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The Hoosiers piled in a charter bus Thursday evening and made the 2 1/2 hour trek on I-74 east to the Queen City. Awaiting was a hungry Big East opponent and a raucous sell out crowd at the Cintas Center, sitting in Norwood, a measly 13 minute drive to downtown Cincinnati.

Head coach Sean Miller came into Friday night's matchup with something to prove, facing off with his first quality opponent as the head of Xavier basketball. A lot was on the line for both teams. From the tip however, that only seemed evident in how the Musketeers were started, not so much the Hoosiers. Indiana’s stellar shooting that has stuck out through their first two games went missing in action. Forward Miller Kopp struggled mightly in the first half, not converting on any of his long-range attempts.

"He had good looks, all his shots were good looks," Woodson said. "He had been making them, I feel good about every time he lets it go it's going in."

Indiana was down by as much as nine points in the first half, and without being carried by Trayce Jackson-Davis and Xavier Johnson offensively, this one may have been over after the first 20-minutes.

"He was sporadic here and there but for the most part, he was solid man," Woodson said on his point guard. "We had a botched play where we didn't switch properly and that cost us a big bucket... For the most part, he did all the things we needed him to do to win this game."

The rollercoaster of a first half that favored the Musketeers couldn’t have been highlighted more than by Johnson’s conversion on a three to bring Indiana within two points, and then a subsequent technical foul for taunting the Xavier bench. Musketeer Souley Boum made both free throws.

Just when Woodson’s squad seemed to be digging away at the momentum this Xavier team held, they hit yet another setback

"I think I addressed that and I'm going to stay on them about that," Woodson said. "That can be the difference between winning and losing games. If you make a shot; you're supposed to make the shot... You don't have to taunt and do all the unnecessary things to get us in trouble... That's just not professional to me."

That struggle from three-point range dissolved near the end of the first half, Jalen Hood-Schifino struck for his first points of the night, hitting from deep following Johnson's conversion and aforementioned technical foul.

Indiana had to capitalize on the momentum they found at the end of the first 20-minutes as they came out of the half. The Xavier crowd was waiting for a reason to go absolutely bonkers, Woodson and company couldn't give them any motivation to do so. Taking the crowd out of a Big Ten road test is an absolute necessity, especially for a passionate fanbase like Xavier.

The Hoosiers did just that to open the second half. It took 1:05 for Indiana to take their first lead since the 16:55 mark of the first half. They would relinquish the lead once more with just under seven minutes left in the game following a dunk by Xavier big man Zach Freemantle putting the Musketeers up 66-65 .

"I'm learning, bottom line we just have to do all the things right," Woodson said. "It's hard to win on the road... I look at the two technicals we gave up, I mean come on, that's huge in a close-ball game. They built a lead a couple of times against us, we just held fast, held steady, and were able to get back in the game."

The issue that Indiana struggled with maybe more than any other last season was their inaptitude closing out games. Syracuse, Wisconsin, Ohio State, you name it. The formula to win close games that came down to the final minute wasn't found.

Friday night, Woodson decided to go with his two stellar freshmen in that five-man unit down the stretch over veterans Trey Galloway and Race Thompson.

"I told 'em when I broke the huddle, I didn't play the rotations that we played the first two games," Woodson said. "I'm still searchin'. Stay ready."

"Both Fino and Malik were really comfortable, especially in that hostile environment that they were tasked to be a part of," Jackson-Davis said. "They handled it really well, and I think X, myself, and Miller really led them and helped them."

Friday night's 81-79 win over Xavier was Indiana's first non-conference road win since 2011 against NC State. Woodson was pleased that his guys were the ones to end that unfortunate streak.

"You can never assume that a game is put away, they're going to fight and claw their way back in the game; that's why we're different from the past," Jackson-Davis said. "A lot of other teams I've been a part of would have folded in situations and games like that. That's the narrative that we're trying to change; that we finish games."

"Back in the day we used to win on the road," said Woodson. "Way back in the day. I'm just trying to give these guys confidence... That team last season could have beat anybody in the country. I feel that about this team, too."

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