ANN ARBOR, Mich — IU head coach Archie Miller stood at the end of the bench with his palms to the sky as Michigan junior forward Isaiah Livers laid in an uncontested layup. Livers had just run the same play on the last possession, using a ball screen IU junior forward Joey Brunk overcommitted against and blew by the defense for the score.
Miller searched for an answer to the easy baskets while the Wolverines stretched the lead to double figures, which would result in a 89-65 victory. He turned to the bench, pointing at sophomore forward Race Thompson and redshirt freshman Jerome Hunter to get in the game.
“What are you going to do?” Miller yelled as the two walked past him to the scorer’s table.
The answer — not much.
Calling IU soft is no longer sufficient. The team has no mental toughness and folds at the slightest sign of adversity. As soon as IU’s shots stop falling and its opponent goes on a run, they might as well just leave because its effort level plummets to zero.
“The concentration level, the ability to play through mistakes and the ability to play through runs is not existent on the road,” Miller said. “It’s very disappointing at this stage of the season.”
The Hoosiers’ effort begins in the frontcourt because they rely on their forwards to set the tone for the team. The only player to respond was senior forward De’Ron Davis who was a surprise contributor for IU, leading the team with 18 points on a perfect 9-for-9 shooting.
Miller has defined IU’s success throughout the season by two categories — rebounds and free throws. Against Michigan, IU was clobbered in both.
The Hoosiers were out rebounded by 16 — the biggest margin of the season — and only attempted 12 free throws. Both categories aren’t about skill. They’re about effort and the willingness to fight in the post. About having the determination to decide that every missed shot is going to be grabbed by a red jersey and that on offense you’re going to take it into the opponent’s chest to draw a foul and get to the foul-line.
No Hoosier in the Crisler Center felt that way.
“We failed today,” Miller said when asked to grade IU’s effort. “We need to be a lot better against Minnesota.”
Throughout the season after embarrassing losses, the team's thought process has been that every game in the Big Ten allows for an opportunity for redemption. Well, IU is running out of opportunities as the season's end creeps closer.
Redemption isn’t something that comes easy, but effort should be. It’s understandable to lose in the Big Ten — especially on the road — as ESPN projects 11 teams to make the NCAA tournament. What doesn’t make sense is how a team with as much talent as IU can be so bad and seemingly not care.
IU currently sits on the bubble, yet has no sense of urgency while its season slowly slips away. They are just going through the motions and praying it’s enough.
“It’s not that you lose, it’s how you lose,” Miller said. “We just got completely dominated today.”
