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Ideas on a 66-63 loss to the Scarlet Knights:
Trayce Jackson-Davis had his method down low early, dominating Rutgers from the tip. Indiana’s junior ended the primary half with 15 factors on 6-of-8 capturing. The Hoosiers took a seven-point lead into halftime, 32-25.
However Steve Pikiell had an ace up his sleeve to alter the narrative after the break. Rutgers went to a zone protection for a big a part of the second half and it stumped Indiana. It took Jackson-Davis out of the sport. The Hoosiers couldn’t discover the center to use the zone. Indiana was stagnant. It was tentative. The offense lacked movement and motion. Jackson-Davis had simply 4 factors on 1-of-3 capturing over the ultimate 20 minutes of the competition.
And even when Indiana was capable of finding attractiveness, they weren’t falling. The Hoosiers have struggled to search out appears to be like for his or her shooters, Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart, this season. That wasn’t the case tonight. Xavier Johnson arrange Kopp in transition a few instances within the first half from deep, however he simply couldn’t join. Stewart obtained plenty of appears to be like you’d take 10 out of 10 instances, however he failed to search out the web tonight, too. Kopp was simply 1-of-7 from the sector and 1-of-5 from distance. All 9 of Stewart’s pictures got here from 3-point vary. He made solely two.
Stewart did hit a 3-pointer from the left nook to tie the sport with 10 seconds to go. However Ron Harper Jr., who has a knack for drilling massive pictures, did so in opposition to Indiana to win this one, as his left wing 3-pointer dropped with simply over two seconds to go. The Scarlet Knights have struggled mightily from deep of late, however maybe as a result of they had been due, hit 8-of-18 (44 p.c) from 3-point vary this night. Indiana made simply 6-of-21 (28.6 p.c).
The closing minutes felt all too acquainted, as Indiana’s opponent made performs on offense and obtained defensive stops on an Indiana offense that couldn’t make buckets. Over the ultimate 9:08 of the competition, Indiana made simply 4 baskets. Stewart’s 3-pointer with 10 seconds left was the one make for Indiana within the remaining three minutes.
After Mike Woodson put out the purpose out of staying undefeated at dwelling, Indiana misplaced 4 video games inside Meeting Corridor throughout convention play, three of these coming in its final 4 tries. The win in opposition to Maryland final week was Indiana’s solely dwelling convention win within the final month of motion.
So right here it’s, Indiana squandering an opportunity to beat one other bubble workforce on its dwelling court docket in early March. It ain’t over but. However the atmosphere at Mackey Area on Saturday goes to be robust to beat and Purdue’s offense is elite.
So that will depart Indiana with the Large Ten match as its final likelihood to get one other win or two, its last-second heave to look a bit higher within the eyes of the committee.
One other season about within the books. One other season Indiana did not do sufficient to be speaking about seeds and areas as a substitute of the bubble and February collapses.
Such is the lifetime of Hoosier Nation for too lengthy now.
Filed to: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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