Lamar Wilkerson slowly trudged into the press room in the bowels of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries followed closely behind the fifth-year senior guard. Disappointment was evident on each of their faces.
Indiana men’s basketball had just controlled nearly 35 minutes of its Tuesday night contest against Northwestern. Yet, as the clock dwindled throughout the second half, the Hoosiers fell flat.
Whether it was 11 consecutive misses from the field, allowing Wildcats senior forward Nick Martinelli to score 21 second-half points or a no-call on a game-tying 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left, Indiana’s collapse earned it a resume-damaging 72-68 loss.
“It's just a game we shouldn't have lost,” Wilkerson said postgame. “It's one of those self-inflicted losses, as you say. We was the reason we lost. Kudos to Northwestern. They played a good game, but there is no way in hell we should have lost this game. We just being frankly honest.”
The Hoosiers held a 13-point lead with less than five minutes left in the first half, giving them a 95.7% chance of victory, according to ESPN Analytics. They eventually went into the locker room with a nine-point advantage.
Senior forward Sam Alexis began the second half with a jumper, and Indiana led by 11. Martinelli followed with his own 8-0 run, but the Hoosiers responded with back-to-back longballs to push their lead to nine again.
The Wildcats pushed closer as the second half wore on, eventually taking the lead with five minutes left. Wilkerson hit consecutive free throws 16 seconds later before both squads went scoreless for nearly two minutes — then Martinelli drained a 3-pointer to give the visitors a lead they didn’t relinquish.
DeVries attempted to tie the game at 71 with three seconds left and was seemingly fouled on his 3-point attempt, but no whistle was blown.
Indiana head coach Darian DeVries was beside himself, yelling at the officials. Tucker DeVries’ outstretched arms indicated he couldn’t believe the official, who stood directly behind him, didn’t observe a foul.
“He said he couldn't see it,” Tucker DeVries said. “I mean, that's his explanation. That's all I can give you. I thought it was a foul. It's part of the game. That's all I'm going to give.”
While the Hoosiers would’ve had an opportunity to tie the game at the charity stripe if a foul had been called, Wilkerson said the contest shouldn’t have come down to that.
Instead, the Hoosiers shouldn’t have “got comfortable,” as Wilkerson said they did once they held a sizable lead — one that kept slipping out of their reach as the Hoosiers went nine and a half minutes without a field goal across the final 10 minutes.
“We just got to do better, man,” Wilkerson said.
Specifically, Indiana’s group of six seniors must be better, Wilkerson said. The Ashdown, Arkansas, native scored just four second-half points and missed all nine of his attempts from the field in the second half. He said he needs to “be better leading this team, stepping up.”
Tucker DeVries said he felt he let his teammates down Tuesday night. He scored 11 points and grabbed two rebounds, but he missed three shots throughout the Hoosiers’ drought that eventually enabled the Wildcats to take the lead.
“I feel like this was an opportunity for us that we really had to take advantage of, seeing how few opportunities we have,” Tucker DeVries said. “And to have one of our last ones go like that is tough one.”
Tucker DeVries admitted the loss “hurts pretty bad.” Darian DeVries said it was a “tough one.”
However, three opponents remain on Indiana's regular-season schedule: No. 15 Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio State. Tucker DeVries said the Hoosiers aren’t out of the NCAA Tournament mix, even with the Quadrant 3 loss Wilkerson recognized hurt his squad’s resume.
“Our season is not defined by this game,” Tucker DeVries said.
Still, the Hoosiers delivered a stunning loss Tuesday, when Darian DeVries sought a positive start to the three-game homestand against a team ranked No. 79 in the NCAA NET Rankings.
“There is still — like I told them, we have to make sure that we put it (the result) away,” Darian DeVries said.
No. 15 Michigan State is set to face Purdue on Thursday in West Lafayette before venturing to Bloomington on Sunday. The Hoosiers, conversely, have five days to prepare for a squad they previously lost to by 21 points.
Sunday’s matchup provides Indiana with a chance at a resume-boosting victory over one of the Big Ten’s best teams. To avoid another result like Tuesday, Tucker DeVries said the Hoosiers must prepare better, play as a collective unit and take advantage of their opportunities.
And they must flip the page on Tuesday’s lackluster loss, he said.
However, Tuesday’s loss may be the one that will be referenced if Indiana misses the Big Dance. Now, it must respond. Its NCAA Tournament resume depends on it.
“We're going to have to really look in the mirror a little bit,” Darian DeVries said, “and get some things figured out before we play again on Sunday.”
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.
