IU 54 Gonzaga 70

I love this team and this coach. The future is extremely bright for Indiana basketball. If you didn't see the game, don't let the final score fool you. That was the largest lead of the entire game. This game was in single-digits throughout, including still a 9-point game with just 3 minutes to play. Similar to the Wake Forest game, this game was tied 10 minutes into the contest. Although I was pleased with that, I just figured it was just a matter of time before the blowout ensued. But that never happened and it was just a 5-point game at halftime. And it wasn't like IU was playing perfect just to stay close to the #5 team in the country. In fact, some of the statistics were atrocious at halftime including 6-25 (24%) field goal shooting and 13 turnovers. In addition, IU's two top scoring threats in Pritchard and Story were both saddled with 3 fouls. Then, the second half started and IU turned it over on their first 4 possessions and I think they had 7 turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half. This allowed Gonzaga to quickly build a 13-point lead and this game definitely looked headed for blowout city at this point. But our young Hoosiers kept fighting. Dumes hit a couple 3s to get the lead back into single digits. Then, for most of the 2nd half the lead stayed in the 7-11 point range. Story came off the bench in the 2nd half and hit some 3s and then both Roth and Taber hit 3s at the shot-clock buzzer to keep IU in striking distance. With just 5 minutes to go in this game, IU had a 3 in the air that would have cut the lead to just 4 points. That one didn't drop, but I am still amazed that they were even in a position like that. If that shot drops to cut it to 4 points with 5 minutes to play, they legitimately would have had a chance to knock off the #5 team in the country. Unfortunately, this was about the point where Gonzaga was able to build the lead back into double-digits and eventually IU was forced to go into fouling mode and ultimately lost by 16 points. I was getting pretty pumped up as IU was hitting some of those 3s in the 2nd half to stay close. The two by Roth and Taber at the shot-clock buzzer had me really fired up. By the way, Taber is now 2-2 from the arc in his career. There was also a fun moment after Story had just hit a 3 and then Jobe swatted a Heytvelt shot out of bounds. Jobe started waving his arms and the crowd was going wild. The best part for me was not that this team was fighting hard because they always do that. The best part for me was that they were fighting to win. It was really fun to watch and see it in their eyes. Again, this was the #5 team in the country and a team with 5 guys over 6'11" tall. Now they need to make sure they carry this forward and beat TCU next Wednesday. Overall Team Performance: A- Once again, the turnovers (23) killed them, especially at the start of both halves. And once again, they were so outmatched, it was ridiculous. But their relentless hustle, FT shooting, and timely 3-point shooting kept them within striking distance. Daniel Moore: C+ When talking about being overmatched, it was most evident when Moore would try to drive the lane and pretty much got his shot blocked every time. He either needs to work on some type of pull-up 8-foot teardrop shot or he needs to do a better job of drawing the contact so that he gets the whistle. Today, I personally thought he should have drawn the whistle a couple of times because there was definitely contact and then I got pretty upset when they whistled Moore for a foul on the other end when he barely bumped Heytvelt. Moore really struggled in the early going with 3 turnovers in the first 4 minutes, but then I thought he settled in and did a pretty good job of running the show. Hopefully Verdell will be back soon so that Moore does not have to play 35+ minutes a game. I am still impressed with how Moore is playing overall. In particular, I remember a couple great plays by him today. One was where there was a rebound being tipped and bounced around all over the place, then all of the sudden Moore comes streaking through traffice and out the other side with the ball to start a fast-break for IU. The other was diving into a pile on the floor, grabbing the ball, and getting the timeout. Devan Dumes: B This was more of what I was hoping to see out of Dumes. Even though he was only 4-14 from the field, he was 3-7 from the arc and all 3 were big ones. The first one was in the 1st half when Gonzaga went on a 6-0 run to take a 6-point lead and I thought they were getting ready to run away, but then Dumes hit a 3 to cut the lead back to just 3 points. His other two treys were in the 2nd half after Gonzaga quickly built a 13-point lead and his triples got the lead back into single digits. It was good to see him hit some big shots, now we just need it more consistently. Kyle Taber: B- Taber led the team with 7 rebounds and continues to do a great job with all of the hustle plays. His shot-clock buzzer 3-pointer was so pure that I will be interested to see if he starts launching some more. The main thing lowering his grade was 2 plays where he very lightly fouled a guy that was already scoring a very easy layup. In both cases, he should have just let the guy go. Nick Williams: C Didn't really do too much in this game. Tom Pritchard: C Pritchard was actually pretty horrible most of this game, but there definitely were a couple moments where he was outstanding with some nice post moves and a couple really nice blocked shots. Again, it was a tall (literally) task for Pritchard again and he was in foul trouble the entire game. Unfortunately, his 3rd foul in the 1st half was a stupid one that happened 35 feet from the basket. He is too valuable to have mental errors like that. Then, I thought he kind of got screwed on his 4th foul. After scoring, he was just turning to run to the other end when Heytvelt intentionally through his shoulder into him. Pritchard reacted with a small shove and got whistled for the foul. Tough break for IU on a play that probably could have been a no-call or if the refs would have caught the first guy. But again, Pritchard is too valuable to allow himself to get suckered into a cheap 4th foul like that. Pritchard had 7 turnovers -- I think 6 of those came in the opening minutes of each half. But all in all, he was still able to manage 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 20 minutes of play. Matt Roth: C Once again, I don't like how deep every single one of his 3-point attempts are. In one case, IU had great ball movement to get him a wide-open shot and he had spotted up out at 25-feet. He could have just as easily spotted up 3 feet closer and still had an open look. The shot-clock buzzer is a different story and was a great shot, but every shot doesn't have to be so deep. I did think Roth did a pretty good job of helping out with the ball handling today. Tijan Jobe: C I thought Jobe was serviceable. I loved his attitude today. He pulled down a rebound with authority and was yelling. Then, he blocked that shot against Heytvelt and waved his arms in the air to get the crowd going. But other than those 2 plays, he didn't do anything else in 16 minutes of play. Oh wait, he actually scored 4 points for Gonzaga. On one, he was going for a rebound and tipped the ball in for Gonzaga. Then he also clearly goal-tended a shot that he actually deflected into the basket. I continue to be a big Jobe fan and may have to create a blog dedicated to TJ. Malik Story: B+ You have to continue to be impressed with Story. I really feel a big lift when he comes in the game. He was able to knock down a couple big 3s and he is also able to get into the lane and either score or draw a foul. I think he will continue to be a bigger and bigger part of the offense. Kipp Schutz: B Generally, I just skip over the guys that only play a minute or two. But I needed to throw this in here to mainly talk about the horrible officiating on a play Schutz was involved in. Schutz drove in on a fast-break, got fouled, got a shot up on the rim, and a Gonzaga player grabbed the net and pulled the rim down that then catapulted the ball into the air when he let go. The officials said that Schutz was in the act of shooting because they gave him 2 shots (IU was not in the bonus), but they missed the goal-tending call. I have no idea how 3 officials could miss the call because the ball was sitting on the front rim and then went flying 10 feet in the air when the Gonzaga player let go of the net. It's my belief that this cost IU the game and I will be writing a letter. Well, not really, but it still was amazingly bad officiating on that play. Coming Up: TCU next Wednesday. I just hope they can carry forward this effort and get a nice win against TCU because they then have Kentucky next weekend. Go Hoosiers!