Nick Zeisloft couldn’t have picked a better day to break out of his slump.
The sharp-shooter had been just 4-of-25 from beyond the arc in Big Ten play before Saturday’s game against Minnesota.
After missing his first two 3-pointers, he scored four straight in a span of about two minutes, giving the Hoosiers the lift they needed in a 70-63 win over the Gophers.
IU Coach Tom Crean said when Zeisloft is making shots, it’s a huge boost for everyone.
“I’m so happy for Nick because he works,” Crean said. “He’s not one of those guys that we just leave alone and let him go stand off by the side. He’s getting coached, and his teammates are on him and what he’s capable of.”
The IU team that walked into the Barn on Saturday wasn’t the same team that walked out of Assembly Hall last weekend with a 25-point win over Ohio State.
Plagued by turnovers and early fouls and unable to get anything to fall, IU trailed 17-8 midway through the first half.
Crean called a timeout to regroup. When the Hoosiers retook the floor, Zeisloft took over.
Senior guard Yogi Ferrell — who finished with seven assists, leaving him just one shy of the IU all-time assist record — found Zeisloft twice to pull the Hoosiers within five.
Minutes later, sophomore guard Rob Johnson passed ahead to Zeisloft in transition, and before he even had a chance to set his feet, Zeisloft knocked down the baseline shot with a hand in his face.
It was Minnesota’s turn to call timeout.
“We’ve just got to keep finding ways,” Crean said. “And that’s what this team is doing in the Big Ten.”
Crean said taking too many jump shots contributed to a slow start. Zeisloft helped the offense find its rhythm, and IU came back to make it a tie game at the half.
From then on, the strategy became “one less dribble, one more pass,” Crean said. Without sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr., he doesn’t want the extra responsibility to be placed all on one person, but for everyone to step up.
Ferrell’s 20 points and six rebounds helped, but for Crean, that’s expected by now. He was more impressed with the way Ferrell led his team on the floor.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” he said. “His teammates have a lot of confidence in him because he has a lot of confidence in them.”
While he was proud of his point guard, Crean said other guys had to play through struggles. Junior forward Troy Williams, who had 23 points a week ago, scored just seven — but came through with eight rebounds and a couple of big blocks.
Johnson and junior forward Collin Hartman got into foul trouble early and combined for just six points, while freshman forward OG Anunoby, who’s been a pleasant surprise for IU in conference play, had scored only a pair of points when he headed to the locker room after taking an elbow to the head.
In what should’ve been a certain win, the Hoosiers had to work to beat a team coming off a six-game losing streak.
It helped the Hoosiers understand nothing comes easy in the Big Ten.
“It was a grow-up game,” Crean said.
