Days after an unusually large snowfall swept into Bloomington, IU men’s basketball welcomed another frigid foe from the northwest in Minnesota.
The Hoosiers savored their snow day by defeating the Golden Gophers 82-72 and sprinkled some crucial wisdom we can all use to make it through a frostbitten February.
IU’s greatest downfall as of late has been a tendency to fall behind early. It learned the hard way in a 78-59 blowout to Ohio State on Saturday how important it is to get a head start shoveling so you don’t end up buried.
Related: [COLUMN: IU men’s basketball got taken to the dentist’s office by No. 4 Ohio State]
Head coach Archie Miller’s crew stayed abreast of Minnesota’s first-half downpour thanks to crisp ball movement and a pair of 3-pointers by sophomore guard Armaan Franklin.
Sophomore forward Jackson-Davis is no doubt the engine propelling the Hoosier offense, but anyone who has ever tried to get a car out of snow knows putting the pedal to the metal can have negative consequences. The tendency to rely on Jackson-Davis too heavily can lead to IU spinning its wheels against solid ice.
Wednesday, Miller enacted a more cohesive gameplan coming out of the locker room. The Hoosiers didn’t get jammed in a divot because they laid out salt beforehand, drawing up plays to take advantage of Jackson-Davis’ size and his teammates’ shooting ability.
That being said, the evening had its occasional slick patches.
Turnovers continue to plague the Hoosiers, who coughed up 17. Their passing lanes often seem frozen shut and they cling to the ball like treadless tires skidding across black ice.
The Hoosiers are typically extremely well insulated when guarding the basket, but looked thin at times against the Golden Gophers. Minnesota junior guard Marcus Carr and sophomore guard Tre’ Williams repeatedly snuck past IU’s smothering layers like a draft of frigid air through a loose sleeve.
We’ve all known a guy who insists upon wearing shorts no matter how cold it gets, and it’s not a great look. Fortunately, the Hoosiers wised up and bundled up in the second half, holding the Golden Gophers to 36%.
Nevertheless, sometimes the best you can do to stay warm on a snow day is warm up from the inside out with comfort food. Chicken noodle soup and a mug of hot cocoa are nearly as easy and satisfying as simply giving Jackson-Davis the ball and letting him dominate the post.
Jackson-Davis piled up 20 points and 10 rebounds for what felt like his hundredth double-double this season while his backcourt dropped long-range jumpers through the hoop like icicles falling from a gutter. Senior Al Durham cranked up the heat in Assembly Hall by notching a pair of 3-pointers in the second half, developing offensive momentum that snowballed into IU going 5-7 from beyond the arc.
Beginning with sophomore forward Jerome Hunter’s technical foul late in the first half, this game had the appearance of a friendly snowball fight that progressively gets more intense until someone gets a little too excited and beams their adversary in the face. Moving screens left athletes flat on their backs like little kids trying to ice skate for the first time while the action on the floor got chippier than the shaved ice in a snow cone.
Ultimately, the same Hoosiers who have been criticized for a lack of toughness emerged as the more resilient squad.
I’ve admittedly become a bit numb to seeing IU struggle in the opening minutes due to sloppy play or an apparent lack of an offensive scheme. However, last night’s victory stoked the embers in the fireplace just enough to spark my interest once again.
Miller’s job security will likely remain a contentious topic for IU fans until he does something notable in the postseason. Regardless, a demonstrative conference win never hurts.
Of course, even the most cool and calculated snowman can only last so long on a hot seat.
