Indiana came out with the fire and sense of urgency needed for a team sitting on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament berth.
But, it was just like clockwork. Much like Indiana did against Michigan State on Saturday, IU saw its double-digit lead quickly evaporate. And with it, went Indiana's effort level.
The Hoosiers were run out of the gym against Rutgers, losing 74-63, but were down near 20 points the majority of the second half.
"I think the thing that's disappointing right now is when things don't go well for us, the thing we've kind of hung our hat on and been able to do is really scrap, compete and find a way to make it anybody's game," IU head coach Archie Miller said. "In our last two second halves, in particular when things haven't gone well, our defense and just our tightness, our ability to communicate, our response hasn't given us chances in these last two games. And both teams just really opened the floodgates up offensively against us."
Indiana, now sitting at 12-11 (7-9) on the season, finds itself in the midst of a two-game losing streak, and losing three of the last four games. With a tilt vs Michigan on Saturday, the Hoosiers don't have any time to 'get right' or back on track and need to flip a switch immediately to save whatever is left of their season.
