MINNEAPOLIS – The merciful final buzzer couldn’t erase the pour of emotions that were certain to come.
Indiana’s Big Ten Tournament run had fizzled out in Friday’s quarterfinal matchup. More so, it had exploded in their face, over long before the conclusion of 40 minutes. Nebraska made sure of it with a 17-0 run into the halftime break that made the Cornhusker advantage balloon from six to 23 in the matter of 178 seconds.
Illinois staffers, seated in their reserved seats for opponent scouts to learn who their semifinal opponent would be, were already locked into film study of a previous matchup between Nebraska and the Illini. They, as was most everyone else inside the Target Center, knew the final was a forgone conclusion. That didn’t exclude Indiana, either.
The faces on the Indiana bench were long. Defeated painted their demeanors as the reality of it drew nearer. Mike Woodson, the Hoosier head coach and a usual patroller of his own sideline, had resorted to joining them. In taking a seat, holding a hand to his face, it was as if he’d finally accepted the fate the night was surely bringing.
Only he wouldn’t see the game’s final score with the rest of his team. He’d been ejected after two second half technicals forced a premature end to his third year at the helm of his alma mater. His work on year four, with multiple outlets reporting IU will decline an NIT bid if offered one, will pick up rather quickly.
This night would come, regardless of fashion or time or place, at some point. The way in which it did was likely as low on the list of desired outcomes as one would imagine. But for one final time, this exact Indiana team was set to walk off the floor.
It started with a team huddle at the midcourt pinwheel-style logo.
“A lot of ‘I love you’s,’” sophomore forward Malik Reneau said, struggling through the tears the conclusion the evening had brought upon the year. “A lot of hugs and stuff like that. We had a long season and a tough season with all our guys, so this has been rough for us.”
As the huddle broke, the toll of a night fitting of a season gone astray was evident. Indiana’s two graduating seniors were already overwhelmed with the feeling of finality – Xavier Johnson unsuccessfully wiping away tears while Anthony Walker’s head was covered by a towel. The safe sanctuary of the Indiana locker room provided the first chance for any to catch a breath. It was there where they’d then be forced to think about it all coming to a close. There were tears again.
“Every day, I feel like, was something that I’ll never forget,” Walker said. “Just being on the court with these guys, knowing that it’s my last go around, them knowing that it’s my last go around, and just them giving me everything that they had on and off the court. These are really good people, really good people off the court.
“Being able to say that I got to spend and play a basketball season with them is something that I’m very proud of and something I won’t forget.”
For someone who only spent a season in the candy stripes, the grasp the magnitude and history the program totes isn’t lost on Walker. While he’s unsure of what the next steps look like, he feels the family he made at Indiana will carry far beyond the months that he put on a basketball uniform and represented the University.
“Being able to be a part of this,” Walker continued, “being able to be a part of a sold out Assembly Hall, to be a part of a win, a Big Ten Tournament win, it means a lot to me.
"I got tears in my eyes, but I'm grateful. It was a long ride, a fun ride, and I got to do it with the people I love and want nothing but the best for me."
Xavier Johnson’s final night in an Indiana uniform was also a fitting depiction of the career he had at Indiana – derailed time and again by injury and otherwise, the tempo and flow never quite clicked for the Hoosiers’ sixth-year senior.
“I’ve been knocked out of my rhythm so many times this year,” Johnson said. “I’m a rhythm type of player, and I’ve got a long way to get to my next destination, to get everything back.”
“We had a good run,” Woodson said, referencing he and Johnson’s three-year stint that has coincided with one another. “I just feel for him because he just wasn’t able to fulfill his dream in terms of really completing his college career as a basketball player because he was hurt so much.”
Indiana’s senior day gave a glimpse into the bond the two share, how one pushes the other and the dynamic it creates between them. Woodson knew it was Johnson who’d been on the receiving end of the most pushback from him, but in doing so, the respect they had for one another only deepened. The season-ending loss to Nebraska was the first time they’d experienced defeat since he returned back from his latest injury.
Now, as Johnson departs and takes his next steps, Woodson’s one wish is to just be a part of it when possible.
“If he needs anything, I’m going to be there for him to help him navigate whatever direction he decides to go because that’s just who I am as a coach,” Woodson said. “I need to be there for him because he was there for me when he was on the floor.”
“I love him,” freshman point guard Gabe Cupps said of Johnson. “I thanked him for everything he's done for me. I apologized to him for not being able to do more for him. But he's made me a lot better as a player, so I owe a lot to him.”
For the final weeks of the season, Indiana’s year was living and dying 40 minutes at a time. The lopsided nature of the loss didn’t save IU any emotions or despair, but rather was the punctuation to a season that likely won’t be remembered fondly.
Yet for a group that, in its entirety, played its last game together, the weight of the evening shows just how close this group came together through adversity and uncertainty.
Navigating the next steps will be of paramount importance. No group will want the send off this one got.
Only IU controls if that comes to be or not.
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