Indiana-Pittsburgh Recap: Return of the Lunchpail Players

Indiana basketball turned into a Chevy truck commercial Tuesday night.

You know how those ads go: The grizzled cowboy-dad repairing a fence, one eye on the horizon as the red sun sets on another callus-building day in God’s country. His wet golden retriever is rounding up cattle, which isn’t a thing retrievers do, but no one gives a damn because now the man is driving his big honkin’ truck down a dusty road, delivering firewood to hot women with husbands who drive Prii (more than one Prius). 

“Boooorn Freeeee” wails over the sound system as he fishtails into a roadside stand selling “Vegan ISIS Burgers.” Cowboy-dad straightens out, sees the cloud of chickpeas and tahini sauce in his rearview and mutters “Booyah” as his thirteen beautiful children play Minecraft on iPads in the backseat.

All of this is what Indiana morphed into against Pittsburgh: an over-the-top advertisement for blue-collar, lunchpail grit. 

The Hoosiers outworked a tough Panthers team on both ends of the floor, notching a solid 81-69 victory over the Panthers thanks in large part to pivotal contributions from the bench. They smashed Pitt's burger stand. They delivered the firewood.

The biggest storylines after this convincing win are Emmitt Holt’s grown-man play, Collin Hartman’s scrappiness and Indiana’s ability to navigate a meaningful game without Yogi Ferrell’s constant nurturing. 

Let’s start with Holt, who did everything he could to earn his way back into Indiana fans’ favor Tuesday night.

Emmitt Holt is a Man. He’s 40. 

Darron Cummings/Associated Press/Associated Press

“There’s the door. Don’t let it hit your windshield on the way out.”

This was the ugly, knee-jerk thought that curdled somewhere near my kidneys after news broke of "The Incident" and Holt’s involvement therein. I hate that I conceived it, and I hate that I wasn’t alone in the notion. Above all else, however, I wanted to move on, and move I did.

I came into this year like so many other fans, not knowing what to expect from Holt, but vaguely hoping for something redemptive from the young man who made about the worst possible first impression a freshman can upon a program.

This hope, among other things, is what made Holt’s breakout game against the Pittsburgh game so satisfying

The freshman led Indiana in scoring with 15 points, going a perfect six for six from the floor and hitting three of his four free throws. He showed off skilled hands, catching passes in the paint, wrapping in layups on the run and finishing through heavy contact from Michael Young and Pittsburgh’s big(ger)s.

By the end of the night, Holt gave Indiana five rebounds, two blocks and countless deflections while playing more minutes (19) than he had all season (17).

It wasn’t an otherworldly performance. It didn’t carry the scorched earth, shock and awe quality of a James Blackmon Jr. air raid from the perimeter. Holt didn’t “take over” at any point—but he didn’t have to. He will never have to.

All fans wanted from their big men this year was a poncho—a thin layer of protection to help cope with the torrent of points their opponents will score in the paint thanks to Indiana's undersized roster. Holt gave them so much more, and four weeks after his catastrophic run-in on 17th Street, he offered Indiana fans something to hold onto other than a bad headline.

Forgive him because he’s a kid. Respect him because he’s playing like a grown man.

Speaking of grown men full of grit...

Collin Hartman: King of the Glue Guys

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Remember that Chevy commercial we talked about? 

I failed to mention it was Hartman driving that truck, and instead of a baker’s dozen of blue-eyed Skylers sitting in his climate-controlled extended cab, he has a cubic ton of true grit and man spread American gumption.

Indiana fans following along on social media during the Pittsburgh game may have noticed that, once again, much and more was made of Hartman’s effort, basketball IQ and general blue collar-ness. Phrases such as “old-school Hoosier” and “an Indiana basketball player” intermingled with the terms “heart" and “grit":

"

@P_Babcock31 Colin Hartman is daddy of the court #hustlepoints

— StewchainZ (@mattstewart188) December 3, 2014"

"

Colin Hartman is just a basketball player. An Indiana basketball player. Give me a few more of him. #iubb

— Nate Zimmerman (@nezimmer) December 3, 2014"

And they're not wrong. Hartman is the deadeyed, floor-running grit-farmer that made Indiana basketball what it is today. 

The 6’7” sophomore came off the bench Tuesday night and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while sinking transition threes and making passes that would make Bob Knight’s loins throb for the Alford-ian yesteryears. His shots devastated a Pittsburgh team cruising for a comeback in the second half, allowing Indiana to not “Indiana” its way into another needlessly close contest, a la UNC-Greