Indiana Basketball Has 'Lot of Motivation' in Big Ten Tournament: 'Next Chapter'

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For a moment, Indiana basketball had life.

The Hoosiers’ deficit, once as large as 24 points, suddenly dropped to 11 with just under four minutes to play. They hurriedly, if excitedly, rushed to their final huddle, hoping to piece together one last desperation-filled push while an uneasy buzz filled the air Saturday night in the Schottenstein Center.

Indiana flirted with momentum, with belief, but ultimately found it fleeting.

Two minutes later, as Brutus Buckeye waved his arms and pumped up the sold-out crowd, as coach Darian DeVries called off the dogs, as Indiana’s repeated attempts to counter Ohio State baskets proved futile, the Hoosiers had no gasps left to take.

Indiana (18-13, 9-11 Big Ten) may have drained the final air out of its season with a 91-78 loss to Ohio State (20-11, 12-8 Big Ten) on Saturday night in Columbus.

The Hoosiers’ rollercoaster first season under DeVries appears to have finished its final downhill ride — speeding toward the bottom faster than ever. The climb to the top is always fun. The anticipation. The thrill of possibility. The anxiety about what awaits on the other side.

Indiana, after winning five of six games, reached its peak Feb. 9 with a 92-74 win over Oregon. The Hoosiers appeared destined for the NCAA Tournament, a strong start to DeVries’ tenure.

After the game, sitting at the dais in Indiana’s media room, sixth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson said basketball is a game of runs, and the Hoosiers were enjoying theirs. They wanted to play their best basketball in March, not January, he said.

Their first bout with adversity — a four-game losing streak in mid-January — opened their eyes to the level necessary to win in the Big Ten and make March Madness. Confidence existed the Hoosiers took a significant step forward and turned a corner.

Indiana has won only one game since.

The Hoosiers’ ride to the bottom of the mountain has been marked fully by gut-wrenching disappointment, not arm-raising thrill. The faith and optimism Indiana created with its mid-season surge has subsided.

Now, the Hoosiers have one final chance — the Big Ten Tournament — to right their wrongs and resurrect a season that’s gone off the rails.

“I think the biggest thing is it's the next chapter now,” DeVries said postgame. “The regular season's over. Now, it’s you prepare for post-season play. Post-season play, it's just you get ready for that next one, and you play as long as you can, and win as many games as you can, and that's going to be our mindset.

“So, worry about the one in front of you. The one in front of us is going to be Wednesday, and that's really all we care about at this point.”

Indiana entered Saturday as the poster child of tournament bubble teams. The Hoosiers were included in 52 of 101 tournament projections, according to BracketMatrix, and were an 11 seed in all but three of them.

Several of Indiana’s closest challengers lost Saturday, but the Hoosiers’ resume took another beating, both in terms of missed opportunity and the rapidly rising number of losses. Margin of defeat isn’t Indiana’s friend, either, and the Hoosiers have now trailed by 20-plus points in three of their last five defeats.

Indiana will likely need to win at least two games in the Big Ten Tournament, starting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday inside the United Center in Chicago. The Hoosiers will face the winner of Tuesday night’s game between No. 15 Northwestern and No. 18 Penn State. If Indiana wins its first contest, it will face No. 7 Purdue on Thursday evening.

The Hoosiers wanted to play their best basketball in March. They haven’t yet executed their plan — but senior forward Reed Bailey said the team has intentions of changing that in Chicago.

“I think we just have a lot of motivation to come into the Big Ten Tournament and show what we really can do,” Bailey said postgame. “I mean, just having that bad taste in your mouth, I think it's motivation enough to really come out and try and make a run.”

Indiana has no other choice. Desperation is at an all-time high. The season hangs in the balance of every possession, every basket, every game in Chicago. The Hoosiers, in mid-February, appeared poised to have their NCAA Tournament bid secured by the start of the Big Ten Tournament. Now, their backs are against the wall.

The story of Indiana’s regular season centered around inconsistency. How will the Hoosiers start, as DeVries called it, their next chapter? They need another run, another stretch of brilliance to write a different ending.

Indiana has the pen — but this rollercoaster ride appears to be nearing the brake run.