Hoosiers' mind-set is just fine
BLOOMINGTON – March normally isn’t the time to assess a team’s mental state.
But as Indiana prepared for its Big Ten quarterfinal against Minnesota, which defeated Northwestern 55-52 on Thursday, questions of where the team is at mentally won’t go away.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with lackluster performances in losses at Michigan State and Penn State. Now a team with enough talent for a lengthy postseason run must regroup.
“I’ll say when we are not playing well, but I don’t think there is any issue with anybody’s mental state,” IU interim coach Dan Dakich said Tuesday.
“I thought it was better than it has been all year to tell you the truth. Guys were out contesting passing lanes, guys were sprinting at shooters, guys were not allowing themselves to get screened.”
Squeezed between the two losses was a 69-55 home win over the Gophers on March 5. The third-seeded Hoosiers (25-6) swept the regular-season series against sixth-seeded Minnesota (19-12), winning 65-60 in the first meeting Jan. 17 in Minneapolis. The Hoosiers (25-6) are 3-2 since Dakich took over for Kelvin Sampson on Feb. 22. His first game as the interim coach came one day later in an 85-82 victory at Northwestern.
“I think we understand that we are two losses away from our season being over,” senior forward D.J. White said. “I think the Penn State game we did a lot of things we shouldn’t have, a lot of turnovers and plays here and there that caused us to lose. But it is better to lose at the end of the season than to lose in the weeks coming up.
“I think we have that out of our system. Guys understand what is at stake this time of year.”
Dakich had heard the talk from commentators that the Hoosiers lacked effort in Sunday’s 68-64 overtime loss to the Nittany Lions.
“I am going to tell you what I saw (against Penn State). I saw our best defensive effort of the year,” he said. “I watch the film for what it is, and I saw more effort out of our guys on the defensive end than I have seen all year.”
One area Dakich wasn’t pleased with was the turnovers. Playing without assist-leader Jamarcus Ellis, IU committed 17 turnovers. Ellis was suspended for disciplinary reasons, but according to various reports, he practiced with the team Thursday and is expected to play today.
“I think the other night, you look at how the game was going in the second half, it was almost like we got to a running offense and guys got tired. And people think if you are tired, well why would you turn the ball over? Well, tired isn’t physical, tired becomes mental. And you lose, I don’t know about focus, but you lose a sense of what you are doing sometimes. You lose the sharpness,” Dakich said. “And the situation we were in, playing guys as many minutes as we did given our situation, I am not sure that didn’t play into it. Regardless of the issues, 17 turnovers playing 40 minutes of zone just isn’t something you should ever do.”
IU has had plenty of time to rest for the Big Ten tournament, an event it has never won.
“I was telling the guys I haven’t won a game in the Big Ten tournament since I have been here,” White said. “We won one my sophomore year, but I wasn’t playing (he was out with a foot injury), so I haven’t been part of a win. So, of course I want to keep playing. It is my last go-around, so obviously I want to keep winning. That drive and desire is there.”
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Indiana’s biggest questions entering this season centered on its retooled defense.