One and done: IU’s season ends with loss to Arkansas

RALEIGH, N.C. – They had hoped they could make the best out of a bad situation. They had hoped they could take all the frustration from a season gone sour and turn it into something great. They had hoped to redeem themselves.\nIt didn’t happen.\nInstead, Arkansas crushed the IU men’s basketball team Friday night 86-72, and the Hoosiers’ journey for a national championship lasted all of two hours.\nPoor shooting, sloppy defense and foul problems hampered the Hoosiers in their first round game of the NCAA Tournament.\n“I think they were just better tonight,” IU interim coach Dan Dakich said. “It kills me to say that.”\nArkansas forward Sonny Weems obliterated any hopes IU had to salvage a season destroyed by recruiting violations and a coaching change.\nWeems missed just two shots all night (12-of-14), led all scorers with 31 points and was at his best when it counted the most – making all eight of his shots in the second half.\n“It’s sunny days when Sonny plays the way he can play,” said Razorback guard Patrick Beverley, who scored 12 points on the night.\nAll night long, Weems was too fast, too tall and too good for the Hoosiers.\n“Pretty special night,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. “We all aspire to have an evening like that in the NCAA Tournament.”\nWhile Weems was brilliant, IU star freshman Eric Gordon played the worst night of his collegiate career.\nGordon shot 3-for-15 from the field and was 0-for-6 from behind the 3-point line. He scored eight points, which ties his career low. Gordon scored eight points against Tennessee State in December, though he left the game midway through the first half with a back injury.\n“It was an overall tough game,” Gordon said.\nPelphrey said the Razorbacks tried to key in on Gordon and slow him down.\n“We wanted to stay on him and take away his 3-point shot,” Pelphrey said. “Everyone else’s job was to try and get their numbers squared up with his numbers and make him a passer.”\nThe plan worked.\n“I think they were doing a good job in their zone of locating and squaring up on Eric,” Dakich said.\nIU senior forward D.J. White led IU with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. White, who is typically very emotional, took an IV after the game and did not talk to the media.\nIU sophomore guard Armon Bassett scored 21 for IU, shooting 5-of-7 from 3-point range.\n“It’s a good thing Armon hit a lot of good threes for us to keep us in the game,” Gordon said.\nIU managed to avoid a slow start, which had haunted the Hoosiers toward the end of the season. The Hoosiers kept the Hogs within striking distance for the first ten minutes of the game before Arkansas started to pull away. IU’s poor shooting from the field (38.2 percent in the first half) and their inability to guard Razorback shooters allowed Arkansas to build a 10-point lead in the first half. Weems led Arkansas with 13 first-half points on 4-of-6 shooting. Darian Townes added 11 first half points for the Hogs.\nWhite scored 11 points in the first half for the Hoosiers, despite picking up two early fouls.\nArkansas led IU 37-30 at halftime.\nThe Razorbacks’ size advantage was evident early. To compensate, the Hoosiers played physical in the paint and forced Arkansas to beat them from the free-throw line. Arkansas shot 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the first half. IU shot four free throws and made just one.\nIU managed to pull within two, and had a few opportunities to tie or take the lead from Arkansas in the second half, but it was never able to come back from the deficit.