Wednesday, December 23
Bloomington, Ind.
8:30 p.m.
Indiana University
5-3,0-1Big Ten
67
vs
74
Northwestern
5-1,2-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Northwestern
37
37
74
Indiana
28
39
67
Hoosiers' Comeback Comes up Short Against Wildcats, 74-67
12/23/2020 10:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Archie Miller had no problem looking in the mirror; no hesitation in assessing a Big Ten opener gone disappointingly wrong.
"We didn't play well enough to win," the Indiana coach said in the aftermath of Wednesday night's 74-67 home loss to Northwestern. "That's on me. I have to do a better job to prepare our guys."
IU (5-3) had 16 turnovers against 11 assists.
Not good enough, Miller said.
"We keep making the same mistakes in terms of taking care of the ball. I will take full responsibility."
The Hoosiers allowed Northwestern (5-1) to shoot 56 percent from the field. That included 12 layups.
Not good enough.
"This was the first time our defense did not do the job for us," Miller said.
Beyond that, he added, "We stunk on both ends of the court. There was a lot of sloppiness. It got us beat."
There was this reality:
"Northwestern is a good team," Miller said. "I'm disappointed in how we played. This team doesn't embrace playing that way."
IU has three days to figure it out before a trip to No. 18 Illinois (6-3). Preparation will include a 9 a.m. Christmas Eve practice, and a practice and bus ride to Champaign, Illinois, on Christmas Day.
"There's not a lot of time to fix it," Miller said.
Northwestern's combination of Princeton-style offense (lots of back-cuts and layups) and good shooters built first-half leads as large as 14 points.
The Hoosier answer?
Defense.
It worked for a while. They inched ahead 54-50 in the second half before fading.
"Northwestern kept coming and executing," Miller said.
Added guard Armaan Franklin: "It gets tough and you've got to fight through it."
Northwestern brought the fight to Indiana just as it did a couple days earlier against then No. 4 Michigan State in a 79-65 victory that left Spartans coach Tom Izzo, like Miller, blaming himself for not preparing his team well enough. The Wildcats feature five double-figure scorers and came in with a 90.4-point scoring average.
"Northwestern is a very good team," Miller said. "For some reason, we were off balance. Northwestern had a lot to do with it, but it was not a good job on our end."
Forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had 22 points and nine rebounds. Franklin added 15 points and five rebounds. Race Thompson had 11 points and six rebounds.
Northwestern hit three early three-pointers against one of the Big Ten's best perimeter defenses, then attacked inside for a pair of layups to push ahead 27-15.
Miller had seen enough. He called a time out.
Northwestern scored again to complete a 10-0 run -- making it 29-15 -- before Franklin ended it with a short jumper.
The Hoosiers cut the gap to seven points before ending the half down 37-28.
A big factor was Northwestern's 18-9 edge in bench scoring.
The key to an IU rally – defense.
The Hoosiers' forced a shot-clock violation on Northwestern's first possession of the second half.
Thompson followed with a three-pointer, his second of the season. Then came a Jackson-Davis basket, a free throw and a dunk.
In two minutes, a nine-point deficit was one.
With a chance to take the lead, IU came up empty on three straight possessions. A Northwestern three-pointer pushed the margin to 40-36, but the Hoosiers kept attacking.
Freshman guard Trey Galloway hit a three-pointer. Franklin scored off a fast-break layup, then buried a three-pointer. The Hoosiers led 50-47 as the clock ticked under 12 minutes.
They were up 54-50 when Northwestern went on a 12-0 run. IU responded with a 7-0 surge.
It was a two-point Wildcat lead as the clock approached two minutes. It was a five-point edge with 30 seconds left.
Rob Phinisee's two free throws made it 70-67 before Northwestern clinched it with four straight free throws by guard Chase Audige.
