In the first 25 minutes of Saturday’s game against Nebraska, Indiana men’s basketball controlled the momentum and led by as many as 16 points. However, the Hoosiers found themselves tied 65-65 with the No. 10 team in the country with just under 8 minutes remaining.
Indiana needed a response. Yet instead of a bucket, the Hoosiers turned the ball over after a bad pass from senior forward Reed Bailey with 7:27 remaining on the clock. They had another chance to take the lead on their next possession after getting a stop on the defensive end. But again, Indiana turned the ball over.
The pattern continued for the Cream and Crimson’s next two possessions. Four straight possessions with turnovers and the Hoosiers found themselves down four with 5:29 remaining.
All of Indiana’s momentum and what it had built up to that point in the contest was gone and unable to be captured again in its 83-77 loss to Nebraska at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“Instead of digging in and really making sure now we get a quality possession the next time, we compounded it with another turnover,” head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “It led to back-to-back-to-back. All of a sudden, your lead is gone, and momentum is real. It shifted pretty quickly there.”
For the first 25 minutes of the contest, the Hoosiers were doing everything right to control the momentum and take charge of the game. They were sharing the ball to get quality shots, and they were getting stops on the defensive side of the court that earned a 16-point advantage.
Throughout the first half, the Hoosiers had some unforced turnovers but were still managing to make up for it because of the rest of their play. Indiana finished the first half shooting 58% from the field and held Nebraska to just 30 first half points.
Despite the advantage, DeVries still wanted those turnovers to be cleaned up as they were the kind of the turnovers “you hate as a coach.”
“I told them if we turn it over five or less times in the second half, we're going to win the game,” DeVries said. “We just didn't do it. I thought, again, that just won the game.”
In the second half, the Hoosiers committed seven more turnovers, multiple of which came at costly times and allowed Nebraska to take full control.
Indiana proved it can play with a top team but was unable to play with authority for the full 40 minutes. And to beat a team of the caliber of Nebraska, the Hoosiers needed all the pieces clicking for the entirety of the game.
“You take care of the basketball; you win the game,” DeVries said. “We got that lead, and then we had, I don't know, four out of five possessions I think we turned the ball over during a 10-0 run when we had the lead up to 16. That's just something that you just can't do if you're going to beat a good team.”
While it was a disappointing loss and another second-half collapse for the Hoosiers, it is something they can learn and grow from as they continue into conference play.
Indiana will have a short time to reflect as it prepares to face another top 15 opponent. The Hoosiers will travel to East Lansing, Michigan, to face No. 12 Michigan State at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be streamed on NBCSN and Peacock.
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.
