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RALEIGH, N.C. – D.J. White sat on the bench, getting treated for a cramp.
White did all he could, scoring 22 points, but his college career, and Indiana’s season, was nearing an end.
Arkansas defeated the Hoosiers 86-72 in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the RBC Center on Friday.
The eighth-seeded Hoosiers entered the season with expectations of a lengthy postseason run. Instead, IU got bounced out in the first round for the first time since 2001.
Sonny Weems scored 31 points for ninth-seeded Arkansas (23-11), which will play North Carolina on Sunday.
The Razorbacks outshot (54.2 percent to 43.8 percent), outrebounded (34-30) and outplayed the Hoosiers. A year that started with promise was ripped apart by NCAA allegations and Kelvin Sampson’s resignation. It ended with IU (25-8) losing four of its final five games.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” interim coach Dan Dakich said. “And it’s probably not over. The season is over, the games are over, but a lot of things have to occur and are going to occur within Indiana basketball; that need to occur here in the spring time. It’s far from over.”
The players didn’t use the circumstances as an excuse.
“I don’t think it really had anything to do with it,” senior Lance Stemler said. “The last couple of weeks we have been playing good defense. We’ve been working hard toward this. We were focusing on this game. We just couldn’t get it done.”
IU opened strong against Arkansas, something it hadn’t done in recent games. The Hoosiers built a 16-11 lead by getting points from six players. White dominated inside. Stemler was the presence from the outside, making two three-pointers in the first half. Stemler’s second three gave Indiana a 19-18 lead with 10:07 left in the half.
Arkansas took charge from there, using two mini spurts to build a double-digit lead.
The first, a 9-2 run, was capped by a dunk by Darian Townes. The second, an 8-2 run, included back-to-back three-pointers by Patrick Beverley and Weems that gave the Razorbacks a 35-25 lead.
“Sonny Weems was really good,” Dakich said. “He played like an All-American.”
While Arkansas found success from the outside, the Hoosiers struggled to find their shooting touch. IU shot 38.2 percent from the floor in the first half. Gordon had just two points on 1-of-7 shooting in the first half and finished with eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.
“They did a good job of staying squared with him and keeping him in front,” Dakich said. “Eric struggled a little bit down the stretch with his shooting, but he’s the kid who put Indiana back relevant, back in the Top 25 by coming to IU. He had a great year.”
Rebounding was another area Dakich stressed before the game. IU trailed in that department too, 20-18. It all added up to a 37-30 halftime deficit.
White became even a bigger focal point at the start of the second half. He scored six consecutive points for IU, helping the Hoosiers cut the deficit to four, at 40-36.
“D.J. has been a warrior. D.J. has done what Indiana seniors are supposed to do. Player of the year is not uncommon at Indiana with your seniors,” Dakich said. “D.J. White made himself into that, which is the standard and what you’re supposed to do at Indiana University.”
But every time the Hoosiers made a charge, Arkansas had an answer. Stemler’s third three-pointer made it 49-47, but the Razorbacks answered with a 10-2 run.
Townes twice scored after grabbing an offensive rebound during the stretch and IU never recovered.
“They were just playing harder than us,” said Armon Bassett, who scored 21 points.
And now it’s on to a spring of uncertainty.
“There’s a culture at Indiana, there’s a lot of things transpiring behind the scene with where the program has to go, and it has to be somebody that understands it or else you’re going to get yourself in a situation just like we are,” Dakich said.
lpope@jg.net
