CHICAGO — Freshman guard Aleksa Ristic placed the ball on the hardwood of the United Center, across from the Indiana bench, as the clock dwindled down to zero.
As the final buzzer sounded, Indiana men’s basketball walked off the court, heads down, after suffering another loss that likely ended its season.
Yet as the Cream and Crimson exited the court and made their way through the tunnel and to the locker room, one Hoosier stopped in his tracks before entering the tunnel.
Tayton Conerway stopped to high-five the kids lining the rails. It didn’t matter the results, or the emotions he was feeling in that moment. The sixth-year senior guard took the time to interact with the kids who came to support him and even handed off his used game towel to a young fan.
Because even after the disappointing 74-61 loss to Northwestern on Wednesday inside the United Center in Chicago in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, Conerway recognized what was important beyond the results of the game.
“I was one of them kids at one point,” Conerway said postgame. “We didn't have the best record. We didn't have the No. 1 seed. I was there cheering for the 10 seeds and the 12 seeds. Just being able to realize that they're still happy, knowing that they're still there for me, and knowing that, that kid will probably love that towel forever.”
And while it may seem small, that simple act from Conerway, embodied the character and makeup of Indiana’s 2025-26 squad.
The season had its ups and downs. The Hoosiers started the season off 7-0 before suffering back-to-back losses to Minnesota and University of Louisville to begin December.
Indiana then rebounded with a commanding 113-72 victory over Penn State but crumbled against the University of Kentucky in the following game.
The Hoosiers then went on a four-game win streak, followed by a four-game losing skid.
However, that losing streak propelled the Hoosiers into their best stretch of the season, where they won five of their next six games, including notable victories over then-No. 12 Purdue, UCLA on the road and Wisconsin from late January into early February.
But the ups and downs continued.
Indiana lost five of its last six games to close the regular season. Then the Big Ten Tournament loss to Northwestern, quickly followed.
Still, the group stayed together. They stayed connected. “You know, I don’t know if we’ve ever lost confidence,” senior forward Reed Bailey said. “We haven’t broken apart in that locker room. I think we came out every single game thinking that that was going to be our time to turn it around.”
For a lot of teams, compiling losses would break a team apart. It would create poor team chemistry. The Hoosiers saw the season/end of season/etc. differently.
“I mean obviously this basketball stuff is important, but it’s just basketball,” junior guard Jasai Miles said. “We’re all people, we all have lives, so just to meet people like that, that you know, you can rely on and count on, that’s important to me.”
The loss to Northwestern plummeted the Hoosiers NCAA Tournament hopes. Following the loss, Indiana’s odds to earn an at large-bid fell to 21%, according to ESPN Men’s Bubble Watch.
But now, all the Cream and Crimson can do is wait.
They remain hopeful for Selection Sunday, when the 68-team NCAA Tournament field is unveiled at 6 p.m. March 15. Because that's the kind of group they are.
“We’re just waiting for Selection Sunday,” Bailey said. “See what it can bring. Just stay confident.”
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.
