Indiana University Athletics
End of Regular Season Provides Hoosiers a Fresh Start
3/8/2021 3:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
It wasn't the end to the regular season the Hoosiers were hoping for, but the 2020-21 season is no longer about what has been.
It's about what could be.
Indiana closed out its regular-season schedule with a road loss to Purdue, sending IU into the Big Ten Tournament on a five-game losing skid. Shaky shooting from the perimeter doomed the Hoosiers in West Lafayette, with Indiana going just 5-of-23 from 3-point range.
It isn't that IU wasn't getting open looks—it was—but shots weren't falling.
It sounds easy enough. Just throw the ball in the basket. But when a team is struggling from outside, every shot carries a little extra weight as everyone tries to be the one to get the team back on track.
But IU's outside struggles aren't about a fundamental flaw in its offense—the Hoosiers have made seven or more threes in a game 11 times this season—as much as it's about just seeing the ball go in the basket. Indiana is in a 7-of-43 shooting slump from beyond the arc in its last two games, and head coach Archie Miller believes his team just needs to start making buckets.
"We're just struggling shooting the ball," Miller said following the Purdue loss. "You know, at the end of the day, if you look at the first half, and you 1-of-13 from three, probably about 11 of them were good looks. You make two or three of them, and it's a different game in the first half. But you know, all in all, in our last two and a half games, we're not shooting the ball well from perimeter, and you're not going to be able to win in this league without shooting the ball a little bit."
Despite the struggles from the perimeter the Hoosiers have kept fighting, which gives Miller hope.
"We haven't caved in, even in our last two games," Miller said. "I love our attitude. I think we've played two of our hardest fought games, and our last two road games defensively, and guys are battling hard. So, we've got to keep that going here. We're going to find a way to break back through, but at some point, we're going to have to make some open shots."
And that's where what could be becomes more important than ever.
The baggage of the regular season becomes meaningless once a team reaches the Big Ten Tournament. Everybody's record reverts to 0-0 for a few days, and the only thing that is important is winning the next game. There isn't any concern about an upcoming road games or traveling or anything else. The postseason equation is simple.
Win until you lose. Then you go home.
It gives every team a clean slate. It can help a team find its focus and can bring teams closer together.
Forget about what has been. Worry about what could be.
"It has been a rough five games," said forward Trayce Jackson-Davis about the end of the regular season. "Three out of the five, we've been in to win, and we've dropped them. Going into the Big Ten Tournament, we just have to reset our batteries. We just have to be ready and locked in and have a good week of practice getting ready to go into it. So, that's what we're going to be focused on."
How exactly does Jackson-Davis help his teammates get in the right mindset for the postseason?
"I know a lot of my teammates are angry right now," Jackson-Davis said. "But we just have to put the past behind us. We just have to keep pushing forward no matter the obstacles that come at us. We have to keep pushing forward. So, I'll probably try to talk to my teammates, try to get them together, maybe do something to get our minds off of (the Purdue loss), and then reset and go tomorrow or whenever we practice next."
The Hoosiers are banged up. Guard Armaan Franklin missed the Purdue game with an injury, forward Race Thompson has dealt with multiple issues, and forward Jordan Geronimo has as well. The season has been a grind, and that grind can be extra difficult when there isn't the joy of victory in the final couple weeks of the season.
But the regular season is irrelevant now. Shooting percentages don't mean a thing. Everything that happened in February, whether it be good or bad, means nothing at the Big Ten Tournament. It's about the one game.
It's a world of possibilities, and the sense of urgency couldn't be higher.
"I really feel like our defense has kind of come back around here in the last three or four games," Miller said. "We're playing much harder."
Just in time.
It's about what could be.
Indiana closed out its regular-season schedule with a road loss to Purdue, sending IU into the Big Ten Tournament on a five-game losing skid. Shaky shooting from the perimeter doomed the Hoosiers in West Lafayette, with Indiana going just 5-of-23 from 3-point range.
It isn't that IU wasn't getting open looks—it was—but shots weren't falling.
It sounds easy enough. Just throw the ball in the basket. But when a team is struggling from outside, every shot carries a little extra weight as everyone tries to be the one to get the team back on track.
But IU's outside struggles aren't about a fundamental flaw in its offense—the Hoosiers have made seven or more threes in a game 11 times this season—as much as it's about just seeing the ball go in the basket. Indiana is in a 7-of-43 shooting slump from beyond the arc in its last two games, and head coach Archie Miller believes his team just needs to start making buckets.
"We're just struggling shooting the ball," Miller said following the Purdue loss. "You know, at the end of the day, if you look at the first half, and you 1-of-13 from three, probably about 11 of them were good looks. You make two or three of them, and it's a different game in the first half. But you know, all in all, in our last two and a half games, we're not shooting the ball well from perimeter, and you're not going to be able to win in this league without shooting the ball a little bit."
Despite the struggles from the perimeter the Hoosiers have kept fighting, which gives Miller hope.
"We haven't caved in, even in our last two games," Miller said. "I love our attitude. I think we've played two of our hardest fought games, and our last two road games defensively, and guys are battling hard. So, we've got to keep that going here. We're going to find a way to break back through, but at some point, we're going to have to make some open shots."
And that's where what could be becomes more important than ever.
The baggage of the regular season becomes meaningless once a team reaches the Big Ten Tournament. Everybody's record reverts to 0-0 for a few days, and the only thing that is important is winning the next game. There isn't any concern about an upcoming road games or traveling or anything else. The postseason equation is simple.
Win until you lose. Then you go home.
It gives every team a clean slate. It can help a team find its focus and can bring teams closer together.
Forget about what has been. Worry about what could be.
"It has been a rough five games," said forward Trayce Jackson-Davis about the end of the regular season. "Three out of the five, we've been in to win, and we've dropped them. Going into the Big Ten Tournament, we just have to reset our batteries. We just have to be ready and locked in and have a good week of practice getting ready to go into it. So, that's what we're going to be focused on."
How exactly does Jackson-Davis help his teammates get in the right mindset for the postseason?
"I know a lot of my teammates are angry right now," Jackson-Davis said. "But we just have to put the past behind us. We just have to keep pushing forward no matter the obstacles that come at us. We have to keep pushing forward. So, I'll probably try to talk to my teammates, try to get them together, maybe do something to get our minds off of (the Purdue loss), and then reset and go tomorrow or whenever we practice next."
The Hoosiers are banged up. Guard Armaan Franklin missed the Purdue game with an injury, forward Race Thompson has dealt with multiple issues, and forward Jordan Geronimo has as well. The season has been a grind, and that grind can be extra difficult when there isn't the joy of victory in the final couple weeks of the season.
But the regular season is irrelevant now. Shooting percentages don't mean a thing. Everything that happened in February, whether it be good or bad, means nothing at the Big Ten Tournament. It's about the one game.
It's a world of possibilities, and the sense of urgency couldn't be higher.
"I really feel like our defense has kind of come back around here in the last three or four games," Miller said. "We're playing much harder."
Just in time.
Players Mentioned
Guard
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Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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