The men’s basketball season is winding down, but for the Indiana Hoosiers, they’re just heating up. Thursday night, the Hoosiers won their third consecutive game, but they would not have been in that situation if it were not for their big home victory over Michigan State last Saturday. The Hoosiers took the first match-up of the season in East Lansing 79-75 in overtime thanks to a 19-point performance by young star Romeo Langford. This time, it was another young player who would lift the Hoosiers to victory. Justin Smith, the headliner of last year’s recruiting class, has struggled offensively for much of his Hoosier career, but something changed for Smith going into last Saturday’s contest, especially on how he prepares for games.
That changed mindset helped Smith record a career-high 24 points, leading the team in scoring for the game, while also expanding his range, hitting three three-pointers in the 63-62 win that ended with the first court-storming at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall since the “Watt Shot” over Kentucky in 2013. The win added to the Hoosiers’ momentum, which they needed heading into Thursday night’s matchup with Illinois in Urbana, but Head Coach Archie Miller knew the team could not change its mindset.
IU played their best game offensively in the Archie Miller era, dropping 92 points, the most points scored under the second-year coach during his time in Bloomington. IU jumped out to an early lead in their final road game of the season. The Hoosiers had eight different players score in the first half, with Juwan Morgan bouncing back and putting up 11 points in the first twenty minutes. The 52 points scored in half one were the most by IU since they scored 53 points in the first half against Chicago State on Nov. 6. The second half was much of the same for the Hoosiers, with Smith adding 11 of his 15 points in half two, while Morgan added nine to capture the victory, 92-74 over the Illini. This was Indiana’s first road win since their first upset win over Michigan State on Feb. 2. With the win, the Hoosiers are 16-14, but their odds to make the tournament are still bleak.
They can however boost the odds in their favor with a fourth straight victory on Sunday on Senior Day over Rutgers. Not only will the win help their March Madness hopes, but it will also help the Hoosiers seeding in the Big Ten Tournament. IU currently sit at ninth in the Big Ten, with a win over Rutgers Sunday cementing that spot. The Hoosiers would get a bye on Wednesday and would play the 8-seed on Thursday. The Cream and Crimson would need to rack up a couple of wins in the Big Ten Tournament to really make their case. The road to the big dance is hard, but not impossible now for Indiana, but they must take one step at a time and that first step comes on Sunday.