GRAHAM: Hoosiers Can't Take Guarded Approach To Saint Francis
3/18/2019 8:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Archie Miller, a tough-as-nails point guard during his playing days at North Carolina State, knows what usually tells the tale in March.
"Guards win at this time of year," the Indiana coach said after his Hoosiers bowed out of their Big Ten tournament opener Thursday against Ohio State, 79-75.
That was in the wake of Miller watching OSU's two most experienced guards – graduate student Keyshawn Woods and senior C.J. Jackson – combine for 15 of 27 shooting, 35 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and nine assists against just three turnovers.
And after Miller saw his own most experienced guard, junior Devonte Green, go off for a game-high 26 points. Green hit 8 of 10 shots from 3-point range. Aside from Green, Indiana shot just .383 from the field and .176 (3 of 17) from 3.
That loss (more than likely) relegated IU to National Invitational Tournament play, with the Hoosiers hosting St. Francis (Pa.) for Tuesday's 7 p.m. opener.
And St. Francis has guards. Experienced guards who can score.
Such as 6-foot-5 junior Keith Braxton, the Northeast Conference Player of the Year. He technically plays the wing and spends a lot of time inside but is a primary ball-handler, with 121 assists on the season.
Braxton averages a team-high 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds. He also leads the Red Flash with 49 steals. He shoots .464 from the field and .766 at the foul line and is one of five St. Francis regulars who shoot at least 35 percent from 3 point range.
Another is 5-10 senior guard Jamaal King, who averages 15.2 points, who shoots .359 from behind the arc and .750- at the foul line. He's the Red Flash assist leader with 129.
Isaiah Blackmon, a 6-1 junior who has started 19 of the 31 games, leads the team in 3-pointers with 55 (hitting them at a .369 rate). Then there is Andre Wolford, a 6-2 senior, who shoots 3s with .364 accuracy. And Randall Gaskins, Jr., a 6-3 junior, hits them at a .429 clip.
Overall, St. Francis shoots a healthy .350 from beyond the arc, compared to IU's anemic .319.
St. Francis alternates a pair of 6-9 players – senior Luidgy Laporal, a Frenchman, and sophomore Mark Flagg – for some size. But even with their overall lack of height, the Red Flash have outrebounded their opponents this season (37.8 to 34.5 on average).
"Sometimes, when you play in November, you play undersized teams, but they cause you a lot of problems because they're mobile," Miller said when meeting the media Monday. "They have a good point guard (in King), first-team all-conference player, cat-quick kind of guy. They have shooters.
"You have a team that won eight in a row (in a stretch from late January to mid-February). They played really well down the stretch. They lost in their conference title game, were able to win the NEC (regular-season crown). Player of the Year in the conference, a mismatch guy inside (with Braxton)."
And the Red Flash isn't likely to come into IU's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall intimidated. They've already placed at UCLA, at North Carolina and at Virginia Tech this season.
"In general, you're dealing with a team that's amped up to play Indiana," Miller said. "Indiana has to find a way to be amped up to play the game, as well … our message is, at the end of the day, if you have an opportunity to put an Indiana jersey on, you better be ready to play."
Indiana freshman Romeo Langford, the team's leading scorer at 16.5, may or may not have that chance Tuesday. Miller said Langford hopes and intends to play but is "day to day" with a back issue that arose early in the Ohio State game and caused him to exit the contest temporarily.
IU has dealt with injuries all season, but the campaign itself never fully recovered from a 1-12 conference stretch that plagued the Hoosiers in January and February. Even so, Indiana (17-15 overall, 8-12 Big Ten) had won four straight and still had a chance to make the NCAA field heading into last Thursday, but couldn't capitalize.
"We had our opportunities," Miller acknowledged. "Everybody in our program knows we didn't get enough of what we needed to get done in January and February. I also think … we're playing pretty good basketball here at the end. We need to see if we can't carry that over.
"If you get a couple wins here in the post-season, regardless of what you're doing, that can really change individual player's paths into their future, build confidence, get more reps. That's what we're looking for right now."
IU senior standout Juwan Morgan had hoped his final play at Assembly Hall was the massive two-handed dunk he threw down for the signature moment of a Senior Day win over Rutgers, because a NCAA tournament big would have taken the Hoosiers elsewhere.
"Very disappointed," Morgan said Monday about not making the NCAA field. "I think we controlled our own fate. Some of those games, when it came down to the wire, we didn't make the plays we needed to win.
