First Thoughts: Minnesota 66, Indiana 60
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Editor
Let’s take a quick look at how the Indiana Hoosiers lost 66-60 to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday night at Williams Arena.
WHY IT HAPPENED: Deandre Mathieu torched the Hoosiers throughout the night and clinched it with a late drive and finish. The diminutive point guard had 16 points and five assists. Backup center Maurice Walker added 14 points and eight rebounds. Noah Vonleh was the only reliable player in the second half for the Hoosiers, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Yogi Ferrell had 14 points and Will Sheehey and Troy Williams added 11 apiece.
WHAT WE LEARNED: It’s the same old story for Tom Crean’s team. The Hoosiers can’t hang onto the ball. No matter what they do on the floor, the turnovers mount. It has been an ongoing problem for them and one that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon. The Hoosiers better hope they can find some way to avoid turnovers over the final eight regular-season games or the mistakes will keep them out of the NCAA tournament. In part because of shoddy ballhandling, the Hoosiers had problems finding points when they needed them and they are stilling struggling to close out games or keep leads. When the Hoosiers needed to make a play in the waning moments at Minnesota they had nowhere to turn, scoring just four points on their final nine possessions.
KEY NUMBER: Minnesota shot 26 for 58 (44.8 percent) from the field.
TURNING POINT: The Hoosiers responded to a tie score with 16:58 remaining by going on a 10-2 run but it was fool’s gold. Minnesota outscored the Hoosiers 28-14 the rest of the way.
GOOD: Jeremy Hollowell had nine points off the bench.
NOT-SO-GOOD: Ferrell was just 5-for-16 from the field.
NEXT: The Hoosiers take on Penn State at home on Wednesday night.
Follow Chris Goff on Twitter: chrisgoff_ISL.
