Hoosiers Take Critical Step Forward in Iowa Win
2/8/2021 1:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
It doesn't have to be pretty to count.
The Hoosiers played far from their best basketball vs. Iowa at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Sunday afternoon, but they managed to find a way to win thanks to some gritty work inside, tough defense, and a clutch shot from a kid who struggled to find the bottom of the basket most of the day.
IU's 67-65 win over the No. 8 Hawkeyes—a victory that completed a season sweep of Iowa—didn't look like the coaching staff drew it up. The film session will provide plenty of notes. But for a team that needed a win in the worst way, figuring out how to come out on top vs. one of the better teams in the conference and country while not exactly filling the highlight reel is a huge step.
"Total team effort today, and that's not really coach speak," head coach Archie Miller said. "There wasn't one guy that checked in that game today who didn't do something to help us at a different time in the game. I think that's the testament to their work ethic. I think our staff has done a really good job of just plugging away and getting guys better, and we have a number of guys right now that are really helping and contributing."
Consider these numbers:
Indiana's starting guards—Aljami Durham, Armaan Franklin, and Rob Phinisee—combined to go 4-of-28 from the field.
The Hoosiers went 23-of-64 (35.9%) from the floor overall.
They made just 6-of-23 attempts (26.1%) from 3-point range, including just 2-of-14 in the second half.
They converted just 15-of-24 attempts from the free-throw line.
Again, it wasn't always pretty.
Then again, when the Hoosiers needed it most, there was Phinisee stepping up to knock down a 3-pointer with IU trailing 61-58 and just 1:39 left in the game. Phinisee was all of 0-of-7 from the floor at the time, and a miss there given the Hoosiers hadn't made a field goal in a couple of minutes could have doomed the Hoosiers.
But Phinisee didn't hesitate. He knocked down the shot to tie the game.
"Rob had a huge shot," Miller said. "We were in a little trouble there, and he rose up and hit a big three for us off the bounce. He didn't have his best outing. He didn't have his best week. But I thought he had a good finish to the game, and I think us being able to absorb (the starting guards) not playing particularly well and win the game is a huge step for us."
Then, with the score tied and the clock winding down, there was Franklin with the ball in his hands, calmly hitting a step-back jumper with :1.8 on the clock to win it.
Franklin was 1-of-9 shooting when the ball left his hand.
He didn't care. His team needed him. It was time to knock one down, and Miller had confidence in him.
"If you're going to be able to take the last shot and the clock is winding down, that's the guy we wanted to get the ball to," Miller said. "He did the same thing against Illinois. This one, he did a good job. I thought he didn't force it. He just took a nice little mid-range pull-up.
That's part of Armaan's game. He's very good at it. When it left his hands, it looked good."
The Hoosiers also got 19 bench points, all from freshmen. Khristian Lander, Anthony Leal, Trey Galloway, and Jordan Geronimo combined to go 7-of-16 from the field, grab nine rebounds and hand out five assists. All four posted positive numbers in the plus-minus category, and they provided the Hoosiers with some much-needed energy.
"All four of them played double-figure minutes, and all four of them played an important role in the win," Miller said. "We've gotten to the point here in February where we're very confident playing anybody on our team."
Of course, Miller would prefer it if the Hoosiers played a bit better, knocked down more shots, and didn't need a bucket in the closing seconds to win. But overcoming a tough day to still pick up the victory was exactly what the Hoosiers need with two games on the road this upcoming week.
"To be able to start the back half of a 20-game league schedule with a win is important," Miller said. "What I feel best about is we played hard all week. We're going to have to stay with it, keep grinding away. It's a league of inches, but if you get a win in this league, man, it really counts a lot."
The Hoosiers played far from their best basketball vs. Iowa at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Sunday afternoon, but they managed to find a way to win thanks to some gritty work inside, tough defense, and a clutch shot from a kid who struggled to find the bottom of the basket most of the day.
IU's 67-65 win over the No. 8 Hawkeyes—a victory that completed a season sweep of Iowa—didn't look like the coaching staff drew it up. The film session will provide plenty of notes. But for a team that needed a win in the worst way, figuring out how to come out on top vs. one of the better teams in the conference and country while not exactly filling the highlight reel is a huge step.
"Total team effort today, and that's not really coach speak," head coach Archie Miller said. "There wasn't one guy that checked in that game today who didn't do something to help us at a different time in the game. I think that's the testament to their work ethic. I think our staff has done a really good job of just plugging away and getting guys better, and we have a number of guys right now that are really helping and contributing."
Consider these numbers:
Indiana's starting guards—Aljami Durham, Armaan Franklin, and Rob Phinisee—combined to go 4-of-28 from the field.
The Hoosiers went 23-of-64 (35.9%) from the floor overall.
They made just 6-of-23 attempts (26.1%) from 3-point range, including just 2-of-14 in the second half.
They converted just 15-of-24 attempts from the free-throw line.
Again, it wasn't always pretty.
Then again, when the Hoosiers needed it most, there was Phinisee stepping up to knock down a 3-pointer with IU trailing 61-58 and just 1:39 left in the game. Phinisee was all of 0-of-7 from the floor at the time, and a miss there given the Hoosiers hadn't made a field goal in a couple of minutes could have doomed the Hoosiers.
But Phinisee didn't hesitate. He knocked down the shot to tie the game.
"Rob had a huge shot," Miller said. "We were in a little trouble there, and he rose up and hit a big three for us off the bounce. He didn't have his best outing. He didn't have his best week. But I thought he had a good finish to the game, and I think us being able to absorb (the starting guards) not playing particularly well and win the game is a huge step for us."
Then, with the score tied and the clock winding down, there was Franklin with the ball in his hands, calmly hitting a step-back jumper with :1.8 on the clock to win it.
Franklin was 1-of-9 shooting when the ball left his hand.
He didn't care. His team needed him. It was time to knock one down, and Miller had confidence in him.
"If you're going to be able to take the last shot and the clock is winding down, that's the guy we wanted to get the ball to," Miller said. "He did the same thing against Illinois. This one, he did a good job. I thought he didn't force it. He just took a nice little mid-range pull-up.
That's part of Armaan's game. He's very good at it. When it left his hands, it looked good."
The Hoosiers also got 19 bench points, all from freshmen. Khristian Lander, Anthony Leal, Trey Galloway, and Jordan Geronimo combined to go 7-of-16 from the field, grab nine rebounds and hand out five assists. All four posted positive numbers in the plus-minus category, and they provided the Hoosiers with some much-needed energy.
"All four of them played double-figure minutes, and all four of them played an important role in the win," Miller said. "We've gotten to the point here in February where we're very confident playing anybody on our team."
Of course, Miller would prefer it if the Hoosiers played a bit better, knocked down more shots, and didn't need a bucket in the closing seconds to win. But overcoming a tough day to still pick up the victory was exactly what the Hoosiers need with two games on the road this upcoming week.
"To be able to start the back half of a 20-game league schedule with a win is important," Miller said. "What I feel best about is we played hard all week. We're going to have to stay with it, keep grinding away. It's a league of inches, but if you get a win in this league, man, it really counts a lot."
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