It will be recorded as a victory in the record books.
For much of the game in Evanston, Indiana looked like it would fall to a Northwestern team that lost nine consecutive games.
After beating Iowa on Sunday 8, Indiana’s 2-9 record was after beating a top-25 opponent in Archie Miller’s tenure. Everything about Indiana’s game on Wednesday indicated that it had become 2-10 as the Hoosiers slipped on shortages late in the regulations and in the first overtime.
If Indiana had been in the same situation a month ago, they would probably have fallen short.
Instead, the Hoosiers escaped what would have been a horrific loss and scored a 79-76 victory in double overtime. It was a game Indiana would not have to win anyway. But they did, thanks to the interface played by Armaan Franklin, Al Durham and a big three-pointer by Jerome Hunter.
“This one here puts a smile on my face more than any of them just because of what we had to go through to figure it out to do it,” said IU head coach Archie Miller. “You do not win today if you are not together, if you are not eager, if you are not hard-hearted.”
Here are five takeaways after the win:
• Armaan Franklin and Al Durham lead Indiana to victory: Indiana’s backfield of Armaan Franklin and Al Durham combined for 47 of Indiana’s 79 points, including 7-of-13 from outside the 3-point line. Franklin and Durham shot the clutch after the clutch, while the rest of Indiana’s offense dropped.
With the Hoosiers trailing by seven with less than two minutes left to go, Durham struck out five free throws in less than a minute to pull Indiana within two points. After that, Durham jumped over with 24 seconds to tie the game and finally send to overtime.
In the first extra period, Franklin scored ten points, including seven free throws. Durham also penetrated again and struck a jump shot just inside the three-point arc to tie the game with less than two seconds and send the game to double overtime.
“I do think we’ve done a better job here lately to perform later in the game so we can get a chance,” Miller said. “I think so many times in overtime in previous games that we struggled to execute, we struggled to get a quality shot.”
It is fitting that Durham hit four free throws in the second overtime and left the game with three seconds left.
“We needed this victory,” Durham said. ‘I feel that this victory was very important to us because we could not put two together yet. We could not ride together. ”
• Free throw shooting becomes a deciding factor: Indiana had its share of the fight off the line this season. Earlier in the year, Miller compared missing free throws to revenue.
To start the game, the Hoosiers were terribly off the line and made them just 2-out-8 in the first half. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Rob Phinisee both missed a few.
But Indiana improved in the second half and converted 10-of-14 attempts from the streak. Then Indiana broke through in the two overtimes.
Franklin made it 7-out-8 in the first overtime. In the second overtime, Phinisee and Jerome Hunter both hit two and Durham hit four more. By the end of the game, the Hoosiers had conceded on 14 of the last 15 free throws.
One of Indiana’s downfalls in the first half became his redemptive quality in the clutch.
• Indiana’s produce horrific offensive performances: This offensive performance was perhaps the worst of Indiana since the game against Texas, where they scored just 44 points. If it wasn’t that bad, it was close.
The Hoosiers scored just 20 points in the first half, with only four players contributing. Franklin and Durham had eight pieces, and Jackson-Davis and Jordan Geronimo each had two. Indiana was just 7-out-29 off the field.
The second half was not much better. Indiana is 11-out-33 off the field and makes 2-out-6 on 3 points. Race Thompson added seven points, while Franklin and Durham carried the burden. But except for the three, it was very miss.
The Hoosiers finished the game with 8-of-16 lineups and scored just one point per possession.
• Trayce Jackson-Davis does not dominate and Rob Phinisee continues his fight: Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with a double double of 10 points and 14 rebounds, but was a non-factor for most of the game. He was consistently chosen by Northwest’s big men in isolation situations.
In the first half, Jackson-Davis shot just 1-of-6 from the floor and had a plus / minus of -5. He contributed six points in the second half, but was far from the dominant player Indiana needed.
There was nothing special about the Northwestern frontline, and Jackson-Davis apparently could not end up in a rhythm.
Then there was Phinisee, which has been a mystery all season. In 32 minutes of action on Wednesday, Phinisee had just two points and was 2-out-5 from the free-throw line and 0-from-4 from outside the arc. He did have five assistants and his two free throws were extremely important.
Phinisee’s veteran counterpart in Durham recently did his part, but Phinisee still failed to hit his groove.
• Turnover becomes an important issue: Indiana’s inability to care for the ball nearly lost the game Wednesday. Miller constantly reiterated the importance of his team on the rock.
In the first half, the Wildcats turned seven Hoosier turnovers into eight points. Indiana coughed it up six more times in the second half, leading to another 11 Northwest points.
Much of the turnover was adjustable. There were many erroneous passes and incorrect communication. Franklin finished with four turnovers, while Jackson-Davis, Durham and Khristian Lander each had a pair.
Eventually, however, Indiana was able to overcome all the mistakes.
“We fought defensively through it all the time,” Miller said. “Even when we gave up a few runs late, we were able to find a way to get it back in.”
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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