-37.
That’s the only statistic you need.
Sometimes data can be misleading when looking back at a game. For instance, Indiana shot over 50-percent from the field and 3-point line. With those numbers, one would assume that the Hoosiers stole the game on the road at Michigan.
As we all know, they didn’t.
The only number that we need to mention is -37, junior guard James Blackmon Jr.’s plus-minus for the game. In the 33 minutes he was on the court, IU was outscored by 37 points. It’s astonishing, even on a night where Indiana lost by 30, looked outclassed from the opening tip and committed 16 turnovers.
A loss would have been fine. Michigan was favored by four points, IU was coming off three straight wins and losing on the road in the Big Ten is a yearly rite of passage, no matter the opponent.
This was abominable.
JBJ needed to take the reins and lead this team. With sophomore forward OG Anunoby’s injury, the brunt of the guidance needed to be coming from IU’s best player.
Over the last two games, Blackmon took 30 shots. On Thursday, he took three. That’s one shot for every 11 minutes he played. There should not be a Big Ten game where Blackmon takes the fourth-most amount of shots for the Hoosiers.
I mean, freshman guard Grant Gelon put up more points than JBJ. One more time, because it’s that shocking. Grant Gelon!
Furthermore, Blackmon committed four turnovers and didn’t take a shot from behind the arc the entire game. It’s not that he played poorly - it’s that he didn’t play.
Passive and docile are rarely words used to describe the star guard. If anything, his constant attacking is a problem. Against Michigan, JBJ’s play was a microcosm of the rest of the squad.
Michigan hit IU in the mouth during the first minute of the game. The Hoosiers wilted away from the challenge immediately.
IU head coach Tom Crean lamented on the IU radio postgame show that his team lacks natural leadership, a player to take charge when things get tough.
Blackmon should be that guy, leading the Hoosiers in hostile environments. On Thursday, he was far from it.
The third-worst conference loss in the Tom Crean era comes at a peculiar time for the Hoosiers. It seemed that something was clicking after Blackmon's buzzer-beater at Penn State and the commanding win over Michigan State. Three straight wins for IU, and then a blowout of epic proportions on national television. The cream and crimson must move on, and quickly, with a road game at Northwestern approaching.
Either this demolition is a terrifying precursor for things to come or something more benign.
Nevertheless, if Blackmon plays this abysmal, no matter how the rest of the team shoots and defends, it’s almost certainly going to be the former.
gigottfr@indiana.edu
@gott31
