GRAHAM: Win and In?
3/13/2019 11:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - What is at stake is not just advancing in the Big Ten Tournament.
There is that other tournament to think about.
Thursday's 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) Indiana-Ohio State conference tourney tipoff at Chicago's United Center could conceivably serve as a "win and in" ticket into the NCAA Tournament field for the victor.
The Hoosiers, winners of four straight, come in hot. The Buckeyes do not. But there is a big caveat in that regard.
Big as in 6-foot-9, 270-pound OSU sophomore Kaleb Wesson, now back after a three-game suspension for an unspecified violation of athletic department policy.
Wesson is the Buckeyes' scoring (14.6) and rebounding (6.7) leader.
IU coach Archie Miller, during his final weekly radio show of the 2018-19 campaign Monday, said that Wesson is a prime low-post presence with "great technique and feet, doesn't need a lot of space … he's big, he can really seal and he's got great touch."
Miller also noted on Monday's Big Ten teleconference that: "They are a very, very good team (but) when you take a player of that caliber off the floor, things obviously change.
"We've dealt with (missing players) all season long. One guy can make a world of difference and he's obviously a very big cog."
Ohio State did not fare very well in Wesson's absence, dropping road games at Purdue and Northwestern and then falling at home in overtime to Wisconsin, 73-67, Sunday.
"It was obviously a challenge, beyond the fact we were playing good teams, and two of those (games) were on the road," OSU coach Chris Holtmann said during the teleconference. "But it is different knowing that (Wesson) is going to come back rather than not expecting him to come back."
The Buckeyes, therefore, didn't lose hope – and seemed to find something in rallying from a 20-point deficit against the Badgers to force the extra session, riding pressure defense and shooting .567 during a 47-point second half.
And here is what OSU did Feb. 26, the last time it had Wesson available:
A 90-70 wipeout of Iowa.
Wesson supplied an 18-point, 11-board double-double that day – though leading five OSU double-figure scorers was freshman Justin Ahrens, who exploded for 29 points on 7 of 11 shooting (6 of 10 from 3) and 9 of 9 free throws.
Ahrens is one of four freshmen figuring regularly in the rotation for Holtmann, who arrived from Butler two years ago and promptly was named Big Ten Coach of the Year (and he's actually won two such awards in a row, having taken the Big East honor in 2017).
Holtmann and Miller, also in his second season, can relate a bit as the Big Ten went to a 20-game league schedule this season that proved an arduous journey for both clubs at times.
Both know what it means for youngish teams to have key players unavailable for multiple games. And after enjoying considerable success through December, the turn of the year was kind to neither.
Indiana started the season 13-2 but – without freshman point guard Rob Phinisee and junior center De'Ron Davis fully healthy much of January – had a harrowing 1-12 skid that stretched into February.
Ohio State (18-13 overall, 8-12 Big Ten) initially stood 12-1 but lost five straight to start January and finished that month with a 1-6 ledger.
But both teams rallied well enough to now merit NCAA tournament consideration.
Indiana (17-14, 8-12) regained its stride after a team meeting in the wake of a deflating loss Feb. 16 at Minnesota. Excruciatingly close losses to Purdue and Iowa followed, but then the Hoosiers knocked off Top 20 clubs in exhilaratingly close wins: Wisconsin in double OT (75-73) and Michigan State (63-62). And IU followed that with routs of Illinois (92-72, in Champaign) and Rutgers (89-73).
IU's Juwan Morgan celebrated Sunday's Senior Day in style.
Morgan hit his first 10 shots, finished 11 of 13 from the field, hit both his free throws and went 1 of 2 from the 3-point arc to score a game-high 25 points in just 22 minutes of time (due to foul trouble) against Rutgers. He earned co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors, coupled with his 20-point, 9-board showing at Illinois.
"Juwan Morgan … he's had a terrific career," Holtmann said of the Hoosiers' 6-7 frontliner. "I think he's one of the toughest matchups in the league, top to bottom. He's one of those guys where you're kind of trying to figure out how to guard him.
"He can do a little bit of everything. He can score inside or out. He pursues the ball on the glass as well as anybody in our league … he's just a terrific player, and Archie and his staff do a great job of putting him in different positions where it's tough to defend him. He's obviously had what, it sounds like, is a great closing stretch here."
IU's offense, moribund much of January and February, has had a great closing stretch, too.
