Indiana’s Season Ends in NCAA Second Round

Thursday, March 17

Portland, Ore.

7:20 PM

Indiana University

21-14,9-11Big Ten

Saint Mary's

26-7,12-3WCC

Indiana

Saint Mary's (CA)

3/17/2022 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

PORTLAND, Ore. – This was not what any Hoosier wanted, not like this, nothing like this.

Forty NCAA tourney appearances, with five national championships and plenty of highlights, had never produced such a lopsided defeat.

Thursday night's 82-53 first-round loss to No. 5 seed Saint Mary's surpassed a 25-point NCAA tourney defeat to St. John's in 1999.

But through the disappointment came this Hoosier thought -- this is a beginning and not an ending.

"This is a learning experience," IU assistant coach Kenya Hunter told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the postgame radio show.

"We set out to get to the tournament, and we were able to accomplish that. As we regroup, we learn from this. That's what we're excited about -- who we have coming back, who we are adding. We continue to work."

Work centers on one key area, coach Mike Woodson said:

Shooting.

The Hoosiers were 4-for-23 beyond the arc in two NCAA tourney games, which reflected a season of outside-shooting struggles.

"We have to get better in that area," Woodson said. "I'd be foolish to say otherwise."

IU (21-14) went 1-1 in its first NCAA tourney experience since a 2016 Sweet 16 run.

"This is a special team," Hunter told Fischer. "It's the first Indiana team in six years to get back to the NCAA tournament. Now we move forward and try to go further in the tournament."

Or, as Woodson put it, "It's a long summer. Now these guys have a feel. They can work on things that make them better as players and make us better as a team."

The end came, not swiftly, but basket by Saint Mary's basket, by turnovers and missed shots that built insurmountable force.

Drained by a brutal travel schedule -- five games in eight days, plus a cross-country plane trip from Dayton to Portland that took most of the night -- IU was no match for a ruthlessly efficient Saint Mary's team (26-7).

A barrage of Gaels layups (13) and three-pointers (13) shredded the Big Ten's best defense. They shot 51.7 percent against a defense that held opponents under 40 percent.

"They dictated to us," forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. "We didn't punch back."

Added Hunter to Fischer: "We just weren't ourselves defensively. Give a lot of credit to Saint Mary's. That's a hell of a team. They're an older team, a veteran team and it showed."

The offense wasn't any better. Indiana shot just 34 percent from the field. Its 13 turnovers were converted into 26 Saint Mary's points.

As for the fatigue factor, the Hoosiers refused to go there.

"It was a tough go," Hunter told Fischer, "but we can't use that as an excuse. We always say, young legs. It's about being able to bounce back and get up for a game like this.

"They took advantage of us."

Added Woodson: "We're a much better team that we showed tonight, and that's on me.

"Traveling had nothing to do with it. We're happy to be in the Big Dance and get this opportunity."

While the Hoosiers wouldn't focus on fatigue, Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett did.

"The situation they had was tough. They didn't really have a chance to prepare for us. We played well, but these teams are more even than that."

Jackson-Davis, so dominant in his previous four games (averages of 26.3 points and 8.5 rebounds), was limited to 12 points (just two in the second half) and five rebounds. Guard Xavier Johnson had 11 points, five assists and five turnovers.

"Overall they were a sharper team than us," Jackson-Davis said. "They hit their shots and ran their offense. They were a better team."

Johnson opened with four points and three assists. Jordan Geronimo came in for Race Thompson, hit his ninth three-pointer of the season, then added a short basket. That was five points in two minutes. The Hoosiers led 18-14, and then 21-17.

Seeking to ensure the Hoosiers would be second-half fresh, Woodson went to his bench. Saint Mary's capitalized with nine straight points for a 26-21 lead. Jackson-Davis returned and quickly scored. Johnson had a three-point play. Indiana closed within two points.

The Gaels hit 5-of-9 three-pointers to surge ahead 33-26, then kept surging. They scored on 12 of their last 16 possessions for a 40-28 halftime lead.

IU didn't score in the last 3:22.

Second-half Hoosier keys -- get Jackson-Davis more touches (he had 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the first half), defend better (Saint Mary's shot 47 percent from the field, 50 percent on three-pointers, made 7-of-8 free throws), and find the energy to rally against a fresher team that came in with nine days of rest.

One other thing -- find the magic that rallied them from a 17-point, second-half deficit against Michigan in last week's Big Ten tourney.

It didn't happen.

Saint Mary's kept working over IU's defense with ruthlessly efficient offense. The Hoosier offense endured three early turnovers and 11 straight missed shots.

The deficit swelled to 20, then 30, then 34.

In the aftermath, Woodson said, "I'm going to have every player watch every game that we played. That's how you get better."

Jackson-Davis wouldn't commit to returning for his senior season, but did find perspective.

"It's not the way I wanted to go out, but I'm proud of our guys for always fighting."