My Two Cents: For Hoosiers, It's Survive and Advance, And Acting Like You Want to Be There
DAYTON, Ohio — The long toothy smile that stretched across Mike Woodson's face was four decades in the making. And even though the obligatory ''this is not about me'' disclaimer was thrown in after Indiana's 66-58 win over Wyoming on Tuesday night, it was clear when it was over that this was a big night for the Hoosiers' basketball program.
It's been six long years since a fragile and fractured Indiana fan base could enjoy an NCAA Tournament victory, but it came here in Dayton at the sold-out UD Arena that was packed to the gills by Indiana fans who stormed across the state line like they were giving away free pork tenderloins and popcorn. The 13,000-seat arena was awash in red and it felt — dare we say — like a damn home game. All that was missing was a mop lady.
The NCAA does its best to play its annual tournament in Switzerland, trying to always remain as neutral and neutered as possible, but that was not an option Tuesday night. This was a night that belonged to Indiana. This play-in game for the No. 12 seed in the East Regional was all about the Hoosiers, with their loud-and-proud fans helping to push them across the finish line in a game that resembled all that's been good and bad about Indiana basketball this season.
And when it was all said and done, Indiana had win No. 21 on the season and punched a ticket to Portland, Ore., to play No. 5 seed Saint Mary's on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The madness has begun. And, oh, was it fun. Teeth-gnashing at times, for sure, but a ton of fun nonetheless.
"It's huge. It's surreal,'' Indiana junior Trayce Jackson-Davis said of his night, which included 29 hard-earned points and a bunch of long, happy smiles of his own. "This environment, even just for the First Four game, it was a surreal environment. I've always dreamed about playing in this tournament and finally being able to live out that dream and just performing at the highest level, I'm truly grateful.
"We didn't want to be in the play-in game, but sometimes the ball doesn't roll your way and some things happen. But just playing in front of our fans and almost like a home crowd one more time, I thought it was awesome. And then just being on this national stage, I thought it was really cool.''
A higher seed certainly would have been nice, but most every team says that after Selection Sunday. But what was great about this Indiana team was that they embraced the challenge of a quick turnaround after building a boatload of confidence at last week's Big Ten Tournament, where they made an impressive run to the semifinals with quality play, earning their way into the NCAAs.
They liked the idea of getting right back out on the floor on the first night of the tournament. Outside of a few snarky tweets from point guard Xavier Johnson, the Hoosiers were happy to be here.
And it showed.
Indiana, which has lived and died with its suffocating defense all year long, brought it to Dayton, too. They forced 19 turnovers against a Wyoming team that had averaged only 11 all year. And they held them to just six made three-pointers and contested most every shot in the paint.
Indiana threw the kitchen sink at 6-foot-7 point guard Hunter Maldonado, running one defender after another at him, from Johnson to Parker Stewart, and even Race Thompson and Jordan Geronimo at times. He scored 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, but also was forced into a season-high 10 turnovers. He averaged 3.6 turnovers this season.
"We tried to stay at home with the shooters, and I figured if they were going to beat us he would have to be the one,'' Woodson said of Maldonado. "We did an excellent job the first half on (6-foot-9 forward Graham) Ike. On his backdowns, I just tried to tell our guys not to get so over long. I mean, if we left the three-point shooters and doubled him, then that exposes us in that category. And I thought we did a great job in guarding the there-point line and limited them to twos.''
Indiana needed every defensive stop because the Hoosiers struggled again offensively outside of Jackson-Davis, who's been on an awesome tear for two weeks now, and sophomore forward Jordan Geronimo, who had another breakout performance. He had 15 points, including three dunks on offensive rebounds and a huge three-pointer at the perfect time.
His energy, once again, made the difference.
"I thought our defense was really the key when we were struggling offensively to make shots,'' Woodson said. "But we just kept grinding, and I found another player tonight off the bench and that was Geronimo, who gave us a major, major lift tonight. And Trayce was who he's been pretty much all year.
"It's a big stage for everybody that's wearing that (uniform). It's a big stage for me. This is my first go-around as well. But I call it playoff basketball, tournament play. You have to find a guy that steps up for you, and he was the guy tonight. And it could be (Trey) Galloway the next night or Tamar Bates. That's the kind of team we've had all season. I'm happy for the young man because we needed the 15 points he gave us and his defensive presence on the floor. It was a total team effort and we'll need it moving forward.''
Wyoming guard Hunter Maldonado (24) is sealed off by Indiana forward Race Thompson duiring the Hoosiers' 66-58 win on Tuesday in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. (Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports)
Moving forward means catching a flight from Dayton to Portland right after the game, but apparently mechanical issues kept the Hoosiers on the ground for several hours before they finally left Dayton around 4 a.m., according to flight tracker information. They will arrive mid-morning and will try to get some rest on Wednesday before hitting the floor again on Thursday night at 7:20 p.m. ET against No. 5 seed Saint Mary's.
The prep work has been done, but there's still a lot to improve on. Sure, the defensive effort was great — even from Parker Stewart, who pushed and shoved with Maldonado most of the night — but the Hoosiers have to be better offensively going forward.
Jackson-Davis (10-for-16) and Geronimo (7-for-11) were a combined 17-for-27 shooting, an impressive 63.0 percent. But their teammates were a collective 9-for-35, just 25.7 percent, and Indiana made only two three-pointers all night.
Johnson was just 3-for-12 from the field, and Stewart (2-for-6) and Miller Kopp (0-for-2) were once again non-factors on the offensive end, though Stewart did hit a big jumper late to stretch the lead.
Even Thompson, who's been steady all year, was just 2-for-9 from the field and was in foul trouble a lot of the night, That's why Geronimo's performance was so important.
It was much-needed on Tuesday night, and the Hoosiers will need him going forward if they want this season to continue.
"Honestly, even throughout the Big Ten Tournament, I think Geronimo has been a key to our run,'' Jackson-Davis said. "So I wasn't surprised at all. He's an energy guy. He's going to go rebound. He's going to go get things at the top of the backboard and dunk it hard.
"I'm so happy for him because he's performing at a really, really high level for us. And without him, we probably would have lost that game. So credit to him.''
Geronimo injured his ankle in the Illinois win on Friday and missed Saturday's semifinal game against Iowa. His status for Tuesday night was up in the air, even after they arrived in Dayton.
Indiana sophomore Jordan Geronimo shook off an ankle injury and scored 15 huge points on Tuesday night in the Hoosiers' win over Wyoming. (USA TODAY Sports)
He was good to go — and very good.
"I give thanks to our team trainer, Tim Garl. He helped me through plenty of treatment sessions just getting my ankle right with rehabbing and all that kind of stuff,'' Geronimo said. "And just my teammates, they just keep me confident, and just telling me to breathe, calm down, because I'm going to be able to come back. I just kept that with me and I was able to come back.''
It was a good thing. There's another game now, and hopefully more smiles to come. Indiana came to Dayton with a purpose — to get a long-awaited NCAA Tournament win — and they never complained.
They did their job, and they get to keep working. And right now, they have no interest in stopping.
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