Hoosiers improve to 7-4 in conference play
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
(Courtesy of IU Athletics/Mike Dickbernd)
BLOOMINGTON — A season ago, the Indiana Hoosiers lost six games by five or fewer points. This year’s team is just as inexperienced, but it has grown up a lot quicker. After another close conference battle with the Michigan Wolverines, the Hoosiers came out on top by a score of 70-67 in front of their home fans at Assembly Hall. It was already their third conference home win this season by exactly three points.
“The difference this year has been our mindset,” Junior guard Yogi Ferrell said. “We’ve been able to get the big stops late in games. We go out there and fight for each other and we come out with the outcome we want.”
Coach Tom Crean added: “We’re paying more attention to detail. Our players can’t get bored with that. That’s what wins and loses games.”
Despite the close finish, the Hoosiers were in control throughout the game. Michigan’s only lead was at 3-2 in the first few minutes. James Blackmon Jr. returned from his ankle injury and got things going early for Indiana with nine points and six rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Hoosiers took a 36-29 lead into halftime.
Indiana had several chances to put the game away in the second half, but the Wolverines continued to hang around. Michigan guard Zak Irvin had a season-high 23 points. He made some big plays that nearly helped Michigan pull off the upset. His three-pointer with 19 seconds left cut the Hoosier lead to two at 69-67. Collin Hartman split a pair of free throws making the score 70-67, to set the stage for the final play. Michigan’s Abdur-Rahkman ended up taking a three at the buzzer, but missed.
Troy Williams had a very Troy Williams-like stat line on the day: 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and four turnovers. He was also 8-of-8 from the foul line which proved to be huge for this game.
Indiana didn’t get much production from the bench in this one. All five starters played over 30 minutes. Hanner Mosquera-Perea returned to game action sooner than anybody expected. He grabbed one rebound in four minutes of play.
Yogi Ferrell made big plays and put together another solid game. He scored 18 points to go along with six assists. Ferrell knows the Hoosiers have a big stretch of games coming up: “These last games are going to define who we are. We’ve got to have the best focus we’ve had all year.”
Coach Crean likes the growth he has seen in his young Hoosiers: “We made our mistakes but we recovered from them. That’s where maturity is coming in. I’m proud of our effort, and proud to get a win over a team that was hungry.”
The Hoosiers improved to 17-7 overall, and 7-4 in conference play. They will play at Maryland in their next game, followed by six very winnable games to end their conference season.
Follow Tyler on Twitter: @TylerSmith_ISL
