Trailing big mid-way through the second half, Minnesota caught fire towards the end of the game to almost pull off a historic comeback. The rally ended up falling short though, as Indiana held on to win 84-79. Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Late Effort Not Enough
Minnesota came out flat against a talented Indiana team and the slow start to the second half in particular put them out of the game. I believe Indiana started off the second half on a 23-5 run (it may have gotten worse, but that's a number I remember), and that put Minnesota back big. In the Big Ten you just can't afford to fall behind 20+ points, because teams are too talented and too well coached. Yes, Minnesota almost pulled off a miracle in the end, but a quiet first half and really poor start to the second were too much to recover from.
Payton Willis Goes Out In Style
It was senior night, which means the last time Payton Willis and co. will suit up in Williams Arena. Payton didn't disappoint as he put on a show in the second half to try to bring his team back. Finishing with 28 points and 7 assists, Willis was hitting some tough threes and orchestrating this team on both ends of the floor as they brought new life to the arena late in the game. Even though Minnesota lost, it was fun to see Payton getting the crowd fired up as he led the late charge. It was also a big moment for Minnesota fans to recognize Eric Curry and all he's been through with the program, as well as many other seniors who transferred in to help lay the foundation for the future of this program under Ben Johnson.
Indiana's Three Point Shooting Hurts
Minnesota was able to prevent Indiana's frontcourt from putting up big scoring numbers, but once again it resulted in some clean looks from beyond the arc. Indiana capitalized on their opportunities from deep, as they shot an impressive 47.6% from deep to make up 30 of their 84 points. In fact, they shot better from three point range than Minnesota shot on field goals overall. When a team is connecting from deep at that high of a percentage, it's going to be hard to stop them. We've seen this before as without a dominant post defender with length, Minnesota is forced to collapse on skilled bigs, which leaves shooters open. In a five point game, giving a team like Indiana too many open looks was the difference.
Key Players For Minnesota
Payton Willis- 28 points, 7 assists
EJ Stephens- 14 points, 3 assists
Sean Sutherlin- 13 points, 5 rebounds
Key Players For Indiana
Xavier Johnson- 24 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists
Trayce Jackson-Davis- 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
Race Thompson- 8 points, 6 rebounds
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