And so it ends. The Hoosiers were far more competitive in this one than in any other game against a big-name opponent this season, but 30.4 percent shooting and a 46-10 deficit in points in the paint doomed Tom Crean's team in the end.
IU was down to Gonzaga just five at halftime and played with the same intensity as their opponents for most of the game. But a lapse at the beginning of the second half that pushed the Bulldogs' lead to double digits put the Hoosiers in a hole they couldn't recover from. Every time IU made a run at Gonzaga's lead, the Bulldogs found a way to answer and stop any run before it began.
Devan Dumes led the Hoosiers with 15 points, and Malik Story's 14 -- including several 3-pointers in the second half -- kept the game from slipping out of control. But at the end of the day, there just wasn't enough offense for the Hoosiers (4-4), who lost consecutive games for the second time this young season.
Twenty-five turnovers also doomed the Hoosiers, and the Bulldogs held a 22-11 advantage in points off giveaways.
We're in postgame press conferences right now (Mark Few was impressed with Lucas Oil, though he did suggest the money spent on the stadium could maybe be spent bailing out the big three car companies). We'll have more up for you later, and the usual coverage on Monday.
Stay safe out there.
