Facing a 10-point deficit at home, Indiana turned to the defensive efforts of junior guard Al Durham to spark a comeback. He hit 11 of his 12 free throws during the game and helped create a transition offense that was lacking throughout the game.
After a two-game losing skid, Indiana was met with the opportunity to welcome Northwestern — which sat at the basement of the Big Ten standings — to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. All signs pointed toward a confidence boost before facing off against another ranked opponent Saturday.
Instead, the Hoosiers barely escaped their own floor with a 66-62 victory as one of its captains stepped up and led a much-needed defensive stand in the second half.
“I think we kind of got a little comfortable, especially with a lead early on,” junior forward Justin Smith said after the game. “And then they kind of hit us back.”
The Hoosiers found their first lead of the night by way of perimeter offense. Al Durham stood open for a catch-and-shoot three from the left wing that found the bottom of the net.
Durham added four more points after connecting on two pairs of free throw attempts, scoring seven of his first nine points within the first six minutes of game time. He added to his opening-half statistics with a high-arcing assist to freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis for a dunk, giving the team its first double-digit lead of the night.
The lead was 10, but that’s the highest it would become — for both teams.
The Wildcats pitched a 15-2 scoring run to end the opening period with a three-point margin over the Hoosiers. Indiana head coach Archie Miller said it took urgency and it took desperation to kick his team into gear.
Following a media timeout with under 12 minutes to play, Indiana found itself in a 10-point rut of its own. That was when everything in the game seemed to change, starting with the defense — spearheaded by Durham.
“I give Al a lot of credit tonight,” Miller said. “He played like a leader tonight and did a really good job for us.”
Durham was responsible for full-court pressure on the player carrying the ball up the floor. Jackson-Davis said it was the captain’s play that forced Northwestern to hurry its offense and limited uncontested baskets.
Whether pressuring passers or just simply being in the right position, the Hoosiers climbed back into the game as its defense turned into its offense.
“We know how good we are,” Durham said. “We know how good we are defensive. We knew if we locked in on defense, we could get out and run and play our game. I feel like we just amped each other up and we played off each other.”
Durham hit on another five free throw attempts — his first points of the half — within two minutes following the timeout, igniting the team’s comeback.
Indiana shot 19 free throws in the second half and didn’t attempt a 3-pointer in the final 10 minutes of the game, much to do with senior guard Devonte Green sitting on the bench for a majority of the period.
“We really wanted to get back to what made us successful early in the season which was getting to the foul line and knocking them down,” Smith said. “It wasn’t an apparent decision like ‘hey, we aren’t going to shoot as many threes.’ It’s just kind of how it happened.”
Indiana went on a 10-0 run to tie the game. A back-and-forth affair led to the Hoosiers finally finding their first lead with under two minutes to play — their first since the 1:20 mark in the first half.
Durham shot 11-12 from the line by himself and ended the game with only two turnovers in 28 minutes.
He also sealed the game by putting his final two shots in the basket, unimpeded. All seven of his second-half points came from free throw attempts as he finished with 16, good for third on the team.
“I was proud of the guys going to a line,” Miller said. “That's a big deal for our team, getting fouled. We were able to get fouled in both halves. And we went to the line tonight and obviously needed every bit of it.”
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