Indiana earned its first road win of the season on Wednesday night defeating Penn State 78-75.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Indiana Hoosiers found a way to walk out of the Bryce Jordan Center with a victory. Here is more on Wednesday’s contest.
0:00. That’s how much time was left on the clock in the first half when OG Anunoby went down holding his knee in agony. James Blackmon Jr. shot a three with six seconds left to play in the half when Anunoby crashed the offensive glass. While doing so, his knee buckled. He collapsed immediately and left Hoosiers fans holding their breaths while the star forward was screaming in pain. Anunoby’s status is still uncertain along with the diagnosis of the injury.
1:18. That’s how much time was on the clock late in the game when Josh Newkirk converted on a lay-up assisted from Robert Johnson. Newkirk’s layup put Indiana ahead 75-67. It looked as if the Hoosiers had the game in the bag. But this was not the case at all. It was just the beginning of a terrible stretch for the Hoosiers that almost cost them the game.
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The Hoosiers would commit three turnovers and miss three free throws in the final 1:18 of the game. During that stretch, the Nittany Lions capitalized on Indiana’s lack of composure late in the game.
Indiana was leading 75-73 when Thomas Bryant turned the ball over with 11 seconds to play. Penn State had a run out in transition when Devonte Green fouled Lamar Stevens. Stevens went to the line with 4.6 seconds on the clock and sunk both free throws to tie the game at 75 apiece. Coach Tom Crean then called his final timeout and would draw up a potential game-winning play for the Hoosiers. And that’s exactly what he did.
0:00. That’s how much time was left when James Blackmon Jr. buried a game-winning three at the buzzer to give the Hoosiers a 78-75 victory.
"What. A. Finish.https://t.co/KRd2wIC0fA— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) January 19, 2017"
“Really coach just told me ‘I don’t care if you miss it. Just do what you do. Shoot the same shot you do everyday in practice.’ I got my feet right and I knocked it down,” the Marion, IN native would go on to say in a post game interview.
It was an anticlimactic finish for the Hoosiers. Indiana was leading 71-58 with five minutes left to play and allowed Penn State to tie the game in the final seconds. The game should not have been as close as it was. It was almost to one of the biggest collapses in college basketball this season. But thanks to James Blackmon Jr., it was not.
Will this shot ignite Blackmon to be the leader that this team is so desperately seeking? Hopefully it is. Hopefully this can spark a turnaround in the Hoosiers’ season.
After the game, Crean went on to say, “As the leader of these guys I’m excited about the way they played considering everything we went through in this game. Cause there were a lot of tears in that locker room because nobody knew what was going on with one of their fallen brothers. And I had to leave a guy that was crying, and that wasn’t easy, but we found a way to win the game and I’m proud of them for that.”
Despite a near colossal breakdown from the Hoosiers, a win’s a win. Road wins do not come easy, and the Hoosiers earned their first of the season on Wednesday night. IU has now won two in a row to even its conference record at 3-3. All the momentum is on Indiana’s side as it gets into the meat of its conference schedule.
Indiana must use this momentum on Saturday as they return home to take on Michigan State at 4 p.m. EST in Assembly Hall.