The question of how IU would respond to a big win over No. 10 Iowa was met with disappointment — a 20-point loss at Northwestern — but the question of how IU would deal with that disappointment was met with intensity.
IU dominated Purdue 73-51 on Sunday in its final game of the regular season. IU Coach Teri Moren called it some of the team’s best basketball in terms of how the Hoosiers scored the ball and stayed out of foul trouble.
The Big Ten Tournament is next up for IU, 19-11 overall and 8-10 in conference play. IU is 11th in the Big Ten standings and would need Minnesota to defeat Michigan State and for Northwestern to lose to Iowa for IU to jump into 10th place and get a first-round bye, playing its first game Thursday as opposed to Wednesday.
“We didn’t really want to play on the first day because it’s hard to win the tournament playing all four days,” sophomore guard Bendu Yeaney said.
But the bigger question that remains isn’t what day IU will play, but which IU team will show up next?
It could be the one that failed to feed off a win and lost by 20 to Northwestern or the one that came out firing and dominated Purdue.
“To say that I haven’t had anxiety I’d be lying,” Moren said. “Just because we’re going down the stretch here and we’re playing for something. Every game matters."
Moren said it herself, she doesn't have an answer for IU's back-and-forth play the last three games. She also said regardless, she still needs to instill confidence in her team. When Moren mentioned that IU is playing for something, she means the NCAA Tournament.
In 2017, IU won 20 games and went 10-6 in the Big Ten and missed the tournament. In 2018, IU missed out again at 16-13 and 9-7 in Big Ten, another year on the outside looking in. The last year the Hoosiers made the tournament was 2016 when they went 20-10 and 12-6 in the Big Ten.
This season, IU’s record has similarities to all three of those seasons. In the most recent bracketology, the Hoosiers were on the bubble, so their hopes of making the tournament could come down to if they win some games in the Big Ten Tournament, which ultimately comes down to which Hoosier team will show up.
Moren said the team plays well when junior guard Ali Patberg plays well, and she scored 18 points Sunday and said her team’s performance at Northwestern was uncharacteristic.
“It was kind of a pride thing,” Patberg said. “That’s not how our team plays. That’s not how our program is supposed to represent the university, so we needed to come out and play the way we’re supposed to play, and we did.”
IU’s first game in the Big Ten Tournament will either be at 4 p.m. Wednesday or noon Thursday.
“We’re gonna keep fighting until the end,” Yeaney said.
