The Minute After: Oregon

Thoughts on a 72-59 loss to the Ducks:

Buckle up, folks.

Thursday afternoon was the game Indiana had to have to ensure its postseason fate. After falling behind but constantly chipping away, the Hoosiers collapsed late and fell short, making the countdown to Selection Sunday a sweaty one.

Indiana had the rare privilege of a home crowd advantage at a neutral site in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and it showed early. The Hoosiers raced out to a 17-9 lead in the first six and a half minutes, knocking down a pair of triples and sharing the ball around to create open looks. Team basketball kept IU ahead early, as Indiana assisted on its first 11 made baskets.

Then, the wheels started to fall off. Indiana’s guards got sloppy and unproductive offensively. Defensively, the Hoosiers got lost and multiple Ducks capitalized. Oregon started with a two-man show between Jackson Shelstad and Brandon Angel, then really picked things up when others got involved. As the Hoosiers went ice cold from the field, the Ducks made it rain down from deep, making the difference late in the half. Indiana led by two with 2:45 left, but an Oregon 10-0 run to close the half put IU in an eight-point hole at the break.

Indiana emerged from the intermission energized and ready to fight back with a 6-0 run and the crowd woke up. However, IU was playing cat-and-mouse with an elusive deficit. The run out of half cut the deficit to two points before Oregon responded. Another IU run got it down to one, but TJ Bamba and the Ducks had more answers. It was all Galloway and Reneau for Indiana in the second half. The duo scored 22 of the team’s 30 second-half points. In total, the Hoosiers cut Oregon’s lead to one possession on five separate instances but could never find the defensive stop or bucket they needed to gain control.

It was a two-point game with 7:33 left but all hope was soon lost. Indiana couldn’t make a shot, turned the ball over and struggled to string stops together. Anthony Leal missed two consecutive front ends of 1-and-1 free throws that the Hoosiers needed to have. Five minutes after it was a one-possession game, IU trailed by 11 and needed a miracle. When Keeshawn Barthelemy made a shot clock-beating corner 3-point heave falling out of bounds to go up 12, it was over.

Indiana had all the opportunities it needed to win but couldn’t capitalize. The Hoosiers finished with 16 more shot attempts than Oregon yet still made one less basket. They were outscored by 12 from the 3-point line and shot 50 percent at the free throw line. IU brought down 13 offensive rebounds but only converted nine second-chance points. It had more assists and less turnovers than Oregon. And still, a 13-point loss.

Sunday should be interesting. If Indiana does make the NCAA tournament, it is almost certainly Dayton-bound for the First Four. It really seems like a coin toss on getting in and the Hoosiers are at the mercy of what happens at conference tournaments around the country. IU had its shot to put fate in its own hands and came up short.

If this is how the Mike Woodson era ends, the loss to Oregon encapsulates so many of the problems that plagued his tenure. Missed opportunities, shooting woes, scoring droughts and all, the Hoosiers simply came up short.

Category: The Minute After

Filed to: Oregon Ducks