DIPRIMIO: Finish the Job -- Indiana Seeks to ‘Find a Way’ at Minnesota
2/19/2020 12:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Archie Miller as Dr. Phil. He's joked about that while coaching against the noise, frustration, disappointment and doubt that emerges after every Indiana basketball loss.
The Hoosiers are down after losses in five of their last six games.
They don't have to be out.
"You want to keep trying to keep getting better, and keep the big picture in mind," Miller tells Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer via his weekly radio show. "The wins are the most important thing. You try to find a way to get another."
Wednesday the Hoosiers (16-9 overall, 6-8 in the Big Ten) head to Minnesota (12-11, 6-7) and their 1-6 road record looms large.
So does their potential. They have after all, beaten four ranked teams at home,and have another chance Sunday when No. 9 Penn State comes to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"You have to be consistent," Miller says. "You have to be good at what you do.
"We have to have an effort level that says we gave ourselves a chance, that we were right there at the end of the game."
For IU, effort fluctuates.
"That's the frustrating part," Miller says. "Some of our effort stuff comes with mental; it comes with young guys, guys who traditionally don't handle adversity well.
This has been one of the unique teams that hasn't had a good response when things cave in."
Caving hits hardest on the road. IU's average margin of road defeat is 15.5 points. Some of that, Miller says, is due to the caliber of the competition. The Big Ten ranks as the nation's best conference and the depth among all 14 teams is unprecedented.
As Miller puts it, it's not like, "We're playing chopped liver."
To win, he adds, "You have to be good. You can never question effort.
"When you go to these places, you don't have a lot other than confidence and how hard you play and your discipline in doing your own things."
IU needs consistency and versatility. Beating Minnesota demands full-foster contributions.
"When you go on the road," Miller says, "you need your best guys to play (well). You need multiple guys. You can't have one guy carry you.
"If you hang in there, good things happen. You win on the road by fighting for every possession, keeping the game close, finding that consistent level we've been searching for."
This remains the team of Devonte Green and De'Ron Davis. It always is for contributing seniors if they push hard enough.
At times, they have.
Green, of course, flashes Big Ten MVP moments. He shot the Hoosiers past Florida State and Iowa, but couldn't do the same against Purdue, Michigan and more.
Miller won't give up on him.
"He's a huge part of our big wins, and will be a huge part of our huge wins that continue to come," he says. "He's the one guy on our team, when he gets it going, he's a difference maker. We need him to be a little more consistent in terms of what's needed in other areas."
Davis was an inside scoring beast against Michigan on Sunday, going 9-for-9 from the field for a career-high 18 points, basically equaling his scoring total from the previous six games.
He has made 12 of his last 13 shots.
"De'Ron was good," Miller says. "He played well against Iowa. He did a pretty good job defensively.
"They will play a huge role coming down the stretch and helping us to get to the finish line."
That line has a March Madness lure.
"They can have break-through moments, playing long into March," Miller says. "They'll remember that a lot longer than individual games.
"We'll make the most out of it. We'll push those guys to be the best.
And then …
"Finishing is everything."
It certainly will be against a Minnesota team that has lost three of its last four games, including last weekend's home loss to Iowa.
However, the Gophers are 10-2 at home.
Minnesota is led by three sophomores -- 6-10 Daniel Oturu (20.1 points, 11.5 rebounds), and guards Marcus Carr (15.7 points, 154 assists) and Gabe Kalscheur (11.7 points).
Carr leads the Big Ten in minutes, averaging 38.6 a game.
The Gophers are the conference's worst 3-point shooting team, at 28.5 percent in league play. Alihan Demir has missed his last 15 3-point attempts over the last seven games.
In other words, Minnesota is vulnerable if IU is tough enough to exploit it.
"Minnesota is a very good team," Miller says. "They're fighting for their lives like everybody else in the league.
"We have to find a way to be positive and ready to go."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Archie Miller as Dr. Phil. He's joked about that while coaching against the noise, frustration, disappointment and doubt that emerges after every Indiana basketball loss.
