Indiana University Athletics
GRAHAM: Saluting The Hoosiers
2/3/2019 9:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
EAST LANSING, Mich. – As Cassius Winston's final and forlorn 3-point attempt failed at the buzzer, Devonte Green turned toward the Indiana bench and snapped off a crisp military-style salute to his teammates.
It was well-deserved. They were basketball warriors this day.
Indiana gutted out an epic 79-75 overtime upset of No. 6-ranked Michigan State under improbable and often daunting circumstances Saturday night.
How improbable?
Well, injury-plagued IU had lost seven straight, its longest losing streak in eight years.
Then the Hoosiers saw senior leader Juwan Morgan go out with a shoulder injury just 13 minutes into the game.
And nobody had previously even come close to beating Michigan State in the Breslin Center all season.
MSU's average margin of victory in 10 games there was 90-60 heading into Saturday. Big Ten foes had fallen in Breslin by an average of 20 points per game. Indiana had won in just one of its previous 22 visits to East Lansing.
If IU has had more unlikely triumphs, it is hard to think of many:
Maybe a freshman-laden Hoosier team beating perhaps the best North Carolina team ever – Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith, etc. – at Atlanta's Omni in a 1984 NCAA regional.
Or the NCAA regional comeback win over defending champ and No. 1-ranked Duke at Rupp Arena that spurred the 2001-02 Hoosiers' to a Final Four run.
The "Wat Shot" win over No. 1 Kentucky in 2011 will forever live in Hoosier lore. But that game was at Assembly Hall. And those two aforementioned regional wins came on neutral courts.
Saturday was a true road win, the first time an unranked Indiana team had traveled during conference play to beat a Top 10-ranked host since 1982.
And it came when it was surely, sorely, needed.
"It'd been a long three weeks," IU coach Archie Miller said of the January victory drought. "Great to feel that winning feeling again, for the guys. Hopefully, this will carry-over to the back-half of the conference (schedule) and we can play with some confidence."
Confidence should certainly arise when victory was secured even after Morgan – Indiana's leading rebounder, second-leading scorer, primary post presence and acknowledged emotional leader – sustained his shoulder injury during a loose-ball dive 6:04 before halftime.
Morgan was done for the evening. His team was not.
"We wanted to do it for him," Al Durham said post-game of Morgan to BTN's Andy Katz. "We knew he probably wasn't going to come out for the second half.
"He just kept us going. Kept leading us. Kept talking to us. I feel like his presence was there. It just wasn't on the court."
IU stayed within 31-28 at halftime, then fought through 13 lead changes after intermission and through overtime. Never daunted, the Hoosiers did not falter.
There were tangible signs throughout the statistic sheet that revealed Indiana's resolve. Such as:
Michigan State had out-rebounded opponents, before Saturday, by an average of 10.4 per game. Indiana, even without its rebounding leader Morgan, won the battle of the boards Saturday, 48-40.
And against a MSU team that also truly thrives in transition, Indiana limited the Spartan advantage in transition points to a manageable 14-10.
Those were effort stats.
"We just came together," Miller said. "Guys buying-in, still, which is good to see. Played hard. Obviously had some adversity in the game, with Juwan going down, But thought the guys really were unselfish, for the most part, and committed to trying to get back (on defense) as much as possible.
"Being able to rebound, obviously, really helped us. And they missed some free throws (MSU went a fatal 8 of 22 at the stripe). You know, we'll take it any way we can get it after the past couple of weeks. But it was a great performance by our guys. I'm happy for them … feels really good, for the group, to have a little bounce-back in them."
Even with an ESPN GameDay presence helping juice up an always ferocious Breslin Center crowd. The Hoosiers never blinked.
Justin Smith posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards – and on a night when so many Hoosiers kept making plays, made perhaps the biggest play of all in the waning seconds (more on that later).
De'Ron Davis – who had progressed well from off-season Achilles tendon rehabilitation before wrecking an ankle in early January – returned to deliver 12 points, including the game-clinching free throws.
Devonte Green came off a three-game suspension for violation of team rules to deliver 11 points (hitting 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range) on a night when freshman point guard Rob Phinisee had foul trouble and went scoreless.
The impact made by the return of Green and Davis can hardly be overstated. January had brought a crisis of confidence, but February's opening outing showcased how veterans can provide both reassurance and stabilization.
"Without question, getting De'Ron back and getting Devonte back was a big deal for us," Miller said. "Those guys haven't been around in about three weeks. So to be able to play with those guys really helps, because they're veteran guys.
"It's awesome to see guys step up and play with the uncertainty of (Morgan) not being on the floor. But we hadn't played in almost a month with (both) De'Ron and Devonte, two juniors, who make a big difference for our team and obviously help with our depth."
