Let's take a quick look at how the Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 66-53 in the Progressive Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York.
What happened
After trailing by one at halftime, the Hoosiers came back to defeat the Bulldogs 66-53.
Victor Oladipo led the Hoosiers with 15 points, followed by Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford, who both registered 14 points on the night.
How it happened
A combination of early foul trouble, a lack of energy and poor shooting led to the Hoosiers playing one of their worst halves of basketball in recent memory.
By halftime, the Hoosiers were able to draw back within one point, 30-29, behind a strong first half from Remy Abell. Abell had six points in the first half, but his biggest contribution was the energy that he brought from off of the bench. As a team, IU shot 8-of-25 from the field and only 1-of-7 behind the arc in the first half.
The second half also started slow, but it became a different story when Jordan Hulls and Victor Oladipo came to life. For the game, Oladipo led the Hoosiers' with 15 points and seven rebounds - including a couple of thunderous dunks that brought the IU faithful in attendance to their feet.
While Oladipo was rocking the rim, Hulls scorched the nets from down town in the second half. For the game, Hulls went 4-of-6 from behind the arc and 5-of-9 from the field to give him 14 points. Hulls' sharp-shooting helped IU outscore Georgia 37-to-23 in the second half.
What it means
While it certainly wasn't the Hoosiers' best game, Tom Crean's crew fought through early foul trouble (11 in the first half) and an overall poor shooting performance (44.9 percent from the field) to earn their fourth victory of the season.
Coming into the game, Georgia looked to be an inferior opponent to the Hoosiers - the Bulldogs were coming off bad losses to Youngstown State and Southern Mississippi. But when it comes down to it, the Hoosiers are going to get the best effort from every team they play, no matter where they rank nationally. That's the reality of being the No. 1 team in the nation, so it was important for the Hoosiers to get a bit of a wake-up call.
Moving forward, the Hoosiers can look back at this game as one that they grinded out. Championship teams find ways to win, whether the game looks pretty or not, and the Hoosiers found a way to win.
What's next for the Hoosiers
After beating Georgia, the Hoosiers will draw the winner of the game between UCLA and Georgetown for the championship round of the Progressive Legends Classic. The game will be played on Tuesday night at 10 PM.
Stat of the Night
IU basketball players not named Jordan Hulls shot 1-of-10 from behind the arc. Hulls, by himself, shot 4-of-6 from down town, including 3-of-4 in the second half that sparked the Hoosiers to victory.
Stat of the Night #2
For the game, the Hoosiers out-rebounded Georgia 40-24. Also, IU scored 28 points in the paint compared to only 12 points in the paint for the Bulldogs.
Stat of the Night #3
With about 10 minutes left in the second half, IU was up 42-40. Jordan Hulls scored or assisted on 18 of the next 20 points for the Hoosiers.
