BLOOMINGTON -- Murphy’s law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It has applied to many things since its creation in 1949, but three of Indiana’s last four games have followed the law.
The heartbreaking 70-67 defeat at home to Michigan on Saturday afternoon was another in a laundry list of disappointing finishes for a program currently reeling.
“I think our guys got wonderful intentions, man, and they do want to win,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “But it hasn't worked the last three, four weeks for our ball club.”
As Luke Goode’s second free throw swished through the south basket to tie the game at 59 a few seconds before the under-four media timeout, Indiana scratched and clawed its way back, erasing a 16-point halftime deficit.
“Well, you've got to tip your hat and give [his team] a lot of credit -- I do,” Woodson said. “Because they could have folded it up and called it a night. But they fought the second half.”
Assembly Hall was as loud as it had been all season, but the apprehensive feeling of the 17,222 inside was palpable. The excitement of a thrilling comeback was overshadowed by the thoughts of “how will Indiana find a way to lose today?”
Indiana has been no stranger to games going down to the wire, especially in the last couple of weeks. However, they haven’t been able to get over what Woodson religiously proclaims as “the hump.”
Thirteen days ago, Indiana was less than a minute away from knocking off a tough Maryland squad at home, but squandered it.
Less than a week later, the Hoosiers had rival Purdue on the ropes in West Lafayette, leading by one with thirty seconds left, but squandered it.
Fast forward to Saturday afternoon, and Indiana was again in position for a resumé-boosting victory at home against a top-25 opponent. Though it never led, Indiana had multiple opportunities to take its first lead late in the game. However, poor possessions ending in bad shots or turnovers left Indiana hopeless on its way to its fifth-straight loss and seventh in its last eight outings.
“We've had some games where we've had an opportunity,” Woodson said. “The Purdue game was an opportunity to win. The Maryland game. So we fought and we were very competitive.”
With every loss, Indiana’s margin for error has decreased. Saturday afternoon may have been the final opportunity for Indiana to start its push for an at-large bid. However, another quad-one opportunity has slipped away from Indiana, leaving its bubble status on life support.
Undeniably, the Indiana basketball program has had an interesting 48 hours.
From rumors to announcements to another agonizing late-game defeat, it has been taxing to everyone inside the locker room. Though there were no questions or answers about Scott Dolson’s Friday afternoon’s statement, there is no doubt it has weighed on both players and coaches.
“We haven't been the same team for a while. And for whatever reason we've dug a hole,” Woodson said. “But emotionally, these kids have taken a beating' a little bit. And it's my job to try to lift their spirits and keep 'em heading in the right direction.”
The direction of the season has gone haywire since the turn of the year, but Woodson still has faith that against all odds, his team can still make a push to the postseason before his tenure ends.
“We've still got seven more games to play… we're still trying to play to stay in the Big Ten Tournament and then see where that takes us. But we've got to start winning some games here soon to do that.”
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