As Devonte Green limped around Branch McCracken Court on Tuesday night inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the self-proclaimed “human cheat code” tried every combination in his repertoire to try and lift IU to an NIT quarterfinal win against Wichita State University.
He tried pushing the ball on the fast break, heaving up seven 3-pointers and 14 total shots, and utilized his familiar tight defensive stance. But for every action by Green, the Shockers had a response, usually in the form of a 3-pointer, to win 73-63 and end the 2018-19 IU men’s basketball season.
Five of those responses by the Shockers were 3-pointers by freshman guard Dexter Dennis, while senior forward Markis McDuffie added four threes of his own.
It came on a night when Green misfired from 3-point range, making just two of his seven tries.
It was a familiar refrain for an IU team which finishes the season making just 31.2 percent of its 3-point shots.
“Shooting from the 3-point line is the number one reason in many ways that our team could not get over the hump so many times,” IU Head Coach Archie Miller said. “You have to be able to stretch games out and break them open when you have your opportunities from three and this team this year couldn't make shots.”
A 9-0 scoring run from Wichita State at the midway mark of the first half allowed the visitors to turn a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead, a lead Wichita State kept for the final 30 minutes of the game.
The Hoosiers challenged this lead on numerous occasions, closing the deficit to three points or fewer a total of four times in the second half.
“Every single time we were right there, we could not get over the hump,” Miller said. “Whether it was a foul at the end of the shot clock, a rebound on the weak side that leads to an and-one - they just made some really tough, hard plays in a game like that when we didn't.”
Even when Green left the game temporarily with a cramp, and returned to hit a 3-pointer while being fouled, he failed to convert the ensuing free throw with the Hoosiers down one point and eight minutes to go.
The Shocker lead grew to seven points just two minutes later, and the visitors were a healthy margin ahead of the Hoosiers for the rest of the game.
“I think they were just making shots just like we were making shots,” Green said. “They made some tough ones. It’s always a dagger when they do that.”
Regardless, Green finishes the season with seven straight games scoring in double figures. These scoring performances were made more important in the NIT as freshman guard Romeo Langford didn’t play at all due to a back injury.
“Some guys really finished strong, some guys didn't finish as strong,” Miller said. “But at the end of the day, there is now a clear picture on what has to be done with them as individuals and players to get better to help us be better in a lot of areas.”
For five IU players, though, they won’t have an opportunity to help Miller in his third season as head coach. Central among this group is senior forward Juwan Morgan.
In his final college game, Morgan led the Hoosiers in scoring with 21 points, placing him 24th all-time on the IU career scoring list with 1,374 collegiate points.
“It’s been a fun four years,” Morgan said. “At the end of the day, the results weren’t what we wanted, but I couldn’t be happier walking off knowing I did what I had to do."
Morgan’s final season ends a game shy of a trip to the NIT semifinals and Madison Square Garden, and he finishes his career with a lone NCAA Tournament appearance in his freshman season.
“It felt kind of bittersweet,” Morgan said of the end of his IU career. “I feel like I failed my job a little bit, but at the same time, I feel like there was never any question if I was leaving it out there – leaving it all out there – day in, day out.”
