LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Indiana played Stanford in the third-place game at the Maui Invitational in Asheville, North Carolina, and I wonder if the No. 1 takeaway from the game should be this:
Texas is terrific.
That’s right. The No. 18 Longhorns are undervalued on the national scene, the best team Shaka Smart has put together in Austin. They proved it by taking down North Carolina, 69-67, to win the tournament early Wednesday evening.
If that seems like a strange thing to say about an Indiana-Stanford game, it isn’t.
On Monday, Indiana defeated Providence, likely the fourth- or fifth-best team in the Big East, by 21 points.
On Tuesday, Indiana lost to Texas by 22 on a day when the Hoosiers scored 44 points, the fewest points scored by an IU team in a decade.
On Wednesday, Indiana defeated Stanford, the team picked to finish fourth in Pac-12, 79-63.
If you can find a stronger takeaway than Texas must be Top-15 worthy, go for it.
But Indiana (3-1) will return to Bloomington with two jumbo-sized wins over likely NCAA Tournament teams, a punishing loss to the Longhorns and a team of players that had no interest in dwelling on what everybody said about them after the Tuesday defeat.
Over three games in Asheville, Indiana went from No. 25 to No. 14 to No. 27 to No. 17 in Ken Pomeroy’s computer formula. They went from a lock for the Sweet Sixteen to doomed to the NIT to back in the tournament picture, right?
“We have a no-maintenance group,” IU coach Archie Miller said. “The sky was falling for everybody else, but our team was fine. We have a high-character group that likes one another.”
What made the Hoosiers fine was another blast of formidable defense. Stanford shot less than 36% and missed 15 of 20 shots from distance. The Cardinal managed an ineffective .926 points per possession and never led.
Stanford also had no answer for Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who rallied from two modest games in Asheville to punish the Cardinal with a career-high 31 points and six rebounds. Davis went 10-16 against the Cardinal after making only 10-27 shots against Providence and Texas.
“His ability to impose his physical will stood out,” Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. “He’s just a physical specimen that we weren’t able to combat.”
“To be quite honest with you, Trayce needed to get lit up,” Miller said. “He needed to get going, and we’re not going to be where we need to be unless he plays at a really extremely high level.
“He answered the bell today.”
So did Armaan Franklin, the Hoosiers’ sophomore guard. With Al Durham unavailable because of an ankle injury, Franklin played 40 minutes against the Cardinal.
Full disclosure: Franklin played 40 minutes against the most-talented Cardinal. Franklin’s primary assignment was defending Ziaire Williams, a Top-10 recruit who is expected to depart Stanford for the NBA after his freshman season.
Williams will have to be more productive in the Pac-12 than he was against Franklin. He took 10 shots. He made one. He was blanked on all five shots from distance. Williams fouled out.
Franklin scored a season-best 13 points. He also contributed eight rebounds and five assists in what likely was his best all-around game in one-plus seasons at IU.
“He’s becoming one of our best defenders,” Miller said. “He’s growing up. He can run all day. He’s in incredible shape.”
Miller said that he asked Franklin several times if he wanted to rest. Franklin declined — every time. He played six more minutes than any IU teammate.
Two other players made contributions worth nothing. Race Thompson performed more like the guy who put 22 points on Providence, making 6-7 shots for 15 points.
After declining to attempt a three-point shot in Indiana’s first two games in North Carolina, Rob Phinisee made three-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the Hoosiers to a 50-41 lead.
That is the kind of performance that Indiana will need in its next game: Dec. 9 at Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
“You take a lot of inventory from these three games, because we’re not playing four games at home against five teams,” Miller said. “We didn’t have that opportunity.”
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
