LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Indiana’s Back is the phrase they put on t-shirts in Bloomington any time the Hoosiers celebrate a mild winning streak.
We’ve reached the point in the men’s college basketball season where you’d better check the fine print any time you say the Hoosiers are back.
They’re back on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. The lights are flashing. The sirens are wailing. The message boards are melting down.
Considered safely in the 68-team field at the beginning of February, Indiana lost for the third time in eight days Saturday, beaten at No. 17 Michigan State 76-61 on Saturday afternoon.
It was Indiana’s third loss by double figures in the last six games. The Hoosiers slumped to 16-8 overall and 7-7 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers' last four losses -- to Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan State -- have been by an average of 14.5 points.
Listed as a 9- or 10-seed when the weekend began, IU now finds itself in a situation where it needs to win three of its last six games. Half of those games will be against Top 25 opponents.
There's a bit of a vibe from last season, when Indiana lost its last five regular-season games. Or 2020, when IU lost 5 of 6 from late January to mid-February Or 2019, when the Hoosiers lost 12 of 13 from early January to late February.
Race Thompson was a member of those three teams. He and teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis were asked about the mood of this team, now that it has lost three straight for the first time.
"You want me to take that?" Jackson-Davis said.
"I got it," Thompson said. "We love competing. We love playing basketball. There's not a game we go out there ... we're not going to sit here ... of course we're upset after a loss but we're not going to sit here and dwell on it.
"Like I said before, you can't get too up or too down. I think we've just got to know that we've got to get back to work. We've got to lock in because we're not trying to let another one slip away from us, especially at home. We don't want to lose another game at home so I really think that's all it's about."
"We're not shooting the ball very well right now," IU coach Mike Woodson said. "You look at the three-ball, we shot terribly in that category. And free throws. We didn't make free throws. You just make free throws and you're in the ball game."
The Hoosiers have the same issue they've had since Yogi Ferrell left town a half-dozen years ago. They don't have a top-level backcourt. Indiana's guards are erratic. The guys who can drive can't consistently shoot. The guys who can shoot cannot drive. Indiana's backcourt is too easy to defend.
As a group, the Hoosiers missed too many shots, including 16 three-pointers and 11 free throws. They committed too many fouls, including multiple technicals for the second consecutive game.
They had no answers for Michigan State’s physicality around the basket.
The five players that Woodson suspended for the game IU lost at Northwestern Tuesday played against the Spartans but the Hoosiers struggled mightily on offense again.
Trey Galloway, Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart combined to miss 16 of 18 shots. Galloway replaced Stewart in the starting lineup and missed all six of his field goal attempts. Stewart went 1 for 7 from distance and 1 for 6 from the free throw line.
"They both struggled," Woodson said. "I've got to find a balance as we continue this journey."
Down 10 midway through the first half, Indiana scored the first eight points of the second half to move ahead of Michigan State, 38-37.
But the Hoosiers wobbled miserably after that, getting outscored 17-5 in the next five minutes.
"We took bad shots," Woodson said. "We practice shooting the basketball. I've just got to get them comfortable and feeling good about themselves to make them."
"I really just think we weren't hitting shots," said Jackson-Davis, who led the Hoosiers with 17 points. "Parker, who is a phenomenal shooter for our team, struggled today and sometimes that happens.
"We tried to pick up the slack but when you're not hitting shots they pack everything in so it makes it tougher. We just have to keep grinding away and listening to Coach Woodson and what he's saying. He drew up plays to get us shots. We just weren't hitting them."
They also kept sending Michigan State to the free throw line — and the Spartans kept converting, 25 of 28, which is 89.3%. On the season, MSU has been excellent at the line making better than 76%.
For most of the game Michigan State made more free throws than Indiana attempted. Their 25 makes were only one less than Indiana's 26 attempts.
Indiana’s next two games will also be against Top 25 opponents. The Hoosiers will host No. 14 Wisconsin Tuesday at 9 p.m. in Bloomington. Their next road game — at Ohio State — was rescheduled to Feb. 21 from Feb. 19 by the Big Ten office. After that Indiana has Maryland (home), Minnesota (away), Rutgers (home) and Purdue (away).
Woodson’s team needs to win one of the next two to avoid a 5-game losing streak at the wrong time of the season. They need to split the next six to finish 10-10 in the Big Ten.
"We still control our own destiny," Woodson said. "I feel good about that. But I've got to go back and regroup and get them ready for Wisconsin."
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