"Still playing in the post-season is great. We're going to go into it ready to win."
St. Francis (18-14 overall, 12-6 Northeastern Conference) did a bit more winning in its conference tourney, beating Bryant and LIU-Brooklyn to reach the title game before falling to Fairleigh Dickinson, with which the Red Flash had shared the league regular-season title. St. Francis coach Rob Krimmel was named conference Coach of the Year.
"You're playing against conference champions, or teams that were like yourself that had their opportunities, didn't get it done," Miller said of the 32-team NIT field. "They're still in a field of good teams.
"We get Saint Francis, a league champion, two all-conference players. Any time you're playing a post-season event, there's good players. You're going against really good coaches and teams … we have to get ourselves ready to go, get focused in, find a way to see if we can't get this first one."
Elongating a NIT run might not only help the Hoosiers feel better about the season's denouement, it could garner valuable experience and extra practice sessions for a relatively youthful IU team.
"Experience is everything," Miller said. "Winning games in March is everything. Finding a way to win a post-season tournament game, whether that's the Big Ten, NCAA, here in the NIT.
"There's great teams in the NIT. There's teams that could win games in the NCAA tournament. The more you advance in it, the more your confidence level and the more big-game experience you get.
"Really (we had) two freshmen and two sophomores that played heavy minutes this year. You got guys on the bench that are going to play a different role as we get into this. We have to find a way to get guys to finish and find a way individually to feel good about (things) moving forward."
IU freshman point guard Rob Phinisee is one of those younger players who relishes the chance for more time on the court.
"Really just gaining experience," Phinisee said of the NIT opportunity. "I'm not sure if it's every other day, like the NCAA tournament, but it's good to gain experience for the young guys. Have a lot of young guys.
"We're just happy to be playing again."
Miller certainly hopes so.
"The team that's the most excited, the team that's the most enjoyable right now to be around each other, the team that wants to get to that jump ball tomorrow and is excited, they got a chance to win the game," Miller said. "For us, obviously there's disappointment, but at the same time there's also opportunity.
"We need to focus in on the opportunity, then we need to be ready to go. I told the guys, there's two types of teams in post-season play. Ones that are excited to keep playing. Or …. down or out, not as excited -- these teams get eliminated very fast."
Tuesday night will tell which one Indiana is.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Archie Miller, a tough-as-nails point guard during his playing days at North Carolina State, knows what usually tells the tale in March.
"Guards win at this time of year," the Indiana coach said after his Hoosiers bowed out of their Big Ten tournament opener Thursday against Ohio State, 79-75.
That was in the wake of Miller watching OSU's two most experienced guards – graduate student Keyshawn Woods and senior C.J. Jackson – combine for 15 of 27 shooting, 35 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and nine assists against just three turnovers.
And after Miller saw his own most experienced guard, junior Devonte Green, go off for a game-high 26 points. Green hit 8 of 10 shots from 3-point range. Aside from Green, Indiana shot just .383 from the field and .176 (3 of 17) from 3.
That loss (more than likely) relegated IU to National Invitational Tournament play, with the Hoosiers hosting St. Francis (Pa.) for Tuesday's 7 p.m. opener.
And St. Francis has guards. Experienced guards who can score.
Such as 6-foot-5 junior Keith Braxton, the Northeast Conference Player of the Year. He technically plays the wing and spends a lot of time inside but is a primary ball-handler, with 121 assists on the season.
Braxton averages a team-high 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds. He also leads the Red Flash with 49 steals. He shoots .464 from the field and .766 at the foul line and is one of five St. Francis regulars who shoot at least 35 percent from 3 point range.
Another is 5-10 senior guard Jamaal King, who averages 15.2 points, who shoots .359 from behind the arc and .750- at the foul line. He's the Red Flash assist leader with 129.
Isaiah Blackmon, a 6-1 junior who has started 19 of the 31 games, leads the team in 3-pointers with 55 (hitting them at a .369 rate). Then there is Andre Wolford, a 6-2 senior, who shoots 3s with .364 accuracy. And Randall Gaskins, Jr., a 6-3 junior, hits them at a .429 clip.
Overall, St. Francis shoots a healthy .350 from beyond the arc, compared to IU's anemic .319.
St. Francis alternates a pair of 6-9 players – senior Luidgy Laporal, a Frenchman, and sophomore Mark Flagg – for some size. But even with their overall lack of height, the Red Flash have outrebounded their opponents this season (37.8 to 34.5 on average).
