By Matt St. Charles
A lot was on the line Saturday afternoon when Iowa came to Assembly Hall. Two Big Ten teams were looking for their first Quad One win, which would certainly improve their seeding in any NCAA Tournament bracketology, while avoiding further slides in conference play.
Iowa showed up like a team that needed that win; Indiana did not.
In the 74-57 Hoosiers loss, one thing was clear: Bennett Stirtz was the best player on the floor, and he didn’t let up for 40 minutes.
He finished the day with 27 points on 7-13 shooting while going 3-5 from 3, along with five assists. His constant pressure on the paint made everything tough for Indiana defensively. While Conor Enright did what he could, his foul trouble–brought about by Stirtz’s saviness–limited his impact.
“[Stirtz] was terrific,” Darian DeVries said. “He’s so good in two-man game actions, and you’re going to see it over and over again. He just plays until he gets an advantage, either for himself or for a teammate, and they do a great job of that. He’s so crafty and smart at taking advantage of those, and creating and drawing fouls, and getting to the free-throw line. He certainly was really good tonight.”
The Hawkeyes also made it a point early to force Enright into being a shooter. The redshirt senior guard went 1-5 from the field in the first eight minutes, when Indiana scored just five points.
Tayton Conerway tried to correct the general timidness of the offense, scoring eight straight IU points, all on layups, midway through the first half. That aggression carried Indiana through to the second half, when it got within four of Iowa with 11 minutes left.
“For a good portion of the game, I thought Iowa did a good job making our movements tough,” DeVries said. “We didn’t get into our actions very well. And then we got into a little bit of isolation in the middle of the first half because it was working. [We were] getting Tayton into space and getting him downhill to the rim, but then I think we kind of fell in love with that as the game went on. For us, when our offense is good, we get a lot of movement, a lot of cutting, lot of action.”
But then, attrition set in for the Hoosiers. Second-half fatigue has been an issue this season, especially in Big Ten play, and it played a factor Saturday. That movement, cutting, and action never swooped in to supplement Conerway’s driving to the rim.
“That comes back to that fatigue,” DeVries said. “As we get tired, our movement [happens] less. We have to be able to fight through that a little bit better…We’ve got to find a way to get a little more rest for those guys as we get into that middle of the second half with 10, 12 minutes to go–that’s been consistent in the last three games. We look fatigued, and that’s where some of that sloppiness and the turnovers show up.”
The Hoosiers started settling for 3s, and when Conerway went down with an ankle injury, the penetration stopped even further. Meanwhile, Stirtz and Iowa kept forcing the issue, building the lead back up to as much as 22 late.
“I don’t know if it’s fatigue; I think it’s more of just a want-to,” Conerway said. “It’s something we have to figure out, and if we want to win, it’s something we’re going to have to do. So, definitely, getting back in there, coming out for that second half and throwing the first punch is something we’re going to do.”
There will probably need to be multiple of those metaphorical punches on Tuesday when the Hoosiers head to fourth-ranked Michigan. With the Wolverines’ size and versatility, Indiana will need all its firepower contributing all game long. Tucker DeVries, who finished with seven points on 2-7 shooting today, will have to be at the forefront of that.
“[Tucker] is certainly going through one of those shooting slumps that everybody goes through at some point in time,” DeVries said. “His has been an extended one for a good chunk of time. He’s been putting in the work, and in practices and stuff, he’s shooting the heck out of it. It’s just one of those things–he’s got to get it going and continue to find those better looks and opportunities that we can get him free a little bit more.”
While it’s early in conference play, the time for fatigue and shooting slumps is running out. After dropping a great opportunity at home, Indiana is going to have to dig deep and find something that works with Michigan next week and fifth-ranked Purdue on the horizon.