we needed to and it changed the course of that game at the end of the first half. So they played with a lead and we were able to get it within one possession, but they made some really key plays down the stretch."
Bohannon's 25 points led all scorers (to go along with his six assists and zero turnovers), and Iowa also got 21 from 6-foot-9 junior frontcourt standout Tyler Cook and 13 from Joe Wieskamp, who hit all four 3s he shot in the first half (and is hitting an impressive .436 from behind the arc for the season).
Indiana got 22 points from freshman Romeo Langford, 17 from senior Juwan Morgan and 13 from sophomore Aljami Durham – but Morgan had to get his in just 22 minutes on the court, due to foul trouble.
"We are going to have to be better in a lot of areas going over there on Friday night, in particular being able to play hard without fouling," Miller said. 'Foul trouble was a problem in that first game. Juwan (Morgan) wasn't able to stay in.
"And then we are going to have to do a better job of taking care of it against their (changing) defenses. Obviously we understand how good they are, especially in such a hard place to play."
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery noted the understanding is mutual.
"The thing that's impressed me about them is they continue to fight," McCaffery said of the Hoosiers. "They really are competing, and I think that's what you look for. They've lost some games maybe they thought they were going to win, but they keep coming.
"Our game (with them) was very difficult, the Ohio State game was really intense, the Purdue game – obviously that's an in-state rival, packed house, you know what that game is going to be. They keep coming. They've got some young guys that keep getting better."
Langford leads IU's scoring at 17.1 points per game and fellow frosh Rob Phinisee has emerged again as the starter at the point.
"You sort of expect it from Romeo, but you forget how young he is," McCaffery said. "He's been tremendous coming down the stretch in games. Morgan (averaging 15.1 points and a team-high 8.2 boards) has been great and so have a lot of their other guys.
"We know what that team is, and we just experienced it three games ago."
Early in the season, Indiana saw its defense travel fairly well – and if the Hoosiers keep defending like they did Tuesday night, they will challenge Iowa and pretty much any team they face. The defense nearly allowed IU to overcome its own frigid (27 percent overall, 20 percent from 3-point range) shooting against Purdue.
"Without question, I think it's one of our – maybe our best defensive performance of the season against a really good offensive team," Miller said. "And I'm sure Purdue felt like they could have made more shots, as well. But it was definitely a game that as you look at it and you hang your hat on what can you control, our effort level was right there for 40 minutes."
Defense will matter Friday, too. Iowa is a potent offensive team, averaging 80.5 points per game. The Hawkeyes shoot 38 percent from behind the 3-point arc, and 75 percent from the foul line, as a team.
Iowa made just nine turnovers at Indiana and has 416 assists on the season against 317 errors, compared to Indiana's nearly even 344 assists and 342 turnovers.
Miller has sat some of his more turnover-prone players a bit lately. But when he talked of the need for "drastic change" following Indiana's deflating loss last Saturday at Minnesota, and he was mostly alluding to attitudinal approach.
"Communication is a big part," Miller said. "This team has got a quiet personality … you've got some reserved guys. But you've got to be, in-between the lines, and especially while you're working, you've got to be able to communicate with one another.
"That effort level right there (against Purdue) is something hopefully you can build on and hang your hat on. And say, 'Look, at the end of the day, make shots, don't make shots, good play, bad play, continue with the disposition that you're in a competitive mind state.' The whole team, Everyone that's in there. Everyone that's on the bench. Everyone who's working in practice.
"That's what we have to hold ourselves accountable to to find a way to crawl to the top and get a win. You know, emotional game (against Purdue), yes, disappointing (result), yes, but it's our responsibility to be ready for Iowa."
Coach Fran McCaffery saw his Hawkeyes finish 14-19 overall and 4-14 in league play last season and knows what the Hoosiers are experiencing – and knows things can eventually turn around.
"We are more mature (now)," McCaffery said. "We've been through it. Sometimes you have a chance to fail and you figure out what you can't do. Because even though last year … we kind of would have those little mini-stretches where things would fall apart, now you figure out how not to make that happen anymore.
"But we're also a better team. We've added pieces. Our guys are all a year older. You're bound to get better when the bulk of your team is that much older. We pretty much had everybody back that was a contributing member of the team, and then you add some other good players.
"Joe (Wieskamp) has been tremendous, Connor (McCaffery) has been great. So that gave us the depth in the backcourt we didn't have. So there's a lot of factors involved, and it's been fun to watch."
The Hoosiers haven't had much fun lately, at least in terms of wins.
IU senior co-captain Zach McRoberts – curtailed to just five starts and 17 limited appearances overall as one of several Hoosiers dealt injuries this season – said he and his team don't plan on waving white flags.
"Yesterday in practice just the mindset, having the mindset right, being able to continue that defensive presence we had, that's huge going into next game, too," McRoberts said. "And throughout the season."
But the season and McRoberts' college career is winding down. So he's not letting nagging injuries stop him.
"Just playing through some things," he said, "and then just knowing I've got a couple more games left here at IU – I want to be able to play through it and make the most out of it."
Making the most of it, for the Hoosiers, would mean reversing trajectory. That won't be easy in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where Iowa is 13-3 this season.
But McCaffery said the home team doesn't expect to have it easy Friday night, either.
"When you're playing Indiana and you know what they've done this year, they've had some great wins," McCaffery said. "We know what that game was down there, how difficult it was. Our guys know what's coming in here tomorrow night."
Could be, if recent history is indicative, another big shot at the buzzer is what's coming. The Hoosiers hope their luck in that regard is overdue to change.
(And who knows? Maybe the Indiana women set a tone Thursday night against a No. 10-ranked Iowa team in that regard.)
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