Indiana has shot over 50 percent the past two games, .554 at Illinois and .534 against Rutgers, scoring a very healthy 1.34 points per possession in the former and still healthy 1.27 in the latter.
Phinisee and Devonte Green have orchestrated an efficient attack that has had single-digit turnovers the past three games. Green and Phinisee combined for 29 assists against just six errors over the past four games.
Green's outside shooting has fueled IU's surge, too. He's hit 14 of 21 shots over the last three games, including 6 of 11 from beyond the arc, and made 6 of 7 free throws for a combined 40 points. He's added 10 assists (just two turnovers) and six steals.
"I think just being consistent and staying focused and locked in," Green said Tuesday when asked about keys to his recent play. "And knocking down shots is big, of course."
Sophomore forward Justin Smith has also come on strongly of late. During the four-game winning streak, he's supplied 56 points and 22 rebounds while shooting .500 from the field and 7 of 10 at the foul line. And he's made just four turnovers, total, in the four games, turning around a problem area from earlier this season.
"For me the last couple weeks has been really about just getting back to playing my game and doing what got me here," Smith said Tuesday. "I think I kind of lost sight of what I was able to do well last year and leading up to last year. And now I've really started to go back to doing what I know how to do and what I'm good at."
Smith hails from Buffalo Grove, Ill., a Chicago suburb, and is naturally happy for a chance to play in front of the home folks.
"Well, playing at the United Center there's a lot of energy," Smith said. "There's a lot of Indiana fans in the Chicago area, so I would expect that we'll have a good crowd whenever we play.
" … Just getting the opportunity for me to be able to play in my hometown, and then being able to compete, and really all — everything that's happened in the past is kind of off the table, and so it's kind of like a new season.
"(The tournament) gives everybody a new shot, a new opportunity to really do whatever they want to do when it comes to the postseason. So we're looking forward to starting it off with a bang and doing what we know we can do."
But while the Indiana offense has shifted into overdrive, it now faces a Buckeye defense well-equipped to put on the brakes. OSU opponents shot just .417 from the field for the season (.325 from 3-point range) and average just 65.6 points.
Ohio State (which already has won two games at the United Center, 77-67 Dec. 5 over Illinois and 80-66 Dec. 22 over UCLA) beat the host Hoosiers, 55-52, Feb. 10 – the only meeting between the teams so far this season. The score reflected how the defenses dominated.
"They're terrific on defense," Miller said of the Buckeyes. "They're an NCAA tournament team.
"We really had a fight the last time we played them at our place. They were able to come out on top and make some real key plays late. I thought it was a really, really tough game to play in and I expect the same thing.
"… Those guys chose, in the first game, you know, to really pack the paint, defend certain guys. They trapped the post. They did a great job there and we just had a really hard time scoring the ball in that game. It was very difficult."
Andre Wesson, a 6-6 junior, led OSU with 15 points that day (hitting 7 of 11 shots). The Buckeyes also got 10 points apiece from Caleb Wesson and standout senior guard C.J. Jackson – a known Hoosier-killer, whose late 3s were crucial both in that game and last season.
Jackson joins Kaleb Wesson as another double-figure scorer on the season for OSU (12.1) and four other Buckeyes – Andrew Wesson, slick and quick freshman guards Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington, Jr., and grad-transfer guard Keyshawn Woods – all average over 7.0. Kyle Young, a 6-8 soph, is at 6.8.
And with Kaleb Wesson back inside, that will make it tougher for Hoosier defenders to stay with the perimeter shooters.
"Defensively, we're going to have to be a lot better than we (were) in our last two games," Miller said. "… Our last couple games, defensively, we haven't been as tough. And we're going to have to really, really be better in a couple areas as we go to Chicago. So we'll focus on ourselves on that.
"But the big thing for us is, you know, when you're playing in a team like that, is you're going to have to be tough-minded group. You can't give up second shots and you can't get rattled.
"They've obviously progressed since we played them. We're a different team than we were the day we played them. I'm sure they're different in many ways, but the current state of our group, I think we're excited to play."
Excited, in part, because there is a chance to Dance.
And that had seemed virtually impossible just a couple of weeks back.
Most observers seem to think IU has to win Thursday, and then even maybe beat Michigan State for the third time this season the following afternoon to earn a NCAA bid. But just being in the conversation reflects the progress Indiana has made over the past few games.
"Our (NCAA tournament) resume is still unfinished," Miller said. "Obviously it's greatly improved than it was three weeks ago."
But there is just one way to finish it successfully.
