WESTFIELD, Ind. — The first game of the season was a long time ago — 78 days to be exact.
It’s been 78 days since IU, No. 2 at the time, lost to Wake Forest, No. 5 at the time, in double overtime 2-1.
After that loss, Wake Forest went to No. 1 in the NCAA rankings and remained there for the rest of the season, excluding one week, while IU jumped around the two through five seeds.
The regular season is now over and so are the conference tournaments. Wake Forest, which is still No. 1, lost in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament to Louisville. IU, No. 2 currently, just won the Big Ten Tournament after beating Michigan 3-0 Sunday.
The selection show for the NCAA Tournament is Monday, and it’s time for the committee to switch up the No. 1 spot for the first time in four weeks.
After that loss to Wake Forest on Aug. 24, IU has proven it’s the best team in the country. The Hoosiers rallied off nine-straight after the loss until suffering a 3-0 defeat to No. 3 Kentucky, which IU has shaken from its memories.
It’s then been seven-straight wins and one tie — IU won in penalty kicks — and then this most recent win against Michigan, which displayed all the reasons the Hoosiers deserve the No. 1 seed.
Starting with the defense, IU was as stout as it has been all season. Michigan had six shots, but just one on goal and none were any real threat to sophomore goalkeeper Trey Muse.
A minor detail that makes a big difference to IU’s defense is the team’s willingness to rotate and help out one another. In the first half, senior Rece Buckmaster, who plays as the team’s right back, stepped up as a Michigan player was coming down his side of the field. Senior Cory Thomas slid back behind Buckmaster to pick up a Wolverine player who was running down the sideline, cutting off that pass.
Then, the Michigan player Buckmaster was guarding made a pass and cut to try a give-and-go, but instead of running to the ball, Buckmaster stayed with the cutting player while senior Jeremiah Gutjahr guarded the ball. Michigan’s triangle setup was suddenly disrupted, and it had nowhere to go. IU got the ball back and went on the attack.
After the game, Coach Todd Yeagley said his team’s offense always starts with his defense, and that was just one of many examples where the Hoosiers bought in to defense to create offensive opportunities.
Then there’s the offense. This was the first time all season Michigan has given up three goals. IU found out the day before the game it would have one of its better players in sophomore Griffin Dorsey, who was absent for the first two games of the Big Ten Tournament playing for the U-20 USA National Team.
Dorsey made a difference from the get-go as he was putting major pressure down the right side of the field. It was his shot that the Michigan keeper deflected that allowed Thomas to have an easy tap in. It was also his aggressive move in the second half that resulted in an assist to Gutjahr to give IU the comfortable 2-0 lead.
Yeagley said he would’ve been confident in his team even if Dorsey didn’t come back for this game, and reasonably so, but having him made the team that much more dangerous. Keep in mind IU is still without sophomore Justin Rennicks, who is still playing with the U-20 team.
Every game, somebody else steps up and makes a big play or scores a goal. It’s a balanced attack and a deep team that allows for a deep postseason run.
Thomas described his team’s dynamic best after the game: “For a team that has the defensive shape like we do, it’s so hard to score on us. When we get that first goal, you almost think the games over. Then, you get that second and third, and I think everyone on the field knew we had it.”
This team scores one goal and oozes confidence. Even if they can’t find a goal, the Hoosiers remain on the attack and confident in their abilities to find one and win. It’s just a different mentality this year.
Coming off a season where IU was second place in everything — Big Ten regular season, Big Ten Tournament and National Championship — this is a season where IU is flipping the script and taking first place.
IU was first in the Big Ten regular season, first in the Big Ten Tournament and now IU should be named as the first seed in the NCAA Tournament.
If not, well, the Hoosiers will have five games to prove they are number one.
