IU

Insider: Sloppy Hoosiers 'bit in butt' by Penn State

Zach Osterman
zach.osterman@indystar.com
Penn State Nittany Lions guard Devin Foster (3) moves the ball to the basket during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Bryce Jordan Center.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – If Indiana’s win Tuesday night in Ann Arbor illustrated all the reasons to take the Hoosiers seriously, then Saturday’s performance against Penn State presented a resounding counterargument.

Four days after its best performance of the season, No. 22 IU suffered through its worst, a 68-63 defeat at conference cellar dweller Penn State. Nick Zeisloft’s 14 points led all Hoosiers on a night when their established stars universally struggled.

“We didn’t come out in this game with the same mentality that we’ve had the last couple months, in Big Ten games,” senior guard Yogi Ferrell said. “It basically bit us in the butt.”

Indiana’s worst version of itself made an early appearance at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Hoosiers (19-5, 9-2) lacked sharpness offensively, drifting into and out of their offense without the purpose that helped them bury Michigan midweek. That contributed to eight early turnovers, and questionable shot selection.

• BOX SCOREPenn State 68, Indiana 63

And on defense, IU was a step slow, committing lackadaisical mistakes that saddled multiple Hoosiers with foul trouble. Freshman Thomas Bryant missed much of the first half nursing two fouls.

All of this came against a Penn State (12-12, 3-8) team that, on paper, had little business keeping pace with a purported Big Ten title contender.

The task didn’t daunt Nittany Lions forward Brandon Taylor, who did his best Nigel Hayes impression, burning one defender after another. He poured in 13 points in the first half and, after going quiet briefly after halftime, finished with 24, his late makes putting his team over the line.

“We compared him to Nigel Hayes (in game preparation), and he basically had the same result,” IU coach Tom Crean said postgame, referring to Hayes’ 31-point performance against IU last month. “We’ve got to do a better job.”

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Beyond a travel that effectively finished IU's night, Bryant was the Hoosiers’ brightest light at the end. That foul trouble glued him to the bench in the first half, but his six points down the stretch, to keep pace with Penn State late in the second, begged the question of why he hadn’t seen more of the ball sooner.

"We missed the post too much," Crean said.

But beyond Bryant and Zeisloft, who made four 3-pointers, Indiana’s offense was mostly a mess.

Penn State defended doggedly, forcing 15 turnovers, and jump shooting could not bail out the visitors. Ferrell shot 3-of-12, Troy Williams 3-of-8, Collin Hartman 0-of-4. The 3-point accuracy that makes Indiana so devastating at its best never arrived, as the Hoosiers finished just 9-of-27 from behind the arc.

“We dodged a few bullets out there,” Penn State coach Pat Chambers said, “with the 3-pointers that they had, and they didn’t make, that they made against Michigan.”

They tried to compensate by attacking the rim, and pushed into the bonus with 12:42 left in the second half. From that point, though, Indiana shot as many 3-pointers as free throws (10), finishing with two made 3s and eight made free throws in that stretch.

What normally works did not, and what did – on an ugly Saturday night – could not be sustained.

Ferrell was adamant postgame that he and his teammates weren’t guilty of overlooking Penn State, with Iowa and Michigan State looming next week. Only the Hoosiers will know for sure whether they did or not.

Saturday felt more like the moment Indiana paid the piper. This was the kind of performance that nearly cost the Hoosiers in Piscataway in December, and in Minneapolis in January. It finally caught up with them in State College in February.

“We’ve had four wins on the road. They come a lot of different ways. Those experiences should help us,” Crean said. “Tonight, when we weren’t making as many shots as we needed to make, it affected us on the defensive end.”

This loss doesn’t derail the Hoosiers’ season any more than they let it. They will still play for at least a portion of first place in the conference Thursday night at home against Iowa. This is a black mark on their NCAA tournament resume, but it alone is not reason for panic.

But Indiana’s worst performances since conference play began have come against the Big Ten’s worst teams – Rutgers, Minnesota twice, and now Penn State – and that should be concerning.

Tuesday’s win at Michigan appeared to have addressed doubts about the Hoosiers’ title credentials. It took only four days for those doubts to return. With the Hawkeyes and Spartans now squarely in view, whether they’re silenced again is entirely up to Indiana.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

NEXT: IU hosts Iowa at 9 p.m. Thursday.