Keep winning.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - What is at stake is not just advancing in the Big Ten Tournament.
There is that other tournament to think about.
Thursday's 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) Indiana-Ohio State conference tourney tipoff at Chicago's United Center could conceivably serve as a "win and in" ticket into the NCAA Tournament field for the victor.
The Hoosiers, winners of four straight, come in hot. The Buckeyes do not. But there is a big caveat in that regard.
Big as in 6-foot-9, 270-pound OSU sophomore Kaleb Wesson, now back after a three-game suspension for an unspecified violation of athletic department policy.
Wesson is the Buckeyes' scoring (14.6) and rebounding (6.7) leader.
IU coach Archie Miller, during his final weekly radio show of the 2018-19 campaign Monday, said that Wesson is a prime low-post presence with "great technique and feet, doesn't need a lot of space … he's big, he can really seal and he's got great touch."
Miller also noted on Monday's Big Ten teleconference that: "They are a very, very good team (but) when you take a player of that caliber off the floor, things obviously change.
"We've dealt with (missing players) all season long. One guy can make a world of difference and he's obviously a very big cog."
Ohio State did not fare very well in Wesson's absence, dropping road games at Purdue and Northwestern and then falling at home in overtime to Wisconsin, 73-67, Sunday.
"It was obviously a challenge, beyond the fact we were playing good teams, and two of those (games) were on the road," OSU coach Chris Holtmann said during the teleconference. "But it is different knowing that (Wesson) is going to come back rather than not expecting him to come back."
The Buckeyes, therefore, didn't lose hope – and seemed to find something in rallying from a 20-point deficit against the Badgers to force the extra session, riding pressure defense and shooting .567 during a 47-point second half.
And here is what OSU did Feb. 26, the last time it had Wesson available:
A 90-70 wipeout of Iowa.
Wesson supplied an 18-point, 11-board double-double that day – though leading five OSU double-figure scorers was freshman Justin Ahrens, who exploded for 29 points on 7 of 11 shooting (6 of 10 from 3) and 9 of 9 free throws.
Ahrens is one of four freshmen figuring regularly in the rotation for Holtmann, who arrived from Butler two years ago and promptly was named Big Ten Coach of the Year (and he's actually won two such awards in a row, having taken the Big East honor in 2017).
Holtmann and Miller, also in his second season, can relate a bit as the Big Ten went to a 20-game league schedule this season that proved an arduous journey for both clubs at times.
Both know what it means for youngish teams to have key players unavailable for multiple games. And after enjoying considerable success through December, the turn of the year was kind to neither.
Indiana started the season 13-2 but – without freshman point guard Rob Phinisee and junior center De'Ron Davis fully healthy much of January – had a harrowing 1-12 skid that stretched into February.
Ohio State (18-13 overall, 8-12 Big Ten) initially stood 12-1 but lost five straight to start January and finished that month with a 1-6 ledger.
But both teams rallied well enough to now merit NCAA tournament consideration.
Indiana (17-14, 8-12) regained its stride after a team meeting in the wake of a deflating loss Feb. 16 at Minnesota. Excruciatingly close losses to Purdue and Iowa followed, but then the Hoosiers knocked off Top 20 clubs in exhilaratingly close wins: Wisconsin in double OT (75-73) and Michigan State (63-62). And IU followed that with routs of Illinois (92-72, in Champaign) and Rutgers (89-73).
IU's Juwan Morgan celebrated Sunday's Senior Day in style.
Morgan hit his first 10 shots, finished 11 of 13 from the field, hit both his free throws and went 1 of 2 from the 3-point arc to score a game-high 25 points in just 22 minutes of time (due to foul trouble) against Rutgers. He earned co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors, coupled with his 20-point, 9-board showing at Illinois.
"Juwan Morgan … he's had a terrific career," Holtmann said of the Hoosiers' 6-7 frontliner. "I think he's one of the toughest matchups in the league, top to bottom. He's one of those guys where you're kind of trying to figure out how to guard him.
"He can do a little bit of everything. He can score inside or out. He pursues the ball on the glass as well as anybody in our league … he's just a terrific player, and Archie and his staff do a great job of putting him in different positions where it's tough to defend him. He's obviously had what, it sounds like, is a great closing stretch here."
IU's offense, moribund much of January and February, has had a great closing stretch, too.
Indiana has shot over 50 percent the past two games, .554 at Illinois and .534 against Rutgers, scoring a very healthy 1.34 points per possession in the former and still healthy 1.27 in the latter.
