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After 32 minutes of botched and soothing basketball, Indiana made one last desperate attempt Saturday to keep his season alive. Fortunately for IU, the equally apathetic approach of Arkansas has kept the game within easy reach of the Razorbacks.
In a second half when both teams lost control and lost control, Indiana was just able to keep his opponent at bay, shooting fast and recovering stray bullets to avoid a late move from Arkansas.
The Hoosiers were far from perfect. IU was struggling to bring the required intensity to a midday game and, at the beginning of the fight, he seemed to have little interest in continuing his season. Indiana shot 37.5% and made eight turnovers in the first period and almost all of his eight turnovers in the first half were due to negligence. In a match in which few players shone positively, the efforts of Devonte Green and Juwan Morgan stood out for IU. While Romeo Langford was out for the second consecutive game, Morgan was again the cornerstone of the Indiana attack, centering his possessions with tact and tenacity.
Arkansas did its best to keep Morgan from reaching the goal by facing him at the post and sending several bodies in front of him if necessary, and Indiana had trouble sending him the ball early. Morgan nevertheless managed to get 15 points on 5 shots out of 9, with seven rebounds to start, and helped give UI a 30-10 advantage over the paint score. On the defensive, Indiana limited the Razorbacks to 4 shots on 14, capitalizing on the absence of Arkansas center Daniel Gafford and forcing the most difficult attempts at 3 points.
"We knew that their guards had really dominated a lot of their shots and they did it effectively," Morgan said. "And we just wanted to remove that and keep the guys in the paint as much as possible, so they had to fight in threes, and I think our guards did a good job of limiting those as well."
In the first round of the NIT, Langford's absence left Al Durham to have his best game of his career. Saturday, it's Green who has filled most of this gap with one of his most complete games of the season with 18 points on six shots on 12, 11 rebounds, three goals and three flights. and a career high. He and Phinisee grabbed 18 boards combined, limiting Arkansas to just four offensive rebounds (with the exception of team rebounds) and giving IU a 37-34 advantage over the glass.
The team has requested more from Green, Durham and Rob Phinisee with Langford away, and although no player can fully replicate the game or the role of Langford, each one is given a little more responsibility, and Green seized the opportunity in the last three games of IU taking over in almost every facet of the game. The attack runs through more than any other guard while his shots and his defense have significantly strengthened the team in two of the last three games.
"I think Devonte did an amazing job of intensifying offensively, but also in defense," said Fitzner. "I think Devonte really is the one who played that role and gave his support."
Davis and Fitzner stand out
The three-man rotation of Morgan, Fitzner and De- Ron Davis was all that Archie Miller needed in the second half. Justin Smith spent the rest of the day on the bench except 2:15 and the match started seriously. About 15 minutes into the second half, when Zach McRoberts joined Green, Morgan, Phinisee and Davis in a unit that allowed Indiana to come back within reach.
This momentum seemed to carry the rest of the way to Indiana. Fitzner was offering a 12-minute lift from the substitutes' bench, while Phinisee, Green, Durham, Morgan and Davis were running a key run to extend the IU's score to six before the media timeout.
In a game that lacked pace and rhythm, the combination of Morgan and Davis in the field allowed Indiana to settle in an offensive slit in the second half, while Fitzner helped to space the field and bend the Arkansas defense to make room for others.
"De'Ron is doing a very good job of moving the ball," Fitzner said. "Faced with a team like that which is a bit disconcerting, they move a bit, so you have to be able to make an open pass, and that's what I think it's done most of the time."
Davis also shot 10 free throws, and if he missed six, his relentlessness inside helped UI establish his presence where he wanted it most: at the basket. Although not a particularly versatile shooter or defender, Davis anchored Indiana at both ends of the ground and completed the training Miller had played. Without Langford, Indiana was not the size, but the length and pressure of the balls from Phinisee, Green and Durham helped the Hoosiers to overcome this difference in height and the versatility of this trio gives the team several weapons to that time.
"It's a multi-purpose group, we have three big guards and two big guys," said Durham. "These are just great players who make good games."
Rob Phinisee, the catalyst
Phinisee helped galvanize the Hoosier attack downhill and allowed Indiana to attack against an extended defense in transition. After back-to-back help from Morgan and Davis, Phinisee converted a quick pass, sank a pair of free throws, and found Morgan for a transition dunk on consecutive possessions, bringing the score to four.
"[Miller] wants me to be aggressive, even off the screens, downhill, "said Phinisee. "Hit the shooters, hit the big guy in the role too. I therefore have the impression that when I go down, it opens up a lot of things. "
Although the first year player has not yet experienced the same evolution as Durham and Green in recent games, his stable presence in both directions remains just as crucial. Phinisee is not one to take full control of a game, but rather to win more sober. He keeps the ball moving even against tight defensive pressure and moves the defense so that his teammates have clearer lanes to attack, while containing offensive offenses at the point of attack. Phinisee played 37 minutes, a team-high on Saturday. He was the only one to take the lead on the ground, which allowed IU to obtain a positive margin.
Phinisee has a career ahead of him to help guide Indiana in the right direction. For this season, the team must maintain the sense of urgency it has shown throughout the regular season and Saturday's game. Victory or defeat, Tuesday will be the last time Morgan, Fitzner and McRoberts play at Assembly Hall, and the team rallied to try to preserve its season beyond.
"My last college basketball season is about to end," Fitzner said. "I really feel like I'm in a hurry to try to get out of the right note. Few teams have the right to say that they won their last game, and we have the opportunity to do it. "
Filed under: 2019 National Invitational Tournament
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