After starting the season 7-0 and entering the Associated Press top 25 poll for the first time in nearly a full year, Indiana men’s basketball finally faced the inevitable — its first loss of the season.
It was bound to happen at some point, and yet, when it does, it still doesn’t make it feel any better.
The Hoosiers were unable to stop the Golden Gophers’ offense and lacked the kind of shot-making they displayed multiple times this season in their 73-64 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
Despite the disappointing loss to a struggling conference opponent that had already taken four losses coming into the contest, Indiana does not need to panic. The Hoosiers will be OK.
So far this season, Indiana has proven they have the necessary pieces of a good team. It’s exemplified its ability to share the ball, shoot from 3-point range and play with aggression and physicality.
Indiana has cracked the century point mark in three of its games this season. And in another matchup, the Hoosiers were just a few points shy, scoring 98 points against Alabama A&M on Nov. 5. Indiana also averages 20 assists and 10 3-pointers per game.
Yet, against Minnesota, those characteristics were at times absent.
In the game, Indiana recorded its second lowest assist amount of the season and was held to under 30% shooting from the 3-point line, making just eight total. The Golden Gophers had an answer for fifth year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson and redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries — two players the Hoosiers have relied on thus far this season.
In the first half of the game, DeVries and Wilkerson were held to a combined 10 points. While Wilkerson was able to get a little bit of offense going in the second half, DeVries’ struggles continued, as he had just three second half points in a half the Hoosiers needed them.
With the two unable to generate the offense they are accustomed to, Indiana head coach Darian DeVries stressed the need to find a solution for those types of situations and find other ways to generate offense.
“I told the team, we got to do a better job as a staff of figuring out, ‘OK, here's how we're going to get guarded from these two guys,’ and still be able to utilize everybody else by how they're guarding them,” Darian DeVries said. “We'll create opportunities for those guys, but also still find ways to be able to get them free and get them open.”
While the loss was disappointing for Indiana, it’s not time to panic yet. The Hoosiers have the opportunity to take the loss and grow from it. With a tough schedule ahead of them, Indiana will find out what they are truly made of in how they respond to a loss.
“I think for us, the image is we lost the game,” DeVries said. “And it was gonna happen at some point. But the main thing now is that, now that you've lost one, is how do you respond? And what happens in that locker room, on the practice floor, as you get ready for the next game?”
Now, it’s up to how they respond. In its next three games, Indiana will face another Big Ten opponent — Penn State — and two top 20 teams.
First, the Hoosiers are set to face the No. 6 University of Louisville inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday.
But with the players Indiana has under the style they play, the Cream and Crimson have plenty of opportunities to get back on the right track and pick up key wins.
“So, we have a group that's pretty connected. We've got some guys that have played a lot of basketball. So, I expect them to come ready and to respond and be ready for Saturday.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
