Hoosiers hang tough in 70-54 loss against No. 5 Gonzaga

INDIANAPOLIS – Stopping short of calling it a moral victory, IU coach Tom Crean said his team played “as close to a full 40-minute effort” as they have all season.

In their third game against a nationally ranked opponent this year, the Hoosiers (4-4) hung with No. 5 Gonzaga (6-0) much longer Saturday than they had previously against ranked opponents.

After suffering blowout losses earlier this season to No. 7 Notre Dame (38 points), Saint Joseph’s (26 points) and No. 15 Wake Forest (25 points), the Hoosiers played the Bulldogs close until about six minutes left in the second half.

Crean said his young squad competed harder during a longer period of time than it has in its previous seven games.

“Before we could ever talk about strategies and execution ... we had to get in our mind that we were really going to come in and compete,” Crean said following IU’s 70-54 loss.

Wanting his team to come in with toughness and a mindset that they wouldn’t let Gonzaga’s substantial size and speed make a difference, Crean said he implored his team to have its will be the difference-maker.

In the Zags’ first five games, the Bulldogs were barely challenged.

On Saturday, Gonzaga coach Mark Few described the win as “ugly” and a “grinder game.” The Hoosiers held the Bulldogs to a season-low 70 points, 10 fewer than their previous low.

“One of the best compliments I think you can give a coach is his team plays hard,” Few said. “If you tell me that, I feel pretty good about that. And (Crean’s) team is playing extremely hard. They are young, and they just don’t quite have as many horses as they’ve had in the past.”

With three minutes left, Crean screamed at his bench to “stay alive” and reminded them it was only a three-possession ball game. Throughout the afternoon, Crean tried to maximize his team’s effort level. He went 11 players deep and subbed out Hoosiers he didn’t think were playing smart or competing as hard as they could.

“I’m always going to try and correct that,” Crean said. “There were a couple of times today I took a guy or because I didn’t like their shot selection, but that’s part of the learning process. That’s what we have to do.”

Shot selection and turnovers continued to plague IU on Saturday, as they have all season. The Hoosiers committed 25 turnovers Saturday after turning the ball over a season-high 26 times against Wake Forest on Wednesday.

Giving up size at every position, the Hoosiers were only outrebounded by two (37-35). But the Bulldogs chewed out the Hoosiers in the paint, outscoring them in the area, 46-10.

Like in previous games, the Bulldogs eventually pulled away from IU, winning by 16 points. But the Hoosiers were encouraged by what they considered their best on-the-court effort this season.

Freshman forward Tom Pritchard said the game showed “they could play with anyone.”
Junior guard Devan Dumes, one of only three players on IU’s roster with Division I experience coming into this season, agreed.

“A lot of the first games (against ranked teams) ... we didn’t really compete for the duration of the game,” Dumes said.

“But today I felt like we competed for almost 40 minutes. If we had competed for 40, we might have even pulled it out.”

JONES OUT AGAIN
Freshman guard Verdell Jones sat on IU’s bench against No. 5 Gonzaga on Saturday, but did not play for the second straight game.
“The doctors took a look at him again right after the game,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “His spirits are great, but his body is just not there yet.”
Crean said Jones could not have played on Saturday and was not a game-time decision. The team will continue to monitor his status.