As March Madness approaches, Indiana basketball has been fighting for its NCAA Tournament life. Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers are right on the bubble to make the final bracket, making each and every game very important.
On Tuesday night, Indiana had another chance to post a massive Quad 1 road win when it took a trip to Eugene to take on Oregon. The two teams went back and forth all night long in a tightly contested battle, but a Jackson Shelstead 3-pointer to beat the shot clock triggered a 10-0 Oregon run to end the game and give the Ducks a 73-64 win.
Indiana had plenty of chances to build a bigger lead, but Oregon continued to keep the Hoosiers within striking distance before making their final run. The Ducks had plenty to do with that, but Woodson thinks that the officials played a big factor in the loss, according to Michael Niziolek of The Herald-Times.
“We had our chances, but listen guys, in a physical game like this, it can’t be 21-7,” Woodson said of the free throw disparity in Indiana's loss, per Niziolek. “You gotta be kidding me, 21-7 on f***ing free throws is bulls**t. It just can’t be, not in a physical game. They’re a physical team, and it can’t be that lopsided. It’s impossible.”
Related Indiana Basketball NewsArticle continues below
Indiana center Oumar Ballo didn't attempt a single free throw in this game despite doing work on the interior all game long, but the Hoosiers had other problems that cost them in this game. Indiana made just three of those seven free throws, so there's no guarantee that shooting more from the line would have even helped.
However, Woodson was persistent and insisted that his Indiana team got the short end of the stick.
“I can’t go back and get it, but in a physical game like that where both teams are battling their asses off, you can’t punish one team and put one team at the line for 21 times and the other team only gets there seven times,” Woodson said. “That’s awful.”
This Indiana basketball team has one more regular season game to make its case to the selection committee that it deserves to be in the Big Dance. Woodson and company will take on a fellow bubble team when it faces Ohio State on Saturday in Bloomington before the Big Ten Tournament gets underway.
