Hoosiers Hit Rock Bottom in Loss to Minnesota

Things were looking good for the Hoosiers early in this one. With De’Ron Davis inserted into the starting line-up for Justin Smith in a bid to add more size and energy to the starting line-up, it looked like that decision might be paying off.

But the quick start would not last.

The familiar trend of the Hoosiers being unable to put together a complete game continued in this one, and after the opening minutes, Indiana was thoroughly outclassed by Minnesota. While lopsided losses have not been a rare occurrence to the Hoosiers over recent weeks, something about this one felt different.

Give credit to Minnesota, their hot shooting and stellar inside play from Jordan Murphy allowed them to dominate this game for long stretches of time. However, one of the most disappointing takeaways from this game was Indiana’s lack of intensity, and quite frankly, effort.

Indiana constantly found themselves watching lose balls, waiting for someone else to try to make a play throughout the game, being little more than bystanders. Minnesota, on the other hand, showed the fight and the heart of a team that was desperate to secure this win to strengthen their tournament resume, while Indiana looked like a team that has mentally checked out of this season.

This is an alarming game for an Indiana team that must now play four consecutive games against top-25 opponents, with three of those contests coming at home. Head coach Archie Miller for his part came out and declared that his team required “drastic changes to how they do things”, but what those changes will be is anyone’s guess.

Unfortunately for Indiana, without some much-needed heart or passion, a season that just hit rock bottom could very much get worse before it gets better.