BOZICH | Indiana's NCAA outlook dips after come-from-ahead loss to Kansas, 75-71 | Sports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WDRB) — March never exits the conversation at Indiana. You look at the schedule. You look at the standings. You look at the ratings. You speculate.

You walk the dog. You brush your teeth. You fuss about March.

Some years the chatter is about what a team can do in the NCAA Tournament. This season, at Indiana, the chatter is about whether Indiana will make the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

This is where the March conversation percolated Saturday:

Did the NCAA Tournament outlook for Mike Woodson’s third Indiana team shrink to precious little wiggle room after the Hoosiers spit out a 13-point lead in the final 15 minutes and lost to Kansas, 75-71, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall?

The wise guys say “Yes.”

It’s tough to argue against that when you look at the big picture.

Big time wins will not be plentiful in the Big Ten this season. Purdue is the Big Ten's only Top 15 team. Illinois figures to remain a Top 25 team. Wisconsin is shaky. No. 25 Northwestern will exit the poll after losing to Chicago State this week.

IU (7-3) already lost big to Connecticut and Auburn, the two best teams on its non-conference schedule. Its best non-league win? By 9 points over No. 141 Wright State.

This was a winnable home game, and the Hoosiers forgot how to score down the stretch.

If IU wanted an extra-credit victory, the Hoosiers had to beat Kansas, Bill Self and Hunter Dickinson. They didn't get beat by 20-plus the way they did against UConn and Auburn. But they did not get what they needed -- a non-conference win that will shine on their resume in March. There won't be many chances for those in the Big Ten for a IU team that has the league's only 2-0 record.

"It hurts," IU guard Trey Galloway said. "It stings ... We've got to put them away when we have a chance."

Galloway played like his NIL money depended on it. He finished with 28 points, eight more than his career high, mostly on drives, before he fouled out with 7.6 seconds to play.

By then Indiana had coughed up every bit of 50-37 lead in a game they led for more than 35 minutes. The Hoosiers scored four baskets in the final 6 1/2 minutes. Kansas, meanwhile, made 10 of its last 15 shots.

"They're a great team," Galloway said. "They've got a lot of experienced players and have been there before. They've got championship DNA."

"I don't think our defensive intensity was like it was in the first half," Woodson said.

Dickinson, the Jayhawks' all-American center, made half of his eight field goals in the final 10 1/2 minutes. He enjoyed annoying IU fans, later joking that the IU faithful would boo him if he saved a baby.

"The two baskets Dickinson got in the paint (late) were huge," Woodson said. "I don't think Kel'El Ware (IU's center) was tired. I just don't think he battled him like he did in the first half."

Galloway was everywhere and everything for the Hoosiers. He made a pair of three-point shots. He got to the line. He delivered his trademark floaters. He used the glass with precision.

"He had a helluva game tonight," Woodson said. "I hope he can build on that."

The Hoosiers lack productive depth. The absence of another guard to help Galloway, with Xavier Johnson out with a foot injury, was too much to overcome. Indiana did not get a field goal from its three subs in nearly 37 minutes of playing time. Freshman guard Gabe Cupps scored one basket but not until the final seven minutes.

Galloway, Ware (11 points), Malik Reneau (13) and Mackenzie Mgbako scored all but five of IU's points and all but one of the Hoosiers' 25 field goals.

"We knew coming into the game it was pretty much going to be our starting five against their starting five -- and their starting five won out," Woodson said.

And Kansas won out, sweeping the two-game series the Jayhawks and Hoosiers schedule. IU got punished last season in Allen Fieldhouse and Assembly Hall was in tilt mode for the Jayhawks' first appearance in Bloomington in 29 years.

The IU game operations people certainly did not treat the game as if Indiana was playing Florida Gulf Coast or Minnesota.

There was a moment of pre-game silence for George McGinnis, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who averaged 30 points for the Hoosiers in 1972, his only college season.

The pep band moved onto the court for the pre-game players’ entrance for the first time since the North Carolina game last season.

The dreadful seats in the balcony were not only full, people stood in the aisles. In the lower arena, students passed out t-shirts so fans were dressed candy-stripe style, alternating red-and-white sections.

Comedian Mike Epps, a friend of Woodson’s, stood and cheered in the front row, wearing a “Woody,” baseball cap. Jeffrey Osborne delivered a soulful rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.”

A string of top recruits in the 2024 and 2025 classes were seated in the first two rows behind the IU bench. Former Hoosiers Christian Watford, Derek Elston, Rob Phinisee and Race Thompson were in the building and featured on the video board.

What did they see?

A game that Indiana controlled for nearly 30 minutes before it all came apart down the stretch.

IU returns home Tuesday night against Morehead State, one of three non-conference home games before they plunge back into Big Ten play at Nebraska Jan. 3.

It is one of three games they should win and need to win, but not nearly as much as they needed to beat Kansas Saturday.

"We didn't win so we've got to get back tomorrow and get ready for our next three games," Woodson said.