Phinisee and Devonte Green have orchestrated an efficient attack that has had single-digit turnovers the past three games. Green and Phinisee combined for 29 assists against just six errors over the past four games.
Green's outside shooting has fueled IU's surge, too. He's hit 14 of 21 shots over the last three games, including 6 of 11 from beyond the arc, and made 6 of 7 free throws for a combined 40 points. He's added 10 assists (just two turnovers) and six steals.
"I think just being consistent and staying focused and locked in," Green said Tuesday when asked about keys to his recent play. "And knocking down shots is big, of course."
Sophomore forward Justin Smith has also come on strongly of late. During the four-game winning streak, he's supplied 56 points and 22 rebounds while shooting .500 from the field and 7 of 10 at the foul line. And he's made just four turnovers, total, in the four games, turning around a problem area from earlier this season.
"For me the last couple weeks has been really about just getting back to playing my game and doing what got me here," Smith said Tuesday. "I think I kind of lost sight of what I was able to do well last year and leading up to last year. And now I've really started to go back to doing what I know how to do and what I'm good at."
Smith hails from Buffalo Grove, Ill., a Chicago suburb, and is naturally happy for a chance to play in front of the home folks.
"Well, playing at the United Center there's a lot of energy," Smith said. "There's a lot of Indiana fans in the Chicago area, so I would expect that we'll have a good crowd whenever we play.
" … Just getting the opportunity for me to be able to play in my hometown, and then being able to compete, and really all — everything that's happened in the past is kind of off the table, and so it's kind of like a new season.
"(The tournament) gives everybody a new shot, a new opportunity to really do whatever they want to do when it comes to the postseason. So we're looking forward to starting it off with a bang and doing what we know we can do."
But while the Indiana offense has shifted into overdrive, it now faces a Buckeye defense well-equipped to put on the brakes. OSU opponents shot just .417 from the field for the season (.325 from 3-point range) and average just 65.6 points.
Ohio State (which already has won two games at the United Center, 77-67 Dec. 5 over Illinois and 80-66 Dec. 22 over UCLA) beat the host Hoosiers, 55-52, Feb. 10 – the only meeting between the teams so far this season. The score reflected how the defenses dominated.
"They're terrific on defense," Miller said of the Buckeyes. "They're an NCAA tournament team.
"We really had a fight the last time we played them at our place. They were able to come out on top and make some real key plays late. I thought it was a really, really tough game to play in and I expect the same thing.
"… Those guys chose, in the first game, you know, to really pack the paint, defend certain guys. They trapped the post. They did a great job there and we just had a really hard time scoring the ball in that game. It was very difficult."
Andre Wesson, a 6-6 junior, led OSU with 15 points that day (hitting 7 of 11 shots). The Buckeyes also got 10 points apiece from Caleb Wesson and standout senior guard C.J. Jackson – a known Hoosier-killer, whose late 3s were crucial both in that game and last season.
Jackson joins Kaleb Wesson as another double-figure scorer on the season for OSU (12.1) and four other Buckeyes – Andrew Wesson, slick and quick freshman guards Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington, Jr., and grad-transfer guard Keyshawn Woods – all average over 7.0. Kyle Young, a 6-8 soph, is at 6.8.
And with Kaleb Wesson back inside, that will make it tougher for Hoosier defenders to stay with the perimeter shooters.
"Defensively, we're going to have to be a lot better than we (were) in our last two games," Miller said. "… Our last couple games, defensively, we haven't been as tough. And we're going to have to really, really be better in a couple areas as we go to Chicago. So we'll focus on ourselves on that.
"But the big thing for us is, you know, when you're playing in a team like that, is you're going to have to be tough-minded group. You can't give up second shots and you can't get rattled.
"They've obviously progressed since we played them. We're a different team than we were the day we played them. I'm sure they're different in many ways, but the current state of our group, I think we're excited to play."
Excited, in part, because there is a chance to Dance.
And that had seemed virtually impossible just a couple of weeks back.
Most observers seem to think IU has to win Thursday, and then even maybe beat Michigan State for the third time this season the following afternoon to earn a NCAA bid. But just being in the conversation reflects the progress Indiana has made over the past few games.
"Our (NCAA tournament) resume is still unfinished," Miller said. "Obviously it's greatly improved than it was three weeks ago."
But there is just one way to finish it successfully.
Keep winning.
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