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It will go down in the record books as a victory.
For much of the game in Evanston, Indiana looked like they were falling to a Northwestern team that had lost nine straight games.
After beating Iowa’s No.8 on Sunday, the statistic that continued to resurface was Indiana’s 2-9 record after beating a top 25 opponent under Archie Miller’s tenure. Everything about Indiana’s game on Wednesday pointed to it going 2-10 as the Hoosiers slipped into deficits late in settlement and into first overtime.
If Indiana had been in the same situation a month ago, they probably would have failed.
Instead, the Hoosiers escaped what would have been an excruciating loss and won a 79-76 double overtime victory. It was a game that, by all means, Indiana shouldn’t have won. But they did, thanks to the clutch minimizes stretching by Armaan Franklin, Al Durham and a whopping 3 points from Jerome Hunter.
“This one puts a smile on my face more than any of them just because we had to go through to figure it out to do it,” IU head coach Archie Miller said after the match. “You don’t win today if you’re not together, if you’re not serious, if you aren’t tough-minded.”
Here are five takeaways from winning:
• Armaan Franklin and Al Durham take Indiana to victory: Indiana backcourt Armaan Franklin and Al Durham combined for 47 of Indiana’s 79 points, including 7 of 13 beyond the 3-point line. Franklin and Durham hit clutch kick after clutch kick as the rest of Indiana’s attack collapsed.
When the Hoosiers lost seven with less than two minutes left in regulation, Durham had five free throws in under a minute to shoot Indiana within two points. Durham then hit a jump shot with 24 seconds left to tie the game off and ultimately send it to overtime.
In the first extra period, Franklin scored ten points, including seven free throws. Durham came back again, hitting a jump shot just inside the 3-point arc to tie the game with less than two seconds left and send the game to double overtime.
“I think lately we’ve been doing a better job of execution later in the game just so we can have a chance,” said Miller. “I think so often in overtime in previous games we struggled to execute, we struggled to get a quality shot.
Fittingly, Durham made four free throws in the second overtime period and froze the game with three seconds remaining.
“We needed this win,” Durham said. “I have the feeling that this victory was very important for us because we could not put two together. We weren’t able to put on two. “
• Free throw shooting becomes a deciding factor: Indiana has had its share of line struggles this season. Earlier in the year, Miller compared missed free throws to a turnover.
To start the game, the Hoosiers were horrible from the line, going just 2 of 8 in the first half. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Rob Phinisee both missed a pair.
But Indiana improved in the second half, converting on 10 of the gang’s 14 attempts. Then Indiana broke through in two extra hours.
Franklin scored 7 of 8 in the first overtime. In second overtime, Phinisee and Jerome Hunter both hit two and Durham knocked down four more. Towards the end of the game, the Hoosiers converted on 14 of their last 15 free throws.
One of Indiana’s downfall in the first half became its buyout quality in the clutch.
• Indiana achieves appalling offensive performances: This offensive performance may have been Indiana’s worst since the game against Texas where they scored just 44 points. If it wasn’t so bad, it was close.
The Hoosiers scored just 20 points in the first half with just four players contributing. Franklin and Durham had eight each and Jackson-Davis and Jordan Geronimo had two each. Indiana was just 7 of 29 from the field.
The second half wasn’t much better. Indiana went 11 of 33 from the field and had 2 of 6 of 3 runs. Race Thompson added seven points, while Franklin and Durham carried the load. But other than those three, there were a lot of hiccups.
The Hoosiers finished the game with 8 of 16 layups and a single point per possession.
• Trayce Jackson-Davis does not dominate and Rob Phinisee continues to fight: Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with a 10-point, 14-rebound double-double, but was not a factor for most of the game. He was constantly harassed by the great men of Northwestern in situations of isolation.
In the first half, Jackson-Davis shot just 1 of 6 from the floor and had an over / under -5. He contributed six points in the second half, but was far from the dominant player Indiana needed for him to be.
There was nothing particularly special about the Northwest Frontline, and Jackson-Davis couldn’t seem to fit into any rhythm.
Then there was Phinisee, which has been a puzzle all season. In 32 minutes of action on Wednesday, Phinisee had just two points and was 2 of 5 from the free throw line and 0 of 4 from beyond the arc. He did have five assists, however, and his two free throws were extremely important.
The veteran counterpart of Phinisee’s Guard in Durham has been doing her part recently, but Phinisee has still failed to catch her pace.
• Turnover becomes a major issue: Indiana’s inability to take care of the ball nearly lost them in Wednesday’s game. Miller has constantly reiterated the importance for his team to hold on to the rock.
In the first half, the Wildcats turned seven Hoosier turnovers into eight points. Indiana spat six more times in the second half, leading a further 11 points in the Northwest.
Many of the sales were repairable. There were a lot of stray passes and miscommunication. Franklin finished with four turnovers, while Jackson-Davis, Durham and Khristian Lander each have a pair.
Ultimately, however, Indiana was able to overcome all the mistakes.
“We kind of fought our way through the whole time defensively,” Miller said. “Even when we gave up a few races late, we were able to find a way to put it back on the line.”
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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