Instant Rewind: Indiana 89, St. Francis (PA) 72
Indiana's won its opening round matchup of the NIT, defeating St. Francis (PA), 89-72. The Hoosiers sit at 18-15 overall on the year.
Scroll below for instant reaction as the game unfolded.
6:44 p.m. ET: Archie Miller has chosen Devonte Green as Romeo Langford's replacement in the Hoosiers' starting lineup. He'll be joined by Al Durham, Juwan Morgan, Rob Phinisee, and Justin Smith.
15:37 1H: Indiana 11, St. Francis (PA) 7 -- The Hoosiers got off to another slow start but recovered quickly after Miller called a timeout less than three minutes into the game. Indiana has reeled off nine straight points after falling behind by five. If the Hoosiers keep playing like they have for the last two minutes of game time, this one could be over by the half. St. Francis is clearly outmatched.
10:33 1H: Indiana 20, St. Francis (PA) 13 -- Green hasn't cooled off since he made 8-of-10 3-point attempts in the Big Ten Tournament. He's made 2-of-3 from beyond the arc thus far and looks good offensively. He's operating the pick and roll exactly how you'd like, frequently splitting two defenders to find the roll man. That's getting the Hoosiers open layups right now. Not all of them are falling, but that's the best look anyone can ask for.
7:42 1H: Indiana 22, St. Francis (PA) 20 -- Nothing is falling for Indiana right now, and everything is falling for the Red Flash. They've cut the Hoosiers' lead to two after it grew as large as nine. Damezi Anderson has missed both of his shots since entering the game and Evan Fitzner has missed all three of his. The Hoosiers will have to go back to their starters at some point to pull away again.
3:22 1H: St. Francis (PA) 30, Indiana 27 -- Indiana can't do anything on offense without Green initiating it. The Hoosiers clearly miss Langford right now. They don't have anyone else that can create from the wing, so once Green heads to the bench, the Hoosiers offense stalls. Meanwhile, St. Francis is winning the rebounding battle, 21-17. The Hoosiers need to pick up the intensity or their season is going to end tonight.
Halftime: St. Francis (PA) 40, Indiana 34 -- Phinisee was fouled attacking the basket with less than 15 seconds left, but didn't get the call. St. Francis grabbed the rebound and attacked the rim, which led to a foul called on De'Ron Davis and a response from Miller that earned him a technical foul. It's hard to fault Miller there.
15:00 2H: Indiana 50, St. Francis (PA) 45 -- Indiana has come out with much better effort to begin the second half. The Hoosiers are generating better offense and look much more like a cohesive unit on defense. Now they just need to show they can keep this kind of effort up and they should be able to create a gap on the scoreboard.
11:30 2H: Indiana 56, St. Francis (PA) 49 -- The Hoosiers have played better but can't seem to pull away in this one. They're getting good looks again, but St Francis has done a good job of responding when IU starts to build a lead. Green has been great for Indiana in this game and is showing how potent he can be offensively. He's very good coming off ball screens and he's showing that tonight.
7:50 2H: Indiana 66, St. Francis 55 -- IU is starting to build a legitimate lead. They're attacking in transition and it's opening up offense. Durham and Morgan have both stepped up on that end of the floor for the Hoosiers. Durham has played more aggressively in his last two games than he has all year and its paying off. He's much more of a threat from deep when he can attack a closeout and get to the rim.
2:52 2H: Indiana 81, St. Francis (PA) 65 -- Indiana finally pulled away for good and it looks like this one is over. The Hoosiers played far better in the second half and earned this one with great defense. Their defense frequently turned into easy offense and once the Red Flash stopped making difficult shots, the game was essentially over.
Final: Indiana 89, St. Francis (PA) 72
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