Hoosiers look to rebound against 'the best team in the league'
BLOOMINGTON — Somewhere in the fiery aftermath of Indiana’s weekend loss to Penn State, graduate transfer forward Max Bielfeldt found himself chatting with longtime sports information director J.D. Campbell, when a thought occurred.
“Last time I lost to Penn State, we went to the Final Four,” Bielfeldt said Wednesday, repeating that conversation. “I feel like I’ve kind of been through this before.”
Bielfeldt was referring to his redshirt freshman season at Michigan, when the Wolverines lost at Penn State in late February but finished the regular season 25-6 and wound up playing their way to the national title game.
His larger message, with No. 4 Iowa looming and a share of first place in the Big Ten at stake, was clear: One bad loss cannot be allowed — and doesn’t have — to derail Indiana’s season.
IU prepares for the Hawkeyes having lost some of its luster, after it followed a heavy win at Michigan last week with that Saturday loss in State College. The Hoosiers struggled to shoot the ball or get freshman big man Thomas Bryant regularly involved in their offense, stumbling to a 68-63 defeat.
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In the three days since, coach Tom Crean has seen spirited, competitive practices, the kind of response he would hope for between a frustrating loss and a potentially season-defining game.
Because make no mistake, that’s what Thursday is for Indiana.
Win, and the Hoosiers move back into a tie with Iowa atop the league standings. The Hawkeyes would also provide a valuable line for IU's NCAA tournament résumé.
Conversely, considering Crean’s team must still go to Iowa City on March 1, a loss would deal a massive blow to Indiana's Big Ten title hopes.
Against the first ranked team they have faced since losing 94-74 at Duke on Dec. 2, the Hoosiers must find their feet again.
“We made sure we got our points across as to what we needed to do a better job of," Crean said of post-Penn State practices, "especially on the defensive end.”
Those points will have included plenty of preparation for the Big Ten’s surprise team, frontrunner Iowa.
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At the Big Ten media day in October, Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffrey talked like he wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of a team that would field a starting lineup laden with experience, and a largely unproven bench rotation.
Now, he has eight players averaging at least 5.1 points per game, perhaps the biggest breakout player in the league in Peter Jok, and a conference player of the year frontrunner in versatile forward Jarrod Uthoff.
“They can score at a lot of different positions,” sophomore guard Robert Johnson said. “They can shoot the 3-ball well, so you really have to get out and guard.”
For a team that struggled against Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes (31 points) in January and Penn State’s Brandon Taylor (24 points) last weekend, Uthoff presents matchup challenges.
He stretches to 6-9 and averages 18.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, all while shooting better than 45 percent from behind the 3-point line. Crean compared him Wednesday to former Utah star and longtime NBA veteran Keith Van Horn.
“No question he creates a lot of issues, because of his ability to shoot with range,” Crean said.
Crean will be equally concerned with getting one of his own standouts, Bryant, back into form.
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The 6-10 freshman spent most of the first half Saturday saddled with foul trouble, and when he did return, his teammates struggled to adapt him into the offense until late in the game, when Bryant’s small surge nearly brought the Hoosiers back. Crean admitted postgame that IU “missed the post too much” against the Nittany Lions.
“Every once in a while, you’ve just got to reiterate how simple you have to make it,” Crean said. “It’s so important that that ball is going through the paint.”
Crean will be hoping more for a repeat of Bielfeldt’s 2013 than Indiana’s Saturday night, in ESPN’s prime time slot Thursday.
The Hoosiers must rediscover their shooting touch. They have to get Bryant more involved. They have to defend better regardless. And they have to be ready to go face-up with a team anchored by perhaps the best player in the Big Ten, but one by no means over-reliant on him.
“We’ve had a really good balance of preparing for them, for their personnel and their schemes.” Crean said. “You can’t just get ready for one or two guys with the best team in the league.”
Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.
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No. 4 IOWA at INDIANA
Tipoff: 9 p.m. Thursday, Assembly Hall, Bloomington.
TV: ESPN.
Radio: WIBC-FM (93.1).
STORYLINES
• Thursday marks the first meeting between Big Ten player of the year candidates Jarrod Uthoff and Yogi Ferrell. The pair are currently third and fourth, respectively, in the league in scoring, and Uthoff is one of the conference's best rebounders, while Ferrell is among the league leaders in assists and 3-point shooting percentage.
• No. 4 Iowa is the first team Indiana has played since Dec. 2, when the Hoosiers traveled to Duke, that will be ranked at tipoff.
• Despite improved ball security, Indiana's turnover rate (20.8) percent, still ranks last in the conference in Big Ten games alone. The Hoosiers' overall turnover rate (20.6 percent) is currently 302nd nationally.
— Zach Osterman