Hoosiers Fall to No. 17 Texas in Maui Invitational, 66-44

Tuesday, December 1

Asheville, N.C. - Harrah's Cherokee Center

1:30 p.m.

Indiana University

2-1,0-0Big Ten

Texas

3-0,0-0Big 12

Texas

Indiana

Hoosiers Fall to No. 17 Texas in Maui Invitational, 66-44

12/1/2020 5:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. - When shots aren't falling, it's difficult to win basketball games. And the Hoosiers simply couldn't get shots to fall against Texas.

Indiana shot just 23.9 percent from the field overall and went 2-of-10 from 3-point range in a 66-44 loss to the Longhorns in the semifinals of the Camping World Maui Invitational in Asheville, N.C. The Hoosiers were led by sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis, who scored 17 points, but no other IU player scored more than eight points in the defeat.

"Give Texas credit," head coach Archie Miller said. "Texas stunned our guys in the first four or five minutes of the game. (There was an) inability to reverse the ball, inability to connect on a screen, inability to do what we wanted to do. They imposed early on how physical and how tough they were going to play, and I thought that played a role and knocked us on our heels."

The Longhorns jumped out to a 6-0 lead thanks to a 3-point field goal from Courtney Ramsey, a layup off a steal by Matt Coleman, and a free throw from Jericho Sims. Despite some early shooting struggles, the Hoosiers whittled away at the lead thanks to Jackson-Davis, who scored on a three-point play to pull IU within 8-6 with 14:21 left in the half. Both teams' defense turned up the intensity with only Texas scoring a bucket in the next four minutes, but a 3-pointer from Brock Cunningham allowed the Longhorns to push the lead to 13-6 with just under 10 minutes to play.

IU then ran off five straight points to pull within 13-11, but Texas answered with a 10-0 run that pushed the lead to double digits. The Longhorns went into halftime with a 31-19 lead.

Indiana went 5-of-23 from the field in the first 20 minutes and turned the ball over nine times, helping the Longhorns score 15 points in transition.

"I'm not going to say every shot we took was tough because, right now, we're missing some easy ones around the rim," Miller said. "For us, to give easy baskets, to give up second shots and turn it over… we did all three in the first half."

Texas' length continued to bother the Hoosiers after the break, and Indiana could never capitalize on some mistakes the Longhorns made along the way. The lead grew to 15 early in the second half after a dunk by Texas' Kai Jones and a 3-pointer from Andrew Jones, but Jackson-Davis answered with a three-point play off an assist from Armaan Franklin, and Franklin's 3-pointer with 16:49 to play pulled the Hoosiers within 38-27.

IU enjoyed a solid sequence with 11:21 to play when Race Thompson blocked a 3-point attempt from Coleman, and his outlet pass found Jackson-Davis, who threw down a dunk to bring the lead to 46-31. Texas answered with an 8-0 run that pushed the lead to 23 points with 8:52 to play, and the Hoosiers never got closer.

Guard Aljami Durham scored eight points on 2-of-7 shooting, but he suffered an injury in the second half and needed help off the floor. Franklin finished with six points on 2-of-7 shooting, and Thomson added four points and six rebounds. The Hoosiers got just six points off the bench—four of them from Jerome Hunter.

"I think, in general, we learned a good lesson today," Miller said. "As hard as we played last night, they played harder today and imposed more will on us today. We've got to find a way to respond. I also think that it's early in the year, and as the season starts, you're trying to find that rotation and chemistry, and we're not there yet. It's not for a lack of our players wanting to or preparing. It wasn't like we got real high after last night and didn't work at it. We had a quick turnaround just like Texas. I thought Texas' defense, number one, really frustrated us. And I think, number two, over the course of the game, not being able to keep it in reaching distance, eventually broke us. But we're better than we played today."