"There were too many plays that won't work for us," Miller said. "You can't turn it over 16 times. We're not that good. We have five to six a game we have to get trimmed down. Maybe we have to slow it down. Make sure we don't turn it over."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Archie Miller had no problem looking in the mirror; no hesitation in assessing a Big Ten opener gone disappointingly wrong.
"We didn't play well enough to win," the Indiana coach said in the aftermath of Wednesday night's 74-67 home loss to Northwestern. "That's on me. I have to do a better job to prepare our guys."
IU (5-3) had 16 turnovers against 11 assists.
Not good enough, Miller said.
"We keep making the same mistakes in terms of taking care of the ball. I will take full responsibility."
The Hoosiers allowed Northwestern (5-1) to shoot 56 percent from the field. That included 12 layups.
Not good enough.
"This was the first time our defense did not do the job for us," Miller said.
Beyond that, he added, "We stunk on both ends of the court. There was a lot of sloppiness. It got us beat."
There was this reality:
"Northwestern is a good team," Miller said. "I'm disappointed in how we played. This team doesn't embrace playing that way."
IU has three days to figure it out before a trip to No. 18 Illinois (6-3). Preparation will include a 9 a.m. Christmas Eve practice, and a practice and bus ride to Champaign, Illinois, on Christmas Day.
"There's not a lot of time to fix it," Miller said.
Northwestern's combination of Princeton-style offense (lots of back-cuts and layups) and good shooters built first-half leads as large as 14 points.
The Hoosier answer?
Defense.
It worked for a while. They inched ahead 54-50 in the second half before fading.
"Northwestern kept coming and executing," Miller said.
Added guard Armaan Franklin: "It gets tough and you've got to fight through it."
Northwestern brought the fight to Indiana just as it did a couple days earlier against then No. 4 Michigan State in a 79-65 victory that left Spartans coach Tom Izzo, like Miller, blaming himself for not preparing his team well enough. The Wildcats feature five double-figure scorers and came in with a 90.4-point scoring average.
"Northwestern is a very good team," Miller said. "For some reason, we were off balance. Northwestern had a lot to do with it, but it was not a good job on our end."
Forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had 22 points and nine rebounds. Franklin added 15 points and five rebounds. Race Thompson had 11 points and six rebounds.
Northwestern hit three early three-pointers against one of the Big Ten's best perimeter defenses, then attacked inside for a pair of layups to push ahead 27-15.
Miller had seen enough. He called a time out.
Northwestern scored again to complete a 10-0 run -- making it 29-15 -- before Franklin ended it with a short jumper.
The Hoosiers cut the gap to seven points before ending the half down 37-28.
A big factor was Northwestern's 18-9 edge in bench scoring.
The key to an IU rally – defense.
The Hoosiers' forced a shot-clock violation on Northwestern's first possession of the second half.
Thompson followed with a three-pointer, his second of the season. Then came a Jackson-Davis basket, a free throw and a dunk.
In two minutes, a nine-point deficit was one.
With a chance to take the lead, IU came up empty on three straight possessions. A Northwestern three-pointer pushed the margin to 40-36, but the Hoosiers kept attacking.
Freshman guard Trey Galloway hit a three-pointer. Franklin scored off a fast-break layup, then buried a three-pointer. The Hoosiers led 50-47 as the clock ticked under 12 minutes.
They were up 54-50 when Northwestern went on a 12-0 run. IU responded with a 7-0 surge.
It was a two-point Wildcat lead as the clock approached two minutes. It was a five-point edge with 30 seconds left.
Rob Phinisee's two free throws made it 70-67 before Northwestern clinched it with four straight free throws by guard Chase Audige.
"There were too many plays that won't work for us," Miller said. "You can't turn it over 16 times. We're not that good. We have five to six a game we have to get trimmed down. Maybe we have to slow it down. Make sure we don't turn it over."
Team Stats
NU
IND
FG%
.560
.481
3FG%
.368
.389
FT%
.846
.625
RB
25
27
TO
16
16
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
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