My Two Cents: Not Tough? Too Soft? Not in Win Over Minnesota

Indiana went blow for blow with Minnesota on Wednesday, and got a huge 82-72 win by playing to their strengths and making shots when they had to, and now an NCAA Tournament bid is getting a little closer.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – There's a history behind what transpired in Indiana's 82-72 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. And the first chapter of the script for this victory was sketched out last weekend.

I could see this coming.

This? It was Indiana being engaged and in attack mode from the first tip, something that's been a problem all year. It was Indiana's best player, Trayce Jackson-Davis, prepared to take over and dominate a game that had to be won. And it was Trayce and the rest of his teammates who delivered counterpunches every time the Gophers threw a punch. 

Wanna fight? We're fighting back.

And when it was all said and done, Indiana had one of its best wins of the year. It wasn't perfect, of course, far from it, actually. But the Hoosiers started well, finished even better and made up for any goof-ball plays along the way.

Indiana shot 57.8 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from three-point range and 76.7 percent from the free throw line. How rare is that? A 50/50/75 game hasn't happened for Indiana all year. 

Hasn't happened for any opponent, either. In fact, it's been more than four years ago that Indiana did it, since a Jan. 7, 2017 game against Illinois that the Hoosiers won 96-80 behind James Blackmon, Jr., Thomas Bryant and Robert Johnson.

On the offensive end, Indiana was that tough. They went strong to the rim, the big guys and the guards. They hit threes in bunches to blow the game open and they made most of their free throws down the stretch to keep the Gophers at bay.

They were that good. And it all started with their collective manhoods being questioned  three days ago.

Indiana sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis slams down a dunk early in the first half against Minnesota. (USA TODAY Sports)

Getting angry, and doing something about it

Indiana barely put up a fight in its 19-point loss to Ohio State on Saturday, and during a very brief postgame interview with Jackson-Davis, he went off without even being prodded.

"At the end of the day, we got called soft,'' the sophomore star said with anger in his voice. "I know me and my teammates aren't soft and all we've got to do is work hard and push forward to the next game.''

This weekend they were called soft, and a few weeks ago Miller said they weren't tough enough. The Hoosiers took that personally, practiced hard for a couple of days and then came out and traded blows with the Gophers, winning all the critical wars in the end.

"Our physical toughness, our physical size to me is in question, but our attitude and the way we approach things as a group is not,'' Miller said Wednesday night. "This team worked really hard coming into this game and off of last week on the road. 

"They're going to come back tomorrow and be ready to go, and that's why this team has a chance to continue to be good at the right time.'' 

What had been lacking all showed up in a good way. Jackson-Davis, who's been prone to slow starts, had two emphatic dunks in the opening minutes and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, his ninth double-double of the year.

Rob Phinisee attacked the basket aggressively and had 10 points and tied a season high with six assists. Armaan Franklin and Al Durham hit big threes, and Jerome Hunter played with attitude in racking up a career-high 16 points.

Indiana won the rebounding battle and, for a change of pace, won the 50/50 balls. That's something of a surprise for a team that should label those 20/80 balls.

"We're trying right now to get our team to really focus in on doing the little things,'' Miller said. "The little things matter and I thought we made the little plays that were needed, key plays, tie-ups on the floor, Jerome got on the floor two or three times, and our guards got some great defensive rebounds late.

"Our toughness level is questioned because we are slow to the ball. We don't get loose balls, we don't get long rebounds. They go over our back and grab the ball and lay it in. We're that team that's a little bit slow in regards to how hard you have to play to get on the floor and do some things. But I thought when it mattered the most we started to get some key stops, we started to make some plays.'' 

Jerome Hunter had a career-high 16 points for Indiana on Wednesday night. (USA TODAY Sports)

Hunter earning his keep again

Hunter showed that toughness more than anyone. He missed two games earlier in the month for violating team rules, but he had 10 points against Ohio State, and 16 tonight. He also got a questionable flagrant foul, fighting back when he needed to.

He showed the fight, and the Hoosiers needed that.

“He’s not messing around,” Miller said. “I think he knows his time has come to step up. Since he’s returned, he’s playing well. He’s playing very confident, playing very hard, he’s playing very physical.

“He’s playing like he’s practicing right now — he’s playing to win. He’s got great confidence in his shot right now. He’s not hesitating. He’s playing through mistakes. Jerome’s a confident guy. He doesn’t shy away from taking shots. He doesn’t shy away from big plays.”

Hunter has made amends to his teammates off the court, and now he's doing the same on it. And it couldn't happen at a better time. 

“I feel like I let my team down,” Hunter said of his transgressions “I tried to come back with a bigger chip on my shoulder.”

Hunter has heard the soft comments and the not-tough-enough comments, and he's sick of it. And he's more than willing to go out and prove it.

“Every team from here on out is gonna test us, because of the team they think we are,” Hunter said. “We’re not going to get pushed around. We’re not soft over here.”

They haven't been a great shooting team all year either, but they sure were Wednesday. 

That 57.8 percent from the field was the highest average on the season, and just their fifth game in 21 over 50 percent. 

The 58.3 percent from threes (7-for-12) was their second-best night of the year outside of the loss to Rutgers, when they went 10-for-16 from three.

The 76.7 percent from the free throw line (23-for-30) was their fifth-best total of the year. it's the seventh time this year that they've shot 75 percent or better from the line. They are 5-2 in those games.

Jackson-Davis did well in finishing inside and the Hoosiers got great looks on the perimeter all night, especially when they were pushing the ball up court quickly. During the 22-6 run where Indiana took over in the second half, they hit three three-pointers in 90 seconds and were 5-for-7 from deep in the second half.

"It was a big turn in the game,'' Miller said.

There were still issues, of course, like 17 turnovers, which is far too many. But all that gets overshadowed by a team that played hard, fought together and demanded a victory in the end.

They got it. Now they're 12-9 overall and 7-7 in the league with Michigan State coming to town on Saturday. They're getting close to locking up an NCAA Tournament bid and they are showing signs of doing big things.

For a night, they were tough enough. More so, they were engaged and united. And as February runs out of days, that's a very good trait to have.

Saturday's comments by Jackson-Davis, and the vow and determination that came with it, set the stage for Wednesday night's win. 

And how did Wednesday night end for the team's best player?

After the game, he was back out on the Assembly Hall floor, rebounding for freshman Anthony Leal, who wanted to get up some shots after not playing in the game.

That's a leader, that's a teammate, that's a player who's satisfied after a win – but still willing to help his team get better.

Trayce Jackson-Davis rebounds for freshman Anthony Leal after Wednesday’s game.