Indiana vs Duke: Three things that stood out

Indiana fell to the No.3 ranked Blue Devils Tuesday night. Here are three things that stood out in the loss.

First thing that was obvious Tuesday night is we are young. At times the offense came to a complete standstill and the defense couldn’t stop Dukes aggressive attack. The backcourt is led by freshman’s Romeo Langford and Rob Phinisee. Our backcourt is still young and will have a lot of growing up to do as the season progresses. Langford led all Hoosiers in every statistical category Tuesday night, but couldn’t shake Dukes aggressive defense.

The second thing that stood out was Romeo Langford is very talented. Even though he is a true freshman and we are trending up towards a 20 wins or more season, Langford is playing exactly as advertised. Sure there are moments he looks his age but that’s ok. We have one of the top players in the country and it shows with every big shot he makes. Going forward we can expect Langford to continue leading the charge and start stacking important wins.

Last but not least this team even in a blowout loss, showed a lot of resolve. Outscoring the Blue Devils 40-37 in the second half is a good sign that they are competitors. We need that drive going forward to make a real push for the Big Ten tournament and more importantly the big dance. We haven’t had a shot at the National Championship since losing to North Carolina back in the 2016 campaign. Langford and Co. have a real shot at helping us achieve that all important tournament bid this season.

This loss should excite all of Hoosier Nation. We continued to fight even when the chances of winning were small. Hang tight this team isn’t done yet.