During Indiana’s penultimate regular season game, its backcourt was aggressive on the offensive end of the court. The team came away with seven steals against Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Sophomore Rob Phinisee and junior Al Durham attacked the basket but also found open opportunities for their teammates, leading the Hoosiers to 15 fastbreak points and the victory.
Minnesota sophomore guard Marcus Car dribbled the ball past the Indiana University logo centered inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday. He was looking to make an entry pass to sophomore center Daniel Oturu, the team’s leading scoring against the Hoosiers, but instead launched the ball directly into the outstretched hand of senior Devonte Green.
The ball bounced just beyond the free-throw line on Indiana’s side of the court before junior guard Al Durham came away with it. He took a single dribble and fired a one-handed bounce pass that stretched half the length of the court and into the waiting hands of junior forward Justin Smith for an easy dunk.
With 12:28 remaining in the second half, the Golden Gophers and head coach Richard Pitino called a timeout and regrouped. The Hoosiers’ backcourt took advantage of seven team steals in a 72-67 win to push the basketball down the floor and register 15 fastbreak points.
Minnesota’s timeout came less than three minutes before its final lead of the game. It answered Indiana’s runs by stopping the clock but couldn’t generate consistent offense otherwise.
“I mean we were good there,” Pitino said. “But you only get so many timeouts. You need to be able to do it throughout the course of the game.”
By attacking the paint and pushing the ball quickly down the court, Durham and sophomore guard Rob Phinisee each scored 11 points and had four and five assists, respectively. Phinisee recorded 30 minutes of playing time while Durham played for 29.
Off the bench, Green was on the court for 18 minutes and registered eight points and three assists. Adding a single assist from freshman Armaan Franklin, and the Indiana guards accounted for 13 of the Hoosiers’ 14 assists. It was the most since the team’s last victory against Minnesota on Feb. 19.
“Tonight I really thought Rob and Al played a solid game,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. “Devonte did as well, especially with his assists. I'm pleased with our group.”
Usually Green appears to be the most confident shooter for the Hoosiers. Tonight, both Phinisee and Durham attacked the basket and put themselves either in a scoring position or in a spot to pass the ball to an open teammate.
Indiana used Durham by moving him around screens in the paint and curling back toward the basket. His most impressive basket came with 5:39 left in the game. The captain handled the ball, cut to the right side of the basket and finished high off the glass with his right hand while taking contact from freshman forward Isaiah Ihnen in the paint.
He nailed the free-throw attempt after and capped off a 9-1 run that put the game out of reach for Minnesota.
“Al was aggressive coming off those screens,” redshirt junior Joey Brunk said. “He did a good job of looking to score and creating for others when he was doing it.”
By the end of the game, Indiana scored 52 points in the paint. Outside of three made 3-pointers and nine free throws, only one basket was made from midrange.
Miller said the team plays an aggressive style of offense when it attacks the paint. Typically that statement is reserved for Brunk and freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, but the guards were more involved, and it showed in the win.
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