Column: Jones' absence does not excuse loss

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The easy answer is Verdell Jones.

But that’s definitely not the only answer. And I’m not even sure if it’s the right answer.
The question: Why did IU play decently well against a ranked Wisconsin team Thursday and then look completely pathetic Sunday against one of the worst major conference teams in college basketball?

Jones, the team’s second-leading scorer and one of the team’s best offensive options, did not play Sunday due to inflammation in his knee.

His absence, though, does not justify IU’s embarrassing 91-77 loss to Iowa. An innocent quote from Hawkeye coach Fran McCaffery concerning Jones’ absence seemed to summarize it best.

“He gives them another scorer, but they’ve got a pretty good backup in (Jeremiah) Rivers,” McCaffery said.

That Rivers is exactly Jones’ backup notwithstanding, the point is this: The team had capable replacements.

At least enough capable replacements to beat an 8-11 Iowa team that had yet to win a game in the Big Ten. It was an Iowa team that scored 28 points more than it had averaged in conference play and an Iowa team that had losses to South Dakota State and Long Beach State on its resume.

And it was an Iowa team with which IU should’ve been able to compete, with or without Jones.

“To not have him out there hurts,” said IU junior guard Matt Roth. “But we’ve got guys around us that can step up and play basketball. We’re all here for a reason, and that’s to play basketball.”

The team did not play good basketball Sunday, and it really wasn’t in areas where Jones excels that the Hoosiers struggled.

The interior defense was atrocious. Continuing a trend that began in the second half of the Wisconsin game Thursday, IU (10-10, 1-6) allowed seven and-1 opportunities to Iowa. IU junior forward Tom Pritchard got in early foul trouble.

IU sophomore forward Christian Watford, despite 30 points offensively, seemed a step slow all day and, more or less, tired on defense. At one point in the game, he scored 14 straight points for the team but then asked for a breather.  

In the second half, there were at least two possessions where Watford’s man got past him, and he had to resort to reaching fouls. Reaching fouls equals lazy, lackadaisical defense.

“We weren’t good defensively at all today,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “Our transition defense was poor, and it was getting so much better. Our big guys were nonexistent. We had an all-around bad day.”

The other issue was the team’s energy level, which was also sorely lacking Sunday. The team desperately needed a spark, and whoever Crean threw in the game did not provide it. Watford ended up being the go-to guy by default.

Roth said the energy, or lack thereof, from the Hoosiers is tough to understand.

“It’s something that definitely needs to be addressed, and I have no reason for it,” Roth said. “I know it’s something that’s correctable.”

Maybe my expectations are too high for this team. Maybe a Jones-less Hoosier team playing the second game of a two-game road swing would have trouble finding a win, no matter the opponent.

But there’s a difference between finding a win and not even competing. The Hoosiers did the latter Sunday.

Sure, having Jones’ ability to create an offense and his floor leadership would’ve helped. But IU could’ve and should’ve managed this game without him.

Like the much closer Wisconsin game, a loss in any form is ultimately the only thing that matters — close losses and bad losses count the same.

And unless the Hoosiers improve defensively and play with some consistency, losses in any form will be the norm for the rest of the season.


E-mail: nmhart@indiana.edu