As promised.
Wack stat(s) of the game: The Hoosiers shot the exact same percentage -- 40 -- in the first and second halves, only getting six free throws all game.
Heard from Assembly Hall: "There was one aggressive team on the floor tonight, and it wasn't Indiana." -- Tom Crean "We need to come back to work after break and make sure this never happens again." -- Kyle Taber
Final word: This was what it was: an upset against a team IU clearly should have beaten. Once again, the Hoosiers were their own worst enemy, struggling with intensity and turnovers, and unable to create their own energy in front of a student-less holiday crowd.
There were bound to be nights like this, so there's no use dwelling on every detail. According to Crean, the Hoosiers lost because they had a bad week of practice, so it seems the necessary corrective action is simple.
But as Crean put it, "confidence is fleeting," and this team needs as much to believe in itself as it does to win this season. Losses shouldn't hurt that bad this season, but losses like this -- when all seemed hard and nothing came simply -- could be crippling down the road. Watching how IU responds to this game will tell us what kind of team this is in places not measured on a stat sheet.
A happy holiday season to you and yours from us here at the Basketblog. Take it easy.
