Depth troubles IU in Big Ten stretch

It’s now been nine days since Devan Dumes logged game minutes for the IU men’s basketball team because of his program-enforced suspension.

And while his scoring has certainly been missed – IU’s last two losses have both come by less points than Dumes’ per game average – the Hoosiers might miss his minutes more.

IU only used seven players Sunday afternoon in its 65-52 loss to Illinois. And it appeared at the tail end of the Hoosiers’ furious rally to bring a 19-point deficit down to six with 6:27 left as though the Hoosiers might have lacked only the legs to keep closing in.

A Chester Frazier 3-pointer and a Malik Story free throw had the deficit at eight just less than three minutes later, when two backdoor layups pushed the Illini too far beyond reach.

Maybe neither play was the result of tired defensive legs, but the game as a whole was still a window into a depth-starved basketball season that’s seen eight players play a whopping 96.9 percent of IU’s overall minutes, and a slightly-less-ridiculous 94.4 percent of Big Ten minutes.

Of those players – Dumes, Story, Taber, Jones, Daniel Moore, Tom Pritchard, Nick Williams and Matt Roth – six are freshmen. Even if they aren’t hitting the overblown basketball cliche known as the “freshman wall,” bigger and faster competition on a much bigger stage will wear on anyone.

IU coach Tom Crean said he “had no intentions” of playing just seven Sunday, a decision he said was based on the game itself.

“I really don’t go into a game saying that it’s going to be seven, eight, nine,” Crean said of his player rotations. “I just try to read the situations. I think I’d be pigeon-holing things if I did that.”

Osterman’s prediction:
Illinois 85 – IU 68

Final score:
Illinois 65 – IU 52

Notebook

Crean unsure about Dumes

IU coach Tom Crean refused to say when junior guard Devan Dumes would return from his program-enforced suspension. Dumes, the team’s leading scorer, was ejected from the Hoosiers’ Feb. 7 game at Michigan State after committing a flagrant foul late in the second half.

Crean said Sunday that he’s been talking with IU athletics director Fred Glass and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany about Dumes’ situation to ensure all parties are satisfied with the punishment. The flagrant foul against Michigan State was the third hard elbow Dumes threw against the Spartans, two of which drew foul calls.

Crean admitted Dumes’ situation is a “multiple-incident type of thing in a couple of different games.”

“Every day’s a different day, but I fully am ready for him to be back with us,” Crean said. “Mistakes were made, in the sense of the games, and it’s been a heavy price to pay, there’s no question about that ... I want the league to be happy with it as well.”

The return of Roth, so to speak

Sunday marked the fifth time in the last six games Matt Roth has hit double figures. This time, he led all Hoosiers with 13 points, shooting 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
But it was Roth’s other field goal that was perhaps most impressive.

Late in the first half, Roth took the ball outside the 3-point line and faked. Roth dribbled a couple of steps into the lane and nailed a contested jumper, which echoed a similar play against Minnesota.

While obviously not watershed events in any way, both revealed at least the existence of an offensive game beyond Roth’s usual fair, NBA-range 3-pointers.

Roth’s scoring numbers are up – his 8.8 points per game in conference have moved his scoring average to 7.1 points per game overall – but to be a big piece down the road, he needs to develop a more rounded game. It appears he’s doing that, even if said improvement is coming only in small doses.

Weber impressed with IU crowd

Illinois coach Bruce Weber, whose cagey history with IU made him the target of plenty of abuse Sunday, still said he came away impressed with IU’s crowd.

“I give kudos to the fans here to sell this place out and continue to support the team,” Weber said. “That’s what you need. True fans are there, win or lose.”

Those were odd words from someone like Weber, whose history with the Hoosier faithful hasn’t been exactly silver. Still, Weber gave credit to IU’s fans and even said, politely, that he wished Illinois fans would turn out in similar numbers.

“Unbelievable, what their fans have done,” Weber said. “We’ve got some tickets left, and it would be nice to have it sold out Wednesday night.”