Indiana’s 12 game winning streak and undefeated conference record has come to an upsetting end, but that’s okay. Don’t read too far into it.
Indiana moved to 17-4 on the year and 7-1 in the Big Ten after a 82-79 overtime loss to Wisconsin at the haunted Kohl Center. That now makes it 19 years of losing on the road to Wisconsin and genuinely, that’s understandable.
A road loss in the Kohl Center is not a bad loss and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. On Tom Crean’s pre-game radio show, he made mention of the fact that a good portion of this Indiana basketball team was “under the weather”, and after watching them play that could be somewhat observable.
This game was just a large straying away from the norm that had been established by IU during their 12-game winning streak.
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The defense seemed pedestrian, the shooting stroke was non-existent, and even the coaching by Coach Crean was off.
Michigan State also lost at Wisconsin. Remember that.
My takeaways from this game are as follows:
Thomas Bryant’s defense has improved, but it’s just not fully there yet.
Something IU fans have been privileged to see all season has been Thomas Bryant’s continued growth and improvement. His ability to defend down low at the block has grown immensely, but he was nothing in comparison to Ethan Happ. Happ had a career high in points with 25, and he was a constant force for Wisconsin.
Tom Crean did not adjust well to Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ
It took too long for Max Bielfelt and OG Anunoby to find their way into this game. No one else on this Indiana Basketball team could guard Hayes and Happ like they could, yet Max and OG spent a majority of their time on the bench. Troy Williams looked like a lost puppy on defense and that led to Hayes’ 31 points and 22 foul shots. Yes, Nigel Hayes had more foul shots than Indiana’s entire team.
The freshman inexperience was evident
IU has been spoiled by strong play from this year’s freshman class, so it comes as a surprise when games like this come along. Thomas Bryant and OG Anunoby had too many mental mistakes. Too many of the little things. Whether it was the missed dunk early by Bryant, or the misplayed inbounds pass on the final play of the game by OG, something didn’t seem right. Coach Crean recently discussed how he has been treating OG like an upperclassman, because he even expects a little too much out of him sometimes. This game was just a
bit off.
At times, Yogi Ferrell seems like the only one who can be trusted
Yogi Ferrell is one of the best players in the country and I seem to be saying that in every article I write. He doesn’t get enough national respect, but this 30 point performance should do something to help that. Not to mention his seven rebounds and the fact that he held Bronson Koenig to only four points. This man can do anything for IU even when the rest of his team isn’t feeling it. Reminds me of the abilities of Kemba Walker. But, that’s the problem. It’s scary how radical of a change some guys go through on the road. Nick Zeisloft and Robert Johnson were completely absent. There was no one on the floor I could trust with the ball other than Yogi.
The Refs had too much affect on the outcome of the game
I had no issue with how tight the game was called, or how lenient the game was called. The problem was the inconsistency. It all just felt odd. Indiana was charged with 31 fouls, while Wisconsin was charged with only 17. It all just felt off. This whole game felt off.
Off. That’s how I’m going to describe it. The players seemed off, the coaching seemed off, and the refs even seemed off. Nothing was the way it should have been, and you shouldn’t indict these Hoosiers because of that. Indiana battled through being “off”, and still found a way to take a tough opponent to overtime. Call me after the Michigan game and then tell me this Indiana team is bad. Ok. Cool. BYEEEEEEE