Indiana sophomore guard Rob Phinisee got Indiana started with three threes before the first media timeout Saturday against No. 11 Ohio State, and from where Phinisee left off, a measured Devonte Green picked up, as the two guards led Indiana to its biggest conference victory of the season.
There were going to be changes made to the way Indiana approached its games following the Northwestern near-loss Wednesday.
Head coach Archi eMiller said he “didn’t know” if the 11-man rotation he’d chained his expectations to was going to work any longer, and he stressed his pleasure with the five contributors that played the final 11 minutes of the game to win.
That changed manifested itself before the ball was ever tipped. Sophomore guard Rob Phinisee was slotted into the starting five for the first time this season, in place of senior guard Devonte Green, who was not included in the group that closed out the Northwestern win.
Phinisee, who has struggled to get back to the form he took at his peak last season, connected on a three-point attempt less than 30 seconds into the game. Then he hit another. And before the first four-minute media timeout, Phinisee hit another.
His final three pushed Indiana to a 13-5 lead that would provide cushion for the eventual scoring drought and pave the way for what was one of the best games from the Hoosier backcourt all season, as Indiana defeated No. 11 Ohio State, 66-54.
“At the end of the day, to play and beat the best, you've got to have guard play,” Miller said. “And I thought today we had very good guard play.”
Indiana had been the victim of good guard play most of the season, even in its losses. Most recently, it was Arkansas’ Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones, Maryland’s Anthony Cowan Jr. and Aaron Wiggins and Northwestern’s Pat Spencer who had caused trouble for the Hoosiers. And in response, Indiana’s four guards struggled.
But the roles were flipped Saturday, beginning with Phinisee and continuing through Green.
“If you envision our team and you hope you're at your best, you see Rob Phinisee like he was today,” Miller said. “Not that he's going to be like that every game, but when you think about Indiana and you think Rob Phinisee, today is what you think about.”
After a strong start by Phinisee, his scoring contributions waned throughout the rest of the game, as he finished with 13 points, but he added seven rebounds as well. And where Phinisee left off, Green picked up.
Since hitting five three-point shots in his 30-point game against Florida State, Green had connected on more than one three just twice – four against Arkansas, when he attempted 12 from outside, and three at Maryland in his too-little-too-late 18-point game in garbage time. He went o-for-4 against Northwestern. In three of those seven games, he didn’t get to the free throw line at all.
Saturday, in a game that was preceded by Miller hoping his team would stop focusing on individual performances, Green attempted 11 free throws and only three three-point shots, and he finished with a team-high 19 points, as well as five rebounds, his highest total since Florida State and the highest before that.
“I thought he got recommitted to doing things the right way every day,” Miller said about Green. “It's not about game day. You can't practice soft and play hard.”
There wasn’t perfect guard play. Al Durham had two early fouls that caused him to miss 14 minutes of the first half, he added a team-high four turnovers and Armaan Franlkin only saw five minutes of gameplay. One of Ohio State’s best guards, Duane Washington Jr., only played eight minutes. There will be tougher competition.
But the defense from Indiana’s backcourt was, for once, existent, as CJ Walker was 3-of-11 with four fouls, DJ Carton was 3-of-9 with four fouls and seven turnovers and Luther Muhammad fouled out in 18 minutes.
The Indiana backcourt outplayed its opponent Saturday, which hasn’t been a luxury for the Hoosiers so far this season.
“We've never had a defense like that,” Miller said about Saturday. “And you can attribute it to A, you're playing bigger guys – always comes down to your guards setting the tone.”
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