Forty minutes. That was all Indiana wanted Saturday afternoon — forty minutes of aggressive, energetic basketball.
Would a win have been good? After all. However it felt just like the Hoosiers might need wanted a whole recreation much more than a win for no different motive than to show to themselves and everybody else that they might do it.
Indiana couldn’t even put collectively one good 20-minute half. In consequence, the Hoosiers misplaced their fourth straight recreation, falling to Penn State 83-74. The loss marked the primary time Penn State has swept Indiana within the common season because the 2008-09 season.
“I’m upset with the way in which we performed, the way in which I’ve coached this crew this complete season,” Mike Woodson stated postgame.
The Hoosiers now sit at 14-13 general and 6-10 in convention play and are tied for twelfth in convention standings.
It’s not essentially that Indiana didn’t combat; Malik Reneau performed 35 minutes and scored a game-high 27 factors, and Indiana minimize Penn State’s result in one possession a number of instances within the second half. The 2 groups even traded the lead forwards and backwards within the first half.
However there wasn’t sufficient combat or sufficient good basketball to hold Indiana by.
“We simply didn’t make performs coming down the stretch of the primary half to maintain us proper there,” Woodson stated. “However that wasn’t the distinction within the recreation. I believed we battled. I have a look at the stat sheet, have a look at the free throws and the missed alternatives to make 3s, I believed that was the distinction.”
Indiana shot 14-of-25 from the free throw line and 2-of-15 from past the arc. Penn State made 9 3-pointers and 26 of its 30 free throws, outscoring Indiana 53-20 in these two classes alone.
Whereas the Hoosiers had attractiveness all through the sport, their first 3-pointer didn’t come till 1:35 remaining within the second half. The second got here with three seconds left. By then, it was too little and much too late. These 3-pointers might have made a distinction earlier within the half when Indiana trailed by three and had the chance to tie. However in these moments, the Hoosiers didn’t even attempt to arrange a play on the perimeter. Nobody appeared assured sufficient to take an opportunity.
“We’re getting attractiveness,” Woodson stated. “We’re getting lots of attractiveness. I simply assume from a psychological standpoint I’ve obtained to get them to the place they’re comfy simply making them.”
That insecurity unfold to the free throw line as properly. Indiana went 9-of-12 from the stripe within the first half, increase some optimism that Indiana would possibly capitalize on its residency on the line this time. Then, the Hoosiers solely made 5 of their 13 makes an attempt within the second half.
It’s one thing that’s been a priority for Indiana all through the season. Time and time once more, the Hoosiers have been in positions to capitalize on opponents’ errors or seize momentum after huge performs, and so they haven’t been in a position to do it.
“It’s very troublesome as a crew, understanding we’ve obtained the expertise and the gamers to do it,” Reneau stated. “However when stuff doesn’t go proper, we let video games slip by and it’s simply laborious to beat, while you let so many video games slip by, and a season slowly simply go by you, realizing you’ve obtained 4 video games left. It’s simply laborious to combat again from that.”
Penn State struggled when Kel’el Ware was within the recreation, cautious of his presence across the basket. However he obtained known as for 2 pointless fouls within the first three minutes of the second half, placing him at 4 fouls and sending him to the bench. Reneau tried his greatest to maintain Indiana within the recreation, however Penn State didn’t have Ware to deal with inside anymore. They capitalized.
Equally, Mackenzie Mgbako posed a bodily menace to the Nittany Lions merely due to his construct and the truth that he averaged nearly 12 factors per recreation. He took himself out of the sport — actually — when he dedicated two fouls within the first 5 minutes of the sport and was auto-benched by Woodson for the remainder of the primary half.
Comparatively, Penn State’s Ace Baldwin Jr. was known as for his second foul with seven minutes to go within the first half and remained within the recreation. He scored 10 factors to place the Nittany Lions up by seven heading into the half.
Mgbako performed all 20 minutes of the second half and completed with seven factors, however his absence within the first half elicited questions on what he might have performed if he was on the ground. Alternatively, Baldwin performed for all 40 minutes and scored a team-high 23 factors. There have been no questions on his influence on the sport.
Realistically, Mgbako doubtless wouldn’t have modified the sport all on his personal. He struggled in his personal proper, as did everybody else. The actual fact of the matter is that nobody was in a position to play a clear recreation for an prolonged interval and that’s in the end why Indiana misplaced.
“I’ve struggled with this crew this yr,” Woodson stated, blaming himself. “I gained’t blame my gamers. I’ll all the time put it on Mike Woodson.”
Indiana’s subsequent recreation is again in Bloomington in opposition to Wisconsin. The Tuesday night time matchup is one in every of Indiana’s last two dwelling video games and can as soon as once more be a take a look at as as to whether or not the Hoosiers can play a whole recreation. They must in the event that they wish to win.
(Photograph credit score: IU Athletics)
Filed to: Penn State Nittany Lions