The Hoosiers are down after losses in five of their last six games.
They don't have to be out.
"You want to keep trying to keep getting better, and keep the big picture in mind," Miller tells Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer via his weekly radio show. "The wins are the most important thing. You try to find a way to get another."
Wednesday the Hoosiers (16-9 overall, 6-8 in the Big Ten) head to Minnesota (12-11, 6-7) and their 1-6 road record looms large.
So does their potential. They have after all, beaten four ranked teams at home,and have another chance Sunday when No. 9 Penn State comes to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"You have to be consistent," Miller says. "You have to be good at what you do.
"We have to have an effort level that says we gave ourselves a chance, that we were right there at the end of the game."
For IU, effort fluctuates.
"That's the frustrating part," Miller says. "Some of our effort stuff comes with mental; it comes with young guys, guys who traditionally don't handle adversity well.
This has been one of the unique teams that hasn't had a good response when things cave in."
Caving hits hardest on the road. IU's average margin of road defeat is 15.5 points. Some of that, Miller says, is due to the caliber of the competition. The Big Ten ranks as the nation's best conference and the depth among all 14 teams is unprecedented.
As Miller puts it, it's not like, "We're playing chopped liver."
To win, he adds, "You have to be good. You can never question effort.
"When you go to these places, you don't have a lot other than confidence and how hard you play and your discipline in doing your own things."
IU needs consistency and versatility. Beating Minnesota demands full-foster contributions.
"When you go on the road," Miller says, "you need your best guys to play (well). You need multiple guys. You can't have one guy carry you.
"If you hang in there, good things happen. You win on the road by fighting for every possession, keeping the game close, finding that consistent level we've been searching for."
This remains the team of Devonte Green and De'Ron Davis. It always is for contributing seniors if they push hard enough.
At times, they have.
Green, of course, flashes Big Ten MVP moments. He shot the Hoosiers past Florida State and Iowa, but couldn't do the same against Purdue, Michigan and more.
Miller won't give up on him.
"He's a huge part of our big wins, and will be a huge part of our huge wins that continue to come," he says. "He's the one guy on our team, when he gets it going, he's a difference maker. We need him to be a little more consistent in terms of what's needed in other areas."
Davis was an inside scoring beast against Michigan on Sunday, going 9-for-9 from the field for a career-high 18 points, basically equaling his scoring total from the previous six games.
He has made 12 of his last 13 shots.
"De'Ron was good," Miller says. "He played well against Iowa. He did a pretty good job defensively.
"They will play a huge role coming down the stretch and helping us to get to the finish line."
That line has a March Madness lure.
"They can have break-through moments, playing long into March," Miller says. "They'll remember that a lot longer than individual games.
"We'll make the most out of it. We'll push those guys to be the best.
And then …
"Finishing is everything."
It certainly will be against a Minnesota team that has lost three of its last four games, including last weekend's home loss to Iowa.
However, the Gophers are 10-2 at home.
Minnesota is led by three sophomores -- 6-10 Daniel Oturu (20.1 points, 11.5 rebounds), and guards Marcus Carr (15.7 points, 154 assists) and Gabe Kalscheur (11.7 points).
Carr leads the Big Ten in minutes, averaging 38.6 a game.
The Gophers are the conference's worst 3-point shooting team, at 28.5 percent in league play. Alihan Demir has missed his last 15 3-point attempts over the last seven games.
In other words, Minnesota is vulnerable if IU is tough enough to exploit it.
"Minnesota is a very good team," Miller says. "They're fighting for their lives like everybody else in the league.
"We have to find a way to be positive and ready to go."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballFB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 2 (Kennesaw State)
Thursday, September 04
FB: D'Angelo Ponds Media Availability (9/2/25)
Tuesday, September 02
FB: Pat Coogan Media Availability (9/2/25)
Tuesday, September 02
Indiana University Athletics: Hoosier the Bison's First Entrance
Saturday, August 30