Hoosiers' 66-63 Loss to Rutgers Has Familiar, Unsettling Story Line

Once again, favored Indiana let a double-digit lead slip away, and wound up losing to Rutgers 66-63 when Ron Harper Jr. hit a three-pointer with 2 seconds to go in the final regular-season home game of the season at Assembly Hall.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There is nothing more frustrating than being good enough to win, but then not doing it. It's been a familiar refrain for Indiana all season, and it happened again Wednesday in the home finale against Rutgers.

Once again, Indiana played well enough to win. And again, the Hoosiers frittered away a double-digit lead and lost a game that mattered so much, falling to Rutgers 66-63 on Senior Night, a night that should have been a celebration instead of another dagger to the heart.

The loss clearly knocked Indiana out of the NCAA Tournament, barring some sort of miracle finish that now will need to include beating Purdue on Saturday in West Lafayette on THEIR Senior Day and/or making a long run in the Big Ten Tournament next week in Indianapolis.

That's all going to be very hard. Beating Rutgers Wednesday night? That shouldn't have been hard, but Indiana continued to shoot themselves in the foot. And late in the game, that's all they hit.

It could have been so easy. They had a big lead, they had the loud, raucous crowd at Assembly Hall behind them and, as 5-point favorites, they played like they were supposed to, leading almost all of the way,

And then they gave it away. 

Again.

For the seventh. time this season, Indiana lost as a favorite. Sure, point spreads have nothing to do with the game on the floor, but it does say this: Indiana was supposed to win on Wednesday, and played like they would.

But they couldn't hit a shot when it mattered until the last few seconds, and they couldn't stop Rutgers star Ron Harper Jr. from more last-second heroics.

The Hoosiers are 18-11 now, and that might have been the most disappointing loss of the season. They are 9-10 in the Big Ten, securing the fact that they will not have a winning record in the Big Ten for the SIXTH STRAIGHT SEASON.

Can you imagine that at Indiana? Another night, ruined. Senior Night, ruined. Another NCAA tourney chase, ruined. 

"It hurts because you want to win for Race and then Parker. This is a special night for those guys,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said of seniors Race Thompson and Parker Stewart,'' the only two seniors who went through the Senior Night ceremonies after the game. "I remember 42 years ago today man, playing my last game in this building and winning a Big Ten title. I wanted nothing more for them to at least experience winning on Senior Night, and we fell short.

"That's the tough part about tonight. You've got to give Rutgers credit. They've been playing well, although they've lost three in a row. They've beaten some good teams in the Big Ten this year. Again, Purdue is next. If we go down to Purdue and win a big game there, it puts us back in the mix. This is my first go around. I have no idea about the selection and all that. We're going to have to win some games probably in the tournament as well, but it's not over. We've got to keep fighting.''

This certainly was a game that looked like a sure win through most of it. Indiana junior Trayce Jackson-Davis was fabulous in the first half, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and grabbing seven rebounds. He played with a lot of energy, and flew by Rutgers defenders whenever he drew single coverage. The Hoosiers led by 10 before Rutgers guard Geo Baker hit a three right before halftime, making it 32-25 at the break.

Because Jackson-Davis was so good, you didn't really notice that his teammates were just 6-for-21 — just 28.6 percent — shooting in the first half.

But that became a story line in the second half for sure. An oft-repeating story line as well. 

Jackson-Davis scored on a dunk just 51 seconds into the second half — and he would never make another basket. Rutgers double-teamed him every time he touched it, and he took just TWO shots rest of the game. The Scarlet Knights dared Indiana to beat them with someone else, and they couldn't do it.

A 10-0 run by Rutgers gave them the lead at 38-37, and the two teams slugged it out from there. Indiana did get back up by seven as late as 9:08 to go on a Rob Phinisee layup, but then Rutgers went on a 12-4 run to regain the lead.

The ending was wild. Jackson-Davis made two free throws with 1:52 to go to bring Indiana within one at 59-58. Baker missed a three-pointer for Rutgers, but Indiana missed two bunnies inside, with Race Thompson missing and then Jackson-Davis, who got an offensive rebound, failing to convert as well. Clifford Omoruyi was fouled with 41 seconds to go and made both free throws to make it 61-58.

Phinisee then missed a driving layup down the left side of the lane, and Rutgers rebounded. On the other end, Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson fouled Paul Mulcahy right in front of the Rutgers bench and a scrum ensued. Mulcahy was issued a Flagrant-2 foul and was ejected.

Aundre Hyatt made the two free throws on the Johnson foul, and then Miller Kopp made two free throws from the technical to make it 63-60, with Indiana maintaining possession. 

Stewart missed a three-pointer from the top of the key, but Rutgers turned it over and Indiana got another chance. They ran a curl for Stewart, and he nailed a three from the left side to tie the game with 10 seconds to go. Rutgers pushed the ball up the floor quickly, and star Ron Harper Jr. — who hit a last-second shot to beat No. 1 Purdue in December — rose up over Race Thompson from 25 feet and buried a three-pointer with two seconds to go to give Rutgers the win.

"Honestly, I thought Race played really good defense (on the final possession),'' Jackson-Davis said. "I almost think he tipped the ball, honestly. He was right there, but then Ron hit a tough shot. There's only so much you can do.''

What Indiana couldn't do was make a shot of their own down the stretch. Prior to Stewart's three with 10 seconds to go, Indiana made only one shot from the floor in the final five minutes, a Johnson pull-up jumper with 3:16 left.

Rutgers dared Indiana's shooters to beat them, but they couldn't do it.

Stewart, who may have been playing his final game at Assembly Hall — no decision have been made yet, but he has a sixth-year of eligibility remaining because of COVID — was just 2-for-9 shooting on the night, all threes, and finished with six points. 

Miller Kopp, a fellow transfer who was brought in for his shooting prowess, was 1-for-7 from the field and had just five points.

"I went with my senior guys tonight and we fell a little short,'' Woodson said. 

 Outside of Jackson-Davis (19), Race Thompson (13) and Xavier Johnson (12) were the only Hoosiers in double figures.

That familiar story line of not finishing game continues to hurt the Hoosiers. This was the seventh time they have lost a game as a favorite this season, the most in the Big Ten.

"Obviously, we're not finishing games, but at the same time, we're in every game,'' Jackson-Davis said. "It just comes down to the last, almost the last four minutes of the game. You've got to get that one stop. You've got to get that one possession because one possession can beat you.

"Down the stretch, that's what we've got to hone in on, and we've got to focus on that last possession. We've got to get one stop. We've got to get one bucket to finish the game. That's big on my teammates, and I think when we watch film, we're going to see that.'' 

Final box score from Indiana's 66-63 loss to Rutgers on Wednesday night

Related stories on the Indiana-Rutgers game

• WHAT WOODSON SAID: Indiana fell short against Rutgers in its last home game of the regular season. Indiana coach Mike Woodson expressed his disappointment in a postgame press conference. Read his full transcript, or watch the attached video. CLICK HERE
• WHAT JACKSON-DAVIS SAID: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had a great night against Rutgers putting up 19 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough to stop the Scarlet Knights who won 66-63. Here's what Jackson-Davis had to say in a postgame press conference. Read his transcript, or watch the attached video. CLICK HERE. 
• PHOTO GALLERY: View all sorts of action from the game and the Senior Night festivities in our game-day photo gallery. CLICK HERE
• PURDUE LOSES TO WISCONSIN: Purdue blew its chance to win the Big Ten on Tuesday, losing to Wisconsin on a last-second shot by Chucky Hepburn. Here's the game story. Indiana plays Purdue on Saturday. CLICK HERE