PHILADELPHIA — Trailing by 11 at halftime of the Sweet 16, the Hoosiers couldn’t make a 3-pointer during warmups. Shot after shot was followed by miss after miss.
This was possibly the best shooting team in the nation, and IU players were making maybe one of every six or seven shots with nobody guarding them. It was just one of those nights.
This one wasn’t meant to go IU’s way.
The IU season came to a close Friday. The game that ended it could be summarized by all of the things that didn’t go as expected for the Hoosiers.
Like when freshman center Thomas Bryant dove for a loose ball early in the second half and gained possession. Those are the moments that usually spark teams and create energy. Bryant tried sitting up to find a teammate.
But North Carolina’s Justin Jackson simply snagged the ball from a rising Bryant’s hands and with it took anything positive from the effort play.
Or there’s the fact North Carolina defied the narratives that surrounded it. The Tar Heels entered Friday shooting 31 percent from 3-point range. Guard Marcus Paige was shooting 33 percent himself.
Despite previous stats and figures, North Carolina made its first seven 3-pointers and 10 of its first 12. Paige scored 21 points on seven of 12 shooting. There were times when IU would be playing perfectly sound defense and the Tar Heels just couldn’t miss.
No matter how or why, the IU season ended earlier than it would have liked and later than most expected. It was a season of ups and downs, praises and doubts and resulted in a coach off the hot seat and a program in stability.
And it will be easy for people to leave the season with the taste of a blowout loss in their mouths. This was an ugly game. The team in Carolina blue looked like a championship contender; the Hoosiers looked like a good team, not a great one.
I’ll remember this season not by the play on the court but by the actions of the players that made up this team.
I’ll remember senior guard Nick Zeisloft still getting worked up and angry from the bench with only a few minutes remaining and the Hoosiers trailing by 20 points. In the last game of his IU career, Zeisloft didn’t make a single goal despite making 128 3-pointers in the past two seasons.
One of the most externally tough players on the team, he had to talk as softly post game to avoid letting his already red eyes begin pouring out tears.
I’ll remember junior forward Troy Williams, one of the most scrutinized players I’ve ever seen, breaking down as he walked off the court for the last time this season. He took a seat and buried his head between his legs and under a towel, punching his fists together in anger.
He played with the same absurd confidence he plays every game, but this time almost everything went in. Williams scored 14 consecutive Hoosiers points during a second half stretch and finished with 21.
I’ll remember senior guard Yogi Ferrell’s mother and two sisters, in their customized shirts they’ve been making for each NCAA Tournament game, still clapping and dabbing for Ferrell’s free throws even when the game was clearly wrapped up.
Ferrell ended his historic IU career with a night of beautiful passes and step back threes, but none of it was enough. Most of his beautiful passes ended in misses from teammates and most of his wonderful shots came once the game had been decided.
I’ll remember the way he led his teammates on the court and how he intentionally fouled Paige with 23 seconds left to ensure benchwarmers like senior manager-turned-roster-spot Jackson Tharp and sophomore forward Tim Priller got to come in before the season ended.
But mainly, I’ll remember how quiet that locker room was before reporters started asking questions to the downtrodden players.
It was a quiet room of 18- to 23-year-old Hoosiers trying to make sense of the closing of a great season that once seemed like it was ending four months earlier.
brodmill@indiana.edu
