Indiana Basketball: Turnovers plague Hoosiers in loss to Penn State

The Indiana basketball program fell apart in the second half en route to a disappointing performance against No. 24 Penn State.

After a heartbreaking loss to No. 17 Maryland at home on Sunday, the Indiana basketball program traveled to No. 24 Penn State looking to get its third win over a ranked opponent this season but failed to show up in a 64-49 loss.

After a decent first half that saw the Hoosiers go into the break tied at 28 all, it was anything but in the final 20 minutes as Indiana arguably played its worst half of basketball of the season.

Getting outscored 36-21 in the second half, the Hoosiers had 12 turnovers – 18 total – to just nine field goals in the final 20 minutes.

Inconsistent play from Indiana’s backcourt has been an issue all season long and the quartet of guards had their worst performance to date, combining for just 3-of-26 from the field, and seven turnovers.

Penn State only shot 38.1 percent from the field but made up for that by getting as many easy buckets they could off of the 15 steals they had for the game.

Trayce Jackson-Davis was a force in the first half but with Indiana’s horrific guard play, he barely touched the ball in the second half and finished with just 14 points and seven rebounds. Justin Smith chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.

Lamar Stevens struggled from the floor on the night for Penn State, just 7-of-21 from the field, but finished with a game-high 17 points. Curtis Jones, the former Indiana guard, added 12 points off of the bench.

Indiana travels to Ohio State on Saturday which now turns into an extremely crucial game for the Hoosiers moving forward.