Indiana's depth waned much in January. Saturday, led by Davis and Green, the bench delivered 27 big points. Jake Forrester helped battle down low and had a big first-half dunk. Evan Fitzner hit a big second-half 3, his first since Dec. 19.
And it surely helped the Hoosiers, generally, to finally hit some 3-point shots.
IU came in shooting 25 percent from 3-point range in conference play. That was the lowest mark in the history of the Big Ten. The Hoosiers hit 10 of 20 from beyond the arc Saturday.
That included four straight 3s, with the lead swinging back and fourth, down the stretch. During a three-minute stretch from 7:10 though 4:10 to play, Indiana got 3s from Green, Durham, Romeo Langford and Green again – the last putting IU up, 62-20.
Freshman standout Langford led IU with 19 points, often trying to finish through contact in the lane, and loomed large at crunch time.
Langford hit a step-back jumper to give his team a 64-61 edge with 3:30 left in regulation and, after MSU took a 65-64 lead at the 1:00 mark on a Kenny Goins 3, Langford went down the lane for a testy floated to get the lead back. A Nick Ward free throw then sent the game into OT.
And it was after Durham hustled to corral a loose ball that Langford arose to beat the shot-clock by drilling the at 3:10 of the overtime that put the Hoosiers ahead for good.
Winston – MSU's junior point guard, superb for the Spartans all night in leading all scorers with 26 points – buried a 3 at 0:30 of the OT that cut IU's lead to 76-75.
That was still the score when Winston saw an avenue to drive from the left wing as the game clock clicked under 15 seconds.
Smith saw Winston coming.
And Smith came all the way across the lane and used every single inch of his spectacular vertical-leaping ability to get a finger on the ball at the apex of the shot.
"I just saw Cassius Winston get loose going to the basket … " Smith recalled post-game. "And I just said, 'Might as well try to go get it.' Maybe block it. Maybe deter it. Maybe he'll miss it if he sees me coming.'
"Was lucky enough to be able to get a fingertip on it."
It wasn't luck.
It was effort.
And after Davis rebounded and was fouled, the .538 free-throw shooter on the season before Saturday made sure that effort was rewarded by swishing both clinching charities at 0:03.4
BTN analyst Jess Settles put it this way:
"Indiana was the tougher team in this game from the opening tip."
Just the right verbal salute this night.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – As Cassius Winston's final and forlorn 3-point attempt failed at the buzzer, Devonte Green turned toward the Indiana bench and snapped off a crisp military-style salute to his teammates.
It was well-deserved. They were basketball warriors this day.
Indiana gutted out an epic 79-75 overtime upset of No. 6-ranked Michigan State under improbable and often daunting circumstances Saturday night.
How improbable?
Well, injury-plagued IU had lost seven straight, its longest losing streak in eight years.
Then the Hoosiers saw senior leader Juwan Morgan go out with a shoulder injury just 13 minutes into the game.
And nobody had previously even come close to beating Michigan State in the Breslin Center all season.
MSU's average margin of victory in 10 games there was 90-60 heading into Saturday. Big Ten foes had fallen in Breslin by an average of 20 points per game. Indiana had won in just one of its previous 22 visits to East Lansing.
If IU has had more unlikely triumphs, it is hard to think of many:
Maybe a freshman-laden Hoosier team beating perhaps the best North Carolina team ever – Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith, etc. – at Atlanta's Omni in a 1984 NCAA regional.
Or the NCAA regional comeback win over defending champ and No. 1-ranked Duke at Rupp Arena that spurred the 2001-02 Hoosiers' to a Final Four run.
The "Wat Shot" win over No. 1 Kentucky in 2011 will forever live in Hoosier lore. But that game was at Assembly Hall. And those two aforementioned regional wins came on neutral courts.
Saturday was a true road win, the first time an unranked Indiana team had traveled during conference play to beat a Top 10-ranked host since 1982.
And it came when it was surely, sorely, needed.
"It'd been a long three weeks," IU coach Archie Miller said of the January victory drought. "Great to feel that winning feeling again, for the guys. Hopefully, this will carry-over to the back-half of the conference (schedule) and we can play with some confidence."
Confidence should certainly arise when victory was secured even after Morgan – Indiana's leading rebounder, second-leading scorer, primary post presence and acknowledged emotional leader – sustained his shoulder injury during a loose-ball dive 6:04 before halftime.
Morgan was done for the evening. His team was not.
"We wanted to do it for him," Al Durham said post-game of Morgan to BTN's Andy Katz. "We knew he probably wasn't going to come out for the second half.
"He just kept us going. Kept leading us. Kept talking to us. I feel like his presence was there. It just wasn't on the court."
IU stayed within 31-28 at halftime, then fought through 13 lead changes after intermission and through overtime. Never daunted, the Hoosiers did not falter.
There were tangible signs throughout the statistic sheet that revealed Indiana's resolve. Such as:
Michigan State had out-rebounded opponents, before Saturday, by an average of 10.4 per game. Indiana, even without its rebounding leader Morgan, won the battle of the boards Saturday, 48-40.
And against a MSU team that also truly thrives in transition, Indiana limited the Spartan advantage in transition points to a manageable 14-10.
Those were effort stats.
"We just came together," Miller said. "Guys buying-in, still, which is good to see. Played hard. Obviously had some adversity in the game, with Juwan going down, But thought the guys really were unselfish, for the most part, and committed to trying to get back (on defense) as much as possible.
"Being able to rebound, obviously, really helped us. And they missed some free throws (MSU went a fatal 8 of 22 at the stripe). You know, we'll take it any way we can get it after the past couple of weeks. But it was a great performance by our guys. I'm happy for them … feels really good, for the group, to have a little bounce-back in them."
Even with an ESPN GameDay presence helping juice up an always ferocious Breslin Center crowd. The Hoosiers never blinked.
Justin Smith posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards – and on a night when so many Hoosiers kept making plays, made perhaps the biggest play of all in the waning seconds (more on that later).
De'Ron Davis – who had progressed well from off-season Achilles tendon rehabilitation before wrecking an ankle in early January – returned to deliver 12 points, including the game-clinching free throws.
Devonte Green came off a three-game suspension for violation of team rules to deliver 11 points (hitting 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range) on a night when freshman point guard Rob Phinisee had foul trouble and went scoreless.
The impact made by the return of Green and Davis can hardly be overstated. January had brought a crisis of confidence, but February's opening outing showcased how veterans can provide both reassurance and stabilization.
"Without question, getting De'Ron back and getting Devonte back was a big deal for us," Miller said. "Those guys haven't been around in about three weeks. So to be able to play with those guys really helps, because they're veteran guys.
"It's awesome to see guys step up and play with the uncertainty of (Morgan) not being on the floor. But we hadn't played in almost a month with (both) De'Ron and Devonte, two juniors, who make a big difference for our team and obviously help with our depth."
Indiana's depth waned much in January. Saturday, led by Davis and Green, the bench delivered 27 big points. Jake Forrester helped battle down low and had a big first-half dunk. Evan Fitzner hit a big second-half 3, his first since Dec. 19.
And it surely helped the Hoosiers, generally, to finally hit some 3-point shots.
IU came in shooting 25 percent from 3-point range in conference play. That was the lowest mark in the history of the Big Ten. The Hoosiers hit 10 of 20 from beyond the arc Saturday.
That included four straight 3s, with the lead swinging back and fourth, down the stretch. During a three-minute stretch from 7:10 though 4:10 to play, Indiana got 3s from Green, Durham, Romeo Langford and Green again – the last putting IU up, 62-20.
Freshman standout Langford led IU with 19 points, often trying to finish through contact in the lane, and loomed large at crunch time.
Langford hit a step-back jumper to give his team a 64-61 edge with 3:30 left in regulation and, after MSU took a 65-64 lead at the 1:00 mark on a Kenny Goins 3, Langford went down the lane for a testy floated to get the lead back. A Nick Ward free throw then sent the game into OT.
And it was after Durham hustled to corral a loose ball that Langford arose to beat the shot-clock by drilling the at 3:10 of the overtime that put the Hoosiers ahead for good.
Winston – MSU's junior point guard, superb for the Spartans all night in leading all scorers with 26 points – buried a 3 at 0:30 of the OT that cut IU's lead to 76-75.
That was still the score when Winston saw an avenue to drive from the left wing as the game clock clicked under 15 seconds.
Smith saw Winston coming.
And Smith came all the way across the lane and used every single inch of his spectacular vertical-leaping ability to get a finger on the ball at the apex of the shot.
"I just saw Cassius Winston get loose going to the basket … " Smith recalled post-game. "And I just said, 'Might as well try to go get it.' Maybe block it. Maybe deter it. Maybe he'll miss it if he sees me coming.'
"Was lucky enough to be able to get a fingertip on it."
It wasn't luck.
It was effort.
And after Davis rebounded and was fouled, the .538 free-throw shooter on the season before Saturday made sure that effort was rewarded by swishing both clinching charities at 0:03.4
BTN analyst Jess Settles put it this way:
"Indiana was the tougher team in this game from the opening tip."
Just the right verbal salute this night.
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