Hoosiers top Illinois, improve to 8-7 in conference play
By CALEB LYNN
ISL Contributor
(Photo by IDS)
BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana Hoosiers continued their defensive transformation on Wednesday night, defeating Illinois 78-68 at Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers held the Illini to just 41% shooting from the field, and 4-of-19 from behind the arc (21%.)
Indiana (15-2, 8-7) received a big boost from the bench in this victory.
Al Durham has been inconsistent this season, as many freshmen are, but he came ready to play against Illinois. He had 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field. Durham is averaging just four points per game this season, and his productive night was needed for the Hoosiers.
Freshman Justin Smith came into the game and immediately asserted himself. He had 13 points off the bench and was a player that the Hoosiers relied on the entire game.
Indiana is top-six in the Big Ten in league games alone in adjD, block rate, steal rate, 2-pt defense, opponent turnover rate, opp. offensive rebounding percentage and opp. eFG percentage. #iubb
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) February 15, 2018
You could argue that every returning IU player except for Newkirk is better than last year, with a few guys taking major leaps. And that's with a brand new coach/system. This is another reason I'm high on Indiana for next year. #iubb
— Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith_ISL) February 15, 2018
Senior Josh Newkirk had 11 points and three assists, and made some big plays when Indiana needed them. Devonte Green injured his ankle and Newkirk stepped up.
“I think he got landed on his ankle,” Coach Archie Miller said about Green. “I am sure that he is sore. I think he will be fine.’”
Miller was pleased with the effort of the second unit: “I thought we had a lot of guys step up,” he said. “Give our bench credit with Josh, Al, and Justin in particular. They did a fantastic job making big plays.”
Juwan Morgan gave another big performance, showing his leadership and ability to play well in games they need to win. He had a double-double and a career-high five blocks. Those five blocks were the most by any player since Troy Williams on December 9th, 2015.
📽Too much fight for the Illini. Highlights from the win ⤵️#IUBB pic.twitter.com/VjHfUZuuaq
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) February 15, 2018
Morgan’s reliability on defense was praised by Indiana coach Archie Miller: “He is doing it every game. Doesn’t get as much notice but he blocks a lot of shots, defensive rebounds, and steals the ball. I think what he’s done for our team on both ends of the floor has been really good.”
Miller continued: “I thought we did some good things, but I thought we had some sloppy turnovers. And both games played a little bit the same way except I thought we were better on the glass tonight and we made our free-throws.”
The Hoosiers have won three straight games for the third time this season and it will assure them a first round bye in the Big Ten tournament. Indiana will travel to Iowa on Saturday and they will look to sweep the season-series over the Hawkeyes.
