Column: Finding the “D” in domination

IU men’s basketball season has been a ball on a roulette wheel.

Matters were no different in the Hoosiers’ 69-50 win Sunday in Minnesota.

Senior guard Verdell Jones III dunked for the first time this season. Senior guard Matt Roth, who has the second-best 3-point percentage in the country, air-balled one from deep. Four Hoosiers scored in double figures — none named Cody Zeller.

But the most pleasant surprise to come out of “The Barn” will also serve as one of the keys to IU’s success at this critical juncture in the season: its defense.

Minnesota’s 50-point performance is its lowest total this season. That horrid score total is also the second-least amount of points a Tom Crean-led Indiana team has ever allowed against a Big Ten opponent.

I think the Golden Gophers will be IU’s easiest test for the rest of the season. Even if the Hoosiers draw a bottom-tier opponent in the Big Ten tournament, Minnesota Coach
Tubby Smith’s squad continues to circle the drain and played with a defeatist attitude. It has lost five straight games and six of its last seven.

When the Hoosiers face Michigan State on Tuesday and Purdue on Sunday, they need to take with them their defensive effort, which recorded five blocks and limited Minnesota to 31-percent shooting from the field.

The defense helps create the fast-break opportunities in which freshman forward Zeller shines. When the Hoosiers can get stops on defense, it raises their confidence and makes them feel more in control of the game.

Defense made the difference Sunday.

The last time these two squads faced off, Minnesota handed IU its lone home loss of the season. The Hoosiers shot 43.6 percent from the field in that game, just 0.2 percent worse than their performance Sunday. But the 0.2 percent difference was not the reason for a three-point loss versus a 19-point domination.

Rather, the determining factor was an IU defense that allowed Minnesota to shoot 46.8 percent from the field in Bloomington but limited the Gophers to only nine made field goals per half at “The Barn.”

This win ended the Hoosiers’ Big Ten road season on a high note and guarantees them at least a .500 record in conference play. It also gave them confidence after a deflating loss in Iowa.

But more than anything, IU’s first win in Minnesota since 2008 gave the Hoosiers a blueprint for success.

Anchored by solid defense, IU can continue to roll after winning five of its last six by being effective from the foul line — it shot 21-of-25 Sunday, getting solid contributions from its bench, which scored 19 points and had four players play at least 13 minutes — and by having players other than Zeller carry the scoring load.

The Hoosiers are staring down games against the Big Ten’s best team, their in-state rival on Senior Night and then the first game of the conference tournament.

On Sunday, a defensive team that could win all three of these games dominated in a game it wasn’t favored to win.