2nd win not pretty, but a learning experience

There was some good – more solid efforts from freshmen Christian Watford, Maurice Creek and Derek Elston, among others.  

There was bad – IU was outrebounded in the first half and wasn’t physical enough.

And then there was definitely some ugly – 18 turnovers and a 16-of-30 showing from the free throw line.

IU won, and that’s probably what matters most, but it wasn’t pretty.

The Hoosiers are young, they aren’t extremely experienced and they are still looking for leaders to emerge in practice. But now that the season has begun, it’s time to hold them accountable.  

No more pats on the back, no moral victories and no excuses.

“Excuses are a sign of weakness,” IU coach Tom Crean said after the game.

IU’s record might be 2-0, but they’ll need a stronger, full 40-minute effort. Scoring 69 points got the job done versus USC Upstate, but it likely won’t beat Ole’ Miss, Maryland, Pittsburgh or Kentucky.  

It might earn them some victories in the Big Ten, but the effort tonight won’t net anywhere near 70 points versus most of their conference foes.

It is early and they are still learning, but wins will not be easy to come by when they play three games in Puerto Rico later this week.

“We’re getting to play some high level guys,” Crean said.  

The Hoosiers have started slow in both games, but have used late first half spurts to gain momentum going into halftime. On this night it was an 8-2 run in the final four minutes that sent them into the locker room up by seven.

Like the Howard contest, the Hoosiers opened it up, going up by 18 points within the first seven minutes of the second half and extended it to 20 just past the midway point.

Though the Spartans did not bring it within three possessions at any point in the second half after sophomore guard Verdell Jones’ half-opening layup, they did end the game on a 21-9 run.  

Crean and last year’s Hoosiers know all too well what happened a season ago when they failed to shut the door on the likes of Lipscomb and Michigan.

“That’s a weakness that we had last year and something we definitely need to work on,” Jones said. “When we play better teams, they’ll come back and beat us. We just have to learn to close out games better.”

Jones added that they cannot blame the late second half showing on youth.

More than anything, this was a “great learning experience,” as Crean said.

They didn’t play poorly, and there were indeed a number of positives. IU is just lucky that they are learning this early, because no team is going to take it easy on them.

As Crean said, no one cares what type of numbers IU’s young stars put up in high school. Even Watford, who has been arguably the team’s best player through the two games, is not getting too much credit from Crean.

“He’s not scratching the surface,” Crean said. “He is so talented, and he’s not even close to consistent yet. I’m not here to pat him on the back. We’re here to drive him, because that’s a special young man. He can get really good.”

The lesson is not that IU was bad or did not deserve to win this game. In fact, they played hard – just not hard enough from open to close.

There is a lot to expect from the Hoosiers in the next 29 games, and there is reason to believe the team will be a lot better this year. That’s why it only makes sense to demand the best from this team now and not wait until they really find themselves in trouble.