Game 4: Indiana vs. Georgia (Legends Classic - Semifinal)

Hulls Leads Hoosiers Over Determined Bulldogs in Legends Classic Semi-Final

By Ryan Bramwell

#1  Indiana   29  37   66  (4-0) 
      Georgia  30  23   53  (1-3)

Braclays Center in Brooklyn, New York

Individual Performances:

• Jordan Hulls was the star of this one as he tallied 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.  He had several key plays in the game that were crucial to Indiana's rallies including several three-pointers, an alley-oop pass, and a running floater that came off a beautiful pump-fake, spin move. 
• Victor Oladipo had 15 points and eight rebounds and several amazing dunks.  He's definitely an X-factor on this squad.
• Christian Watford scored 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting.  Not terrific, but it's good on a not-so-good night.
• Remy Abell finished with eight points, four rebounds and a steal and didn't miss a shot or free throw attempt.  This kid is crucial to the success of this team.

Team Effort:

• Tonight the boys were able to overcome a bad first half and a not-so-hot performance from Cody Zeller.  Not to mention they started off 1-for-12 from the 3-point line before making their final four from downtown.
• The Hoosiers out-rebounded the Bulldogs by 14 (35-to-21).
• Free throw shooting was a bit better at 17-for-24.  It looked even better before they missed their last four attempts on the night.
• Despite a mostly-subpar shooting night the Hoosiers were still able to muster a 45% FG mark on 22-of-49 shooting.  Subpar for this Hoosier team, yes.  Still a very attractive stat?  Yes.

Thoughts:

• Well, there it was: Indiana's first game where there was a time of uncertainty.  We've seen mini-lulls and small errors so far but not an entire half of basketball where we wondered what was going on with this team.  Well now it's happened and it is behind us.
• The first half against Georgia was just one of those things, ya know?  Nothing went as planned and yet we still were down only one point going into the locker room.  First, Cody Zeller apparently hadn't slept or was jet-lagged or something, because he was not himself.  He committed four turnovers and probably could have been called for even more travels than he already was.  Second, Indiana was working for open shots and got quite a few, especially from long range.   However, the Hoosiers were unable to convert and started out 1-for-12 from beyond the arc.  Finally, we were getting called for ticky-tacky blocking fouls when we applied any kind of defensive pressure.  It was just one of those games.
• Nevertheless, Indiana remembered that they were, in fact, Indiana when the second half rolled around.  Maybe Coach Crean gave them a little "we're Indiana!" talk before they came back out on the floor. 
• Jordy Hulls was the player of the game on the ESPNU network and color-commentator Bob Knight even praised Hulls before tip-off and named him the player to watch.  This Knight character seems to know a thing or two about basketball.
• What to take from this game:  Indiana was down at the half to an inferior opponent.  They were not getting any support from their star player and major post presence.  They missed a ton of three point shots and were called for some questionable fouls early on that led to bench time for some key players.  Yet, Indiana was able to overcome all this and win the game easily in the end.  That is what great teams do.