Indiana Hoosiers Easily Dispatch Penn State as Defense Comes Back to Life

Coming off of three straight losses, the Indiana Hoosiers desperately needed a win in today's contest against Penn State. As they headed to the locker room down 29-27 at halftime, the Hoosiers were very much in danger of letting this season slip away from them.

But after the first two plays of the second half, it was clear that Indiana wasn't going to let that happen.

Verdell Jones III took advantage of a double screen on the first play of the half, getting a free release to the basket. And although he missed the layup, the forced rotation of the Nittany Lion defense allowed Cody Zeller an easy tip-in from the weak side.

On the ensuing Penn State possession, Jordan Hulls stripped the ball from Jonathan Graham near midcourt. He then left a great dump-off pass to Verdell Jones in transition to give Indiana their first lead since early in the first half.

The Hoosiers never looked back, and cruised to a 73-54 win to bring them back to .500 in the Big Ten at 4-4.

Indiana has made a habit of getting off to slow starts, both at home and on the road, and today was no exception. The Hoosiers didn't set the tone defensively in the first half, allowing standout guard Tim Frazier to do whatever he wanted.

Frazier scored 10 points off of 5-of-10 shooting in the first half. But it was his dribble penetration that forced issues for the entire Indiana defense. With the Hoosiers' frontcourt constantly having to slide over to help out on Frazier, defensive rebounding became a big problem for Indiana.

Though Penn State only shot 42.9 percent from the floor heading into the half, they had eight offensive rebounds to Indiana's three, allowing for multiple second-chance opportunities. 

Cody Zeller carried the weight offensively for the Hoosiers in the first 20 minutes, scoring 12 of his 18 points before the break. Indiana players not named Zeller were 4-of-17 shooting in the first half.

The Hoosiers came out much more aggressive on the defensive end after the break. They increased their ball pressure, rotated nicely and the defensive rebounding improved drastically.

Victor Oladipo set the tone for Indiana defensively, locking down Tim Frazier and holding him to 2-of-8 from the field in the second half. The entire Penn State team shot just 22.7 percent after the break, getting most of their points from the free-throw line as the officials got whistle-happy in the final stretch of the game.

And it should come as no surprise that the more defensive-minded Indiana became, the more comfortable they were in their offensive execution.

The Hoosiers were incredibly efficient offensively in the second half, shooting at a clip of 65.2 percent, including 5-of-9 from the three-point line. Cody Zeller led the way with 18 points on the game, followed by Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford, who scored 14 and 11, respectively. Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey also chipped in eight points each for the game.

Derek Elston's put-back off an offensive rebound put the Hoosiers up 62-46 with just over five minutes to play, essentially putting the finishing touches on the game. But there was plenty of drama to follow.

Indiana's Will Sheehey was fouled hard by Nick Collella on a dunk attempt late in the game. The two exchanged words and a double technical was assessed, which appeared to stop any further action.

However, with just seven seconds left in the game and Indiana up 17, Matt Glover put a lick on Christian Watford as he attempted a three near the Hoosiers' bench. While Tom Crean was pulling Watford away from the pile, tempers flared, and Will Sheehey had to be restrained on the Indiana sidelines. Sheehey was handed his second technical foul and was ejected from the game.

Though there was some speculation that Sheehey may have to miss a game for his actions, Tom Crean has stated that there will be no suspension for the Indiana sophomore.

The Hoosiers came out and won a game that they absolutely had to have. More importantly, the Indiana Hoosier team that we saw in the second half looked a whole lot like the team that won 15 of its first 16 games.

They will need every bit of momentum they can get heading into Thursday when they travel to the Kohl Center to take on the Wisconsin Badgers.

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