Indiana Hoosiers Bounced From Big Ten Tournament
By Evan Reller
Mar 13, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ravonte Rice (24) is guarded by guard Indiana Hoosiers defenders Yogi Ferrell (11) and Noah Vonleh (1) in the first round of the Big Ten college basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
The Indiana Hoosiers lost in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament today. IU failed to halt a second half rally by Illinois, leading to the 64-54 loss.
Turnovers plagued the Hoosiers once again. IU coughed up the ball 16 times Thursday afternoon, eight of which were unforced errors.
IU had issues taking care of the ball all season long and those issues killed every bit of momentum the Hoosiers managed to generate over the course of the game.
Yogi Ferrell led the Hoosiers in scoring with 14 points, but it came off 3-of-12 shooting. While he wasn’t very efficient, three of his attempts came in desperation time in the final minute of play.
Ferrell had three assists but he also turned the ball over three times. It was uncanny how many possessions ended with the Hoosiers passing the ball out of bounds.
One would imagine that by March 13th these players would have some familiarity with each other and wouldn’t make so many mental mistakes.
Will Sheehey finished with an efficient 13 points to go along with five assists and three turnovers. The senior wasn’t immune to the turnover bug either, leading the team with four.
Troy Williams was the only other starter to score in double digits. The freshman had 11 points and five rebounds.
Noah Vonleh struggled on the low block as the Illini saw fit to double team the Big Ten Freshman Player of the Year every time he touched the ball. He had just six points, but pulled down five rebounds and had a pair of blocks.
Overall, the starters accounted for 10 turnovers. The team shot just 36-percent from the field and yet somehow managed to barely edge out Illinois in rebounding.
The IU bench put in another forgettable performance. Five subs combined to score just four points off 2-for-12 shooting. Jeremy Hollowell was the worst offender, missing layups against players he had a significant height advantage over.
Hollowell was 0-for-5 but did manage six rebounds and an assist.
Up next the Hoosiers will await a bid to the NIT.
Make sure to follow us on twitter, @InkOnIndy, and “Like” us on Facebook.