Indiana Put the World on Notice by Beating Maryland 80-62

Don’t look at any of the stats, because they’re nearly irrelevant at this point. The magic of this Indiana basketball team doesn’t exactly fit in a box score.

This is probably the most difficult game recap I have ever had to write.

That is a sentiment I thought would be reserved for an emotional loss or just an absolutely abysmal performance.  Fortunately, that is not the case. My issue with this recap is much more exciting than that.

How does someone put the magic of this basketball team into words?

Confidence and Cohesiveness.

From the very beginning of this game, it was evident that Indiana wasn’t going to hold back in any way.  Many felt that the vibe prior to this game was the feeling of celebration, a feeling that could easily result in a let down due to complacency.  Now, what that prior assumption neglects to acknowledge is the importance of Yogi Ferrell.

It has reached the point where I am 110% confident in the fact that a team led by Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell will never treat a single game with complacency.

From the opening tip, both teams came out with an extremly noticeable amount of aggression.

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Troy Williams seemed to be forcing it on offense and Maryland was firing on all cylinders thanks to the efforts of Jake Layman.  This was a bit concerning until one moment very early on in this game.

Now, there were a ton of big moments in this game. Just looking at Andy Wittry’s twitter feed for about two minutes will help you realize just how many highlights and turning points this Hoosier basketball team had.

But…

There was no moment bigger than with 15 minutes and 10 seconds left in the first half.  That is the moment in which Indiana won this basketball game.

For, at that exact moment, Thomas Bryant did the unthinkable.

Thomas Bryant pump faked on an open three attempt, dribbled toward the basket, and then proceeded to step back and drill a three in Diamond Stone’s face.

There is no coming back from that.  No matter what Melo Trimble tried to do for the rest of the game, there was no way Indiana was going to lose.

The reason for that is the fact that this basketball team seems to consistently rally around the extraordinary and unexpected.

It was the charge taken by Harrison Niego that lifted IU over Iowa, and it was the eight point stretch by Max Bielfeldt that lifted IU over Purdue.

Seemingly every time someone does something you would have never expected them to do, this team rallies around it.

From there, Indiana’s confidence seemed to be what fueled its victory.

No one on this team played tentatively.  This speaks mostly to Juwan Morgan who entered Big Ten play looking like a lost dog.  His confidence allowed him to play out there like an experienced veteran jumping on loose balls and shutting down on defense.

Speaking of shutting down on defense, Maryland only scored six points in the last 10 minutes in 45 seconds of the first half.

Yogi Ferrell seemed to have reached super saiyan-like levels throughout this game with his pull-up jumpers, and huge assists.  His versatility on both sides of the ball are what allow him to make this team so much better.  On offense he was able to split defenders and space the floor at an alarmingly consistent rate. On defense, he seemed to be even more of an asset. On every screen, IU was able to switch on defense thanks to Yogi’s ability to guard guys that are literally a foot taller than him, and it was clearly frustrating for Maryland’s offense.

The Hoosier went into the half with a 41-28 lead that seemed larger than it actually was, and when IU returned to the court in the second half we saw much of the same.

At this point, Troy Williams had determined it was his time to shine by scoring 10 of Indiana’s first 12 points.

After that effort, we continued to see an extremly confident basketball team that would only ever pass up a shot if they knew there was someone else just slightly more open.

Juwan Morgan even started to get some minutes at point guard, Nick Zeisloft pretended he was an NFL quarterback, and Thomas Bryant started to teach us that he has serious handles. Things started to get really weird as IU seemingly couldn’t stop producing highlights.

As the game wore on, it became more and more evident that Indiana was going to run Maryland out of the gym.

With the final minutes reserved for highlighting the seniors of this team, Coach Crean made some crucial substitutions.  He called a timeout with 20 seconds left and allowed his seniors one last chance on Assembly Hall’s floor.

Then, in true Tom Crean savagery, he called one last time out with two seconds left.

Why?

To put in our messiah, Timothy Priller.

This Indiana victory provided fans with everything they could have ever asked for. Not one player on this team had a bad game. This team played remarkably on both sides of the court. Yogi Ferrell saw himself become the only player in Big Ten history with 1,900 points, 600 assists, and 400 rebounds.  Players provided highlight after highlight. Thomas Bryant completely outplayed his freshman counterpart Diamond Stone.  Indiana finished off a perfect season at Assembly Hall. Even two beautiful seconds of Tim Priller happened.

Everything was amazing, but the most important thing this Indiana team provided for its fans was hope.

Hope for a better future.

Hope for a better future that includes some March Madness.  (Insert joke about the artist known as “Future”)

“Coaches, y’all stuck with us. We stuck with each other. April 4th, we’ll see what happens.”-Nick Zeisloft