Column: You can't question the effort

The one thing you can’t question after this game is the effort.

When Jordan Hulls, IU’s 175-pound sophomore guard, took a charge from Michigan State’s 270-pound Derrick Nix, you know the effort was there.

When IU sophomore forward Christian Watford played with a banged-up knee and a brace on his wrist, you know the effort was there.

When Hulls and senior guard Jeremiah Rivers were visibly devastated after the game (as I’m sure others were), you know the effort was there.

The final will say it was an 84-83 overtime victory Sunday for a Michigan State team that desperately needed a win. Whichever way you want to slice it, it still adds a game in the loss column for the Hoosiers.

That’s the nature of college basketball.

But this IU team, which might’ve been left for dead two weeks ago, is still alive. That much is clear.

Last year, the Hoosiers lost to a bad Iowa team, and that turned into an 11-game losing streak. This year, that same loss to a bad Iowa team has had different results, given the early returns.

There was the 52-49 win Thursday against Illinois — a great win for the program by all accounts and probably the biggest win in the Tom Crean era.

And then there was this Sunday, which desperately screamed for an IU win until Hulls’ desperate 3-point attempt fell short. It wasn’t hard to believe that even that shot was going to find its way into the basket.

“There are so many steps in our program that we are trying to take, and there’s nothing like it,” Crean said. “When you go on the road and you’re with your guys, and with your team before the game, during the game and after the game, when there’s a strong belief that they are going to win the game ... it’s the ultimate.”

“The only thing that makes it better is when you get a win. We did everything but today.”

For all intents, this was a good college basketball game, and that’s a credit to IU. Players hustled. They stepped up. (Rivers, for one, played well again, even if his late-game missed free throws overshadow the effort). They played like they knew they could win the game.

It would’ve been easier to write this after a win because the same things would’ve been true. But the Hoosiers still lost, and there were reasons they did.

Michigan State took advantage of its size, especially late in the game. The Spartans made free throws when needed, and IU didn’t. Rivers, 24-for-27 from the line entering the final minute of regulation, missed two free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one that could’ve sealed the game.

So that’s that. A loss is a loss is a loss.

But the loss comes with improvement from the Hoosiers, and it comes with improvement because the Hoosiers played with the effort of a winner.

Freshman Victor Oladipo, who went 5-for-5 from the field with several highlight reel lay-ups, summed up the contest well.

“It was a great game,” Oladipo said. “It was the reason I come to Indiana for games like this. It was intense, and we played our hearts out. We can bounce back.”

So, it wasn’t a victory, and when IU played like and believed it could win, you can’t call it a moral victory either.

But the Hoosiers played with everything but enough to get the win. That should give any fan optimism for the remainder of the season.

When the effort’s there, wins will follow.


nmhart@indiana.edu