Four 3s in 2:14 — Nick Zeisloft gives Indiana's offense a jolt

Published Jan 16, 2016

Jeff Rabjohns • Hoosier Huddle

Senior Writer

Indiana’s offense needed a spark and Nick Zeisloft provided one.

Then another. And another. And …

Looking ineffective offensively through the first quarter of Saturday’s game in Minnesota, the Hoosiers trailed 17-8 after ten minutes of mainly settling for jump shots.

Zeisloft proceeded to hit four 3-pointers in a span of 2 minutes and 14 seconds — the final one while he was nearly falling out of bounds in the right corner — and the Hoosiers went on to beat Minnesota 70-63 to stay unbeaten in the Big Ten.

Zeisloft was 4-for-25 from the arc in IU’s first four conference games, and he missed his first two 3-point attempts at Minnesota before scoring 12 points in 134 seconds.

“We came out a little slow then Nick gets us going,” senior forward Max Bielfeldt said. “He was like our defibrillator. We had a little irregular heartbeat and he hit those big ones and got us going.”

The Hoosiers (15-3, 5-0 Big Ten) were able to finally get the lead in the second half and take the victory, pushing their winning streak to 10 games. Indiana and Iowa (4-0) are the only teams currently unbeaten in Big Ten play.

His teammates said they had no concerns Zeisloft would at some point get it going again from the arc.

“He works too hard not to. He’s in the gym all the time. He’ll literally be in his seat in the locker room,” Bielfeldt said, demonstrating a shooting movement.

“I kid you not. He just works on the wrist. He puts so much time into having that perfect fundamental shot. We knew it was eventually going to happen.”

Zeisloft finished Sunday’s game 5-for-8 from the arc for 15 points in 29 minutes.

“The jump shot felt good today, but it was more of my teammates. They were getting me open. He was getting into the lane,” Zeisloft said of senior point guard Yogi Ferrell. “Rob (Johnson) found me on the swing ahead in transition.

“They made my job easy when they hit me with a great pass on time and on target.”

So, no worry about breaking out of the slump?

“I shoot every day,” Zeisloft said. “I wasn’t too worried about the misses. I knew they were going to fall.”

Outside of Zeisloft, Indiana shot 3-for-17 from the arc.

Zeisloft ended up as Indiana’s second-leading scorer in the game to Ferrell’s 20 points.

“That’s definitely what we need,” said Ferrell, who had seven assists and has 544 for his career, one behind Michael Lewis’ career school record.“ We felt like at the start of the game, we were on our heels a little bit. We started off cold, started off with jump shots and that’s not what we want to start a game.

“Nick came in and hit big 3s for us. That’s what’s so special about our team. Everybody can be cold and that one guy is going to step up for us and keep us in the game, and I felt like Nick did that for us.”

Entering the game, Indiana led the Big Ten in scoring, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, but had an off day.

The Hoosiers missed their first six shots and 10 of their first 14 overall, including their first six 3-pointers in falling behind 17-8.

Indiana didn’t have its normal day from the arc, shooting just 8-for-25 for 32 percent, but getting Zeisloft going was a big factor on Saturday when the Hoosiers were struggling for points.

“I’m so happy for him,” IU coach Tom Crean said on his postgame radio spot. “I’m shocked he missed any of his. He’s been shooting so well in practice.”

Later Crean added: “Obviously it’s three points on the scoreboard, but when our guys see him make shots, that’s a big thing for them. We don’t treat Nick like he’s the kicker — go stand off on the side and just get ready to do your thing.

“We coach him. His teammates know that we need him. He obviously hasn’t been shooting great in the games, but spends a lot of time at it. It was great to see that first one go in for him. His confidence grew, and I think our team’s confidence grew because of it.”