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<\/picture>Forty minutes. That was all Indiana wanted Saturday afternoon \u2014 forty minutes of aggressive, energetic basketball.Would a win have been good? In fact. However it felt just like the Hoosiers might need wanted a whole sport much more than a win for no different cause than to show to themselves and everybody else that they may do it.
Indiana couldn\u2019t even put collectively one good 20-minute half. Because of this, the Hoosiers misplaced their fourth straight sport, 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.
\u201cI\u2019m upset with the way in which we performed, the way in which I\u2019ve coached this workforce this entire season,\u201d Mike Woodson mentioned postgame.
The Hoosiers now sit at 14-13 total and 6-10 in convention play and are tied for twelfth in convention standings.
It\u2019s not essentially that Indiana didn\u2019t struggle; Malik Reneau performed 35 minutes and scored a game-high 27 factors, and Indiana minimize Penn State\u2019s result in one possession a number of occasions within the second half. The 2 groups even traded the lead backwards and forwards within the first half.
However there wasn\u2019t sufficient struggle or sufficient good basketball to hold Indiana by means of.
\u201cWe simply didn\u2019t make performs coming down the stretch of the primary half to maintain us proper there,\u201d Woodson mentioned. \u201cHowever that wasn\u2019t the distinction within the sport. I believed we battled. I take a look at the stat sheet, take a look at the free throws and the missed alternatives to make 3s, I believed that was the distinction.\u201d
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\u2019t 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 may 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\u2019t even attempt to arrange a play on the perimeter. Nobody appeared assured sufficient to take an opportunity.
\u201cWe\u2019re getting attractiveness,\u201d Woodson mentioned. \u201cWe\u2019re getting a whole lot of attractiveness. I simply assume from a psychological standpoint I\u2019ve bought to get them to the place they\u2019re comfy simply making them.\u201d
That insecurity unfold to the free throw line as effectively. Indiana went 9-of-12 from the stripe within the first half, build up some optimism that Indiana may 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\u2019s one thing that\u2019s been a priority for Indiana all through the season. Time and time once more, the Hoosiers have been in positions to capitalize on opponents\u2019 errors or seize momentum after massive performs, they usually haven\u2019t been capable of do it.
“It\u2019s very troublesome as a workforce, understanding we\u2019ve bought the expertise and the gamers to do it,” Reneau mentioned. “However when stuff doesn\u2019t go proper, we let video games slip by and it\u2019s simply arduous to beat, if you let so many video games slip by, and a season slowly simply go by you, realizing you\u2019ve bought 4 video games left. It\u2019s simply arduous to struggle again from that.”
Penn State struggled when Kel\u2019el Ware was within the sport, cautious of his presence across the basket. However he bought referred to 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 sport, however Penn State didn\u2019t have Ware to deal with inside anymore. They capitalized.
Equally, Mackenzie Mgbako posed a bodily risk to the Nittany Lions merely due to his construct and the truth that he averaged virtually 12 factors per sport. He took himself out of the sport \u2014 actually \u2014 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\u2019s Ace Baldwin Jr. was referred to as for his second foul with seven minutes to go within the first half and remained within the sport. 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 may 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 affect on the sport.
Realistically, Mgbako possible 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 capable of play a clear sport for an prolonged interval and that’s finally why Indiana misplaced.
\u201cI\u2019ve struggled with this workforce this 12 months,\u201d Woodson mentioned, blaming himself. \u201cI gained\u2019t blame my gamers. I’ll all the time put it on Mike Woodson.\u201d
Indiana\u2019s subsequent sport is again in Bloomington in opposition to Wisconsin. The Tuesday night time matchup is certainly one of Indiana\u2019s ultimate two dwelling video games and can as soon as once more be a check as as to whether or not the Hoosiers can play a whole sport. They must in the event that they wish to win.
(Photograph credit score: IU Athletics)
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