"Sometimes, when you play in November, you play undersized teams, but they cause you a lot of problems because they're mobile," Miller said when meeting the media Monday. "They have a good point guard (in King), first-team all-conference player, cat-quick kind of guy. They have shooters.
"You have a team that won eight in a row (in a stretch from late January to mid-February). They played really well down the stretch. They lost in their conference title game, were able to win the NEC (regular-season crown). Player of the Year in the conference, a mismatch guy inside (with Braxton)."
And the Red Flash isn't likely to come into IU's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall intimidated. They've already placed at UCLA, at North Carolina and at Virginia Tech this season.
"In general, you're dealing with a team that's amped up to play Indiana," Miller said. "Indiana has to find a way to be amped up to play the game, as well … our message is, at the end of the day, if you have an opportunity to put an Indiana jersey on, you better be ready to play."
Indiana freshman Romeo Langford, the team's leading scorer at 16.5, may or may not have that chance Tuesday. Miller said Langford hopes and intends to play but is "day to day" with a back issue that arose early in the Ohio State game and caused him to exit the contest temporarily.
IU has dealt with injuries all season, but the campaign itself never fully recovered from a 1-12 conference stretch that plagued the Hoosiers in January and February. Even so, Indiana (17-15 overall, 8-12 Big Ten) had won four straight and still had a chance to make the NCAA field heading into last Thursday, but couldn't capitalize.
"We had our opportunities," Miller acknowledged. "Everybody in our program knows we didn't get enough of what we needed to get done in January and February. I also think … we're playing pretty good basketball here at the end. We need to see if we can't carry that over.
"If you get a couple wins here in the post-season, regardless of what you're doing, that can really change individual player's paths into their future, build confidence, get more reps. That's what we're looking for right now."
IU senior standout Juwan Morgan had hoped his final play at Assembly Hall was the massive two-handed dunk he threw down for the signature moment of a Senior Day win over Rutgers, because a NCAA tournament big would have taken the Hoosiers elsewhere.
"Very disappointed," Morgan said Monday about not making the NCAA field. "I think we controlled our own fate. Some of those games, when it came down to the wire, we didn't make the plays we needed to win.
"Still playing in the post-season is great. We're going to go into it ready to win."
St. Francis (18-14 overall, 12-6 Northeastern Conference) did a bit more winning in its conference tourney, beating Bryant and LIU-Brooklyn to reach the title game before falling to Fairleigh Dickinson, with which the Red Flash had shared the league regular-season title. St. Francis coach Rob Krimmel was named conference Coach of the Year.
"You're playing against conference champions, or teams that were like yourself that had their opportunities, didn't get it done," Miller said of the 32-team NIT field. "They're still in a field of good teams.
"We get Saint Francis, a league champion, two all-conference players. Any time you're playing a post-season event, there's good players. You're going against really good coaches and teams … we have to get ourselves ready to go, get focused in, find a way to see if we can't get this first one."
Elongating a NIT run might not only help the Hoosiers feel better about the season's denouement, it could garner valuable experience and extra practice sessions for a relatively youthful IU team.
"Experience is everything," Miller said. "Winning games in March is everything. Finding a way to win a post-season tournament game, whether that's the Big Ten, NCAA, here in the NIT.
"There's great teams in the NIT. There's teams that could win games in the NCAA tournament. The more you advance in it, the more your confidence level and the more big-game experience you get.
"Really (we had) two freshmen and two sophomores that played heavy minutes this year. You got guys on the bench that are going to play a different role as we get into this. We have to find a way to get guys to finish and find a way individually to feel good about (things) moving forward."
IU freshman point guard Rob Phinisee is one of those younger players who relishes the chance for more time on the court.
"Really just gaining experience," Phinisee said of the NIT opportunity. "I'm not sure if it's every other day, like the NCAA tournament, but it's good to gain experience for the young guys. Have a lot of young guys.
"We're just happy to be playing again."
Miller certainly hopes so.
"The team that's the most excited, the team that's the most enjoyable right now to be around each other, the team that wants to get to that jump ball tomorrow and is excited, they got a chance to win the game," Miller said. "For us, obviously there's disappointment, but at the same time there's also opportunity.
"We need to focus in on the opportunity, then we need to be ready to go. I told the guys, there's two types of teams in post-season play. Ones that are excited to keep playing. Or …. down or out, not as excited -- these teams get eliminated very fast."
Tuesday night will tell which one Indiana is.
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