Trumped by the Buckeyes by 25 points Jan. 6, IU lost another one to their Big Ten rivals in meager fashion, 69-52 at Assembly Hall.
FORT WAYNE — A judge has made a preliminary not guilty plea for a former Indiana University basketball player charged in connection with an ex-business partner’s multimillion-dollar fraud scheme.
Tom Pritchard had four fouls against Northwestern on Sunday. But at least he didn’t have five.
1-on-1 with OSU walk-on and blogger Mark Titus
This year’s Ohio State squad (18-6), currently ranked No. 13 in the country, has just a single Indiana native. And while this particular player has earned just 47 minutes in four years, he might be the most well-known Buckeye of them all.
Before every home game, he is there. On the same court where he shot 9-of-11 and scored 29 points against Ohio State. On the same court where he lost 10 games and won five. On the same court where this season he hoped to help the Hoosiers return to national prominence. He is in the same huddle, among the same candy-striped wearing teammates he played with, some for a whole season, some for only two games.
A blown whistle can end a team’s momentum. And Sunday, all those whistles killed IU’s chance of winning.
After IU dropped a 58-43 contest to Iowa on Jan. 24, something changed. Both IU coach Tom Crean and his players alike spoke about the team’s quality practices and its renewed focus and belief since the home loss.
IU knew the Wildcats were shooting 36 percent from 3-point range as a team going into its Sunday contest in Evanston, Ill. The Hoosiers had also been prepped on the movement of their offense, based largely on back cuts resulting in easy layups. The scouting report didn’t matter Sunday.
The Hoosiers entered Sunday looking to regroup from a tough loss against Purdue, but despite 28 points from sophomore guard Verdell Jones, they dropped their fourth straight game.
Tom Crean’s Hoosiers are looking to bounce back from heartbreaking losses against two of the Big Ten’s best. The losses came by a combined total of five points and it’s certainly gotten some fans asking, "What if freshman guard Maurice Creek wasn’t injured?"
This IU team sometimes has spells where its speed-up style becomes rushing and mistakes begin to pile up. But the Hoosiers will have to stay focused on their trip to Northwestern. The Wildcat team IU will face at 2:30 Sunday in Evanston, Ill., shoots 36 percent from the 3-point line and only turns the ball over 11 times per game.
All signs pointed to a win: a halftime lead, an aggressive defense and a strong offense. But as a prayer shot clanked off and the buzzer rang, the Hoosiers lost to their in-state rival Purdue, 78-75.
It was a familiar scene watching the IU men’s basketball team leave the court after the game, only this time it was a different setting.
IU’s 78-75 loss to Purdue proved the term “free throw” to be quite a misnomer. What is known as the easiest shot in basketball can be downright costly – if you miss it.
Just when it seemed the Hoosiers had the game lost, sophomore guard Verdell Jones brought the Purdue lead down to two. After one Purdue free throw, Jones' prayer rimmed out, sending the Hoosiers home with a loss.
It isn’t their first rivalry game. Kentucky has already been to Assembly Hall this season. It isn’t their first game against a ranked opponent, as the aforementioned Wildcats have also taken on the Hoosiers. But when No. 8 Purdue comes to town tonight, it won’t be like any other game this season.
IU coach Tom Crean recently said his team isn’t pushing the ball enough. The second-year coach might take a different approach against the transition-heavy offense of Purdue at 7 p.m. today in Assembly Hall.
Contrary to the last contest between these two teams, it was IU that had to play catch-up.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – If a picture is worth a thousand words, it takes only one to describe the look on Jeremiah Rivers’ face moments after Saturday’s loss to Illinois: devastation. With IU coach Tom Crean by his side, the junior guard slowly walked across the court toward the IU bench with a look on his face that epitomized the clichéd words “agony of defeat.” This was not just any loss.
