DES MOINES, Iowa — For the first time since 2013, the Hoosiers are back in the Sweet 16.
Against Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, IU wouldn’t go away despite the injuries of sophomore guard Robert Johnson, freshman forward Juwan Morgan and, at times, freshman forward OG Anunoby.
IU survived without these players to hold on and win 73-67, and to advance and play North Carolina this Friday in Philadelphia.
“Juwan went down after Maui, and we stuck with it,” senior guard Nick Zeisloft said. “Rob went down at the end of the Big Ten, and we still won the Big Ten outright. All these situations we’ve been through, and all these struggles we just keep succeeding.”
The Hoosiers were led in scoring by freshman center Thomas Bryant with 19 points, 15 of those coming in the last 10 minutes of the game. He also made four of his free throws in the last minute, including his last three.
Starting at the five-minute mark, Bryant scored 11 of IU’s 12 points until senior guard Yogi Ferrell more or less ended the game with two free throws with one second left.
“When Thomas gets going, he gets going,” senior forward Max Bielfeldt said. “He plays with a lot of passion, and when he’s confident and making the right plays, he’s tough to stop.”
Bryant’s second half followed a first half during which he was limited to just two points and picked up a second foul three minutes into the game.
As a result, he only played seven minutes in the first half. Coming out for the second half, it would have been easy for a freshman to shrink in the NCAA Tournament. Bryant did the opposite.
“The point of emphasis I had was staying on the attack,” Bryant said. “Coach told me that he wanted me to attack more, you know, get a quick whip or get a quick bucket down there on the block when I can.”
Ferrell also added 18 points for IU despite only making one of his four 3-pointers. After struggling in the first half, Ferrell scored 11 points in the second half and made the only 3-pointer he took.
“I can’t go out and play timid, can’t force anything,” Ferrell said. “I feel like when I play aggressive, good things happen for our team.”
The Hoosiers also limited the Wildcats to only two second-chance points — no small feat against a team widely regarded as one of the biggest and athletic teams in the country.
Bielfeldt said this meant the Hoosiers always had to be aware of where the nearest Wildcat was, find him, get physical and grab the rebound.
“Kentucky’s tough just because the athleticism of the offensive rebounding is incredible,” Bielfeldt said. “You can’t just watch the ball and wait for it to come to you because there’s a giant jumping over your back and getting it.”
One of these occasions caused Morgan’s shoulder to pop out of place. He was fouled in the process, so Kentucky didn’t grab the rebound.
The Hoosiers survived.
Morgan said he thinks he can play in the Sweet 16. Johnson said the reaggravation of his ankle injury is less serious than the initial sprain. Anunoby returned to play a big part of the second half.
And because they battled, and because IU beat Kentucky in the first game against each other in four years, the Hoosiers get to play together for another week.
“We have so many guys on this team who love playing with each other and know if we lose we won’t get that chance anymore unless it’s in the YMCA rec league or something,” Bielfeldt said. “Playing on this stage with these guys — there’s nothing like it.”
