Hoosiers fall short against Wildcats

It was a long weekend for the Hoosiers.

IU coach Tom Crean was so unhappy with his players’ defensive effort against Northwestern on Saturday, he made it clear they would be right back at it the next morning.

“If the rules weren’t set up for it right now for it to be so soft for players after this where you could come back and practice that night or come back and practice at midnight the next day, that’s exactly what we’d be doing,” Crean said. “But we’ll be in here 7:30 (Sunday) morning guarding and continuing to get this thing to where it has to be on the defensive end.”

Playing their first game in exactly one week, the Hoosiers saw the Wildcats jump out to a 10-point halftime lead backed by seven 3-pointers. And despite another late comeback attempt, IU dropped its fourth-straight game in a 70-64 decision against Northwestern.

The hole created in the first half was, to junior guard Verdell Jones, an inexcusable one.

“It looked like guys out there didn’t want to play,”  said Jones, who finished with a team-high 18 points. “We just played too lackadaisical to win, and we made too many mistakes at the end of the game to win ... They were back-cutting us at will. We practiced all week to stop their back cuts, and we didn’t do it.”

Northwestern guard Michael Thompson did the majority of the damage, scoring 22 points with a 3-of-8 effort from the 3-point line and an 11-of-11 night at the free-throw line.

Northwestern forward John Shurna chipped in with 19 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the 3-point line, and at times he was able to get to the basket for easy layups.
When asked what he saw from the Wildcats tandem, Crean looked internally.

“I didn’t see enough of guys coming over trying to get into my face to say, ‘Let me guard him,’” he said. “We had that happen one time all night. That’s the individual responsibility of a defensive mindset that I’m talking about that we’ve got to get to.”

Despite the defensive letdowns, the Hoosiers got themselves back into the game several times late.

IU tied the game at 52 after a one-handed slam from sophomore forward Derek Elston with 8:20 remaining and drove to within three after sophomore guard Jordan Hulls nailed a 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining.

Thompson turned it over on the next possession, but IU couldn’t add a field goal in the final 37 seconds. The Hoosiers never led in the second half.

“There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we’d come back,” Crean said. “That’s what we do. But it should have never gotten to that point.”

The Hoosiers will have a shorter layover this week, as they get a rematch with Purdue on Wednesday. Crean said no matter how many times and with what ferocity the corrections are made in practice, improvement will come when players hold themselves accountable.

“Defensive-minded players do not accept when teammates on the court are not defending the way that they need to defend,” Crean said. “It has got to be a mindset that players bring to one another. I’m disappointed in our first half defense. I’m disappointed that the sell-out crowd watched us defend so poorly, especially with the 3’s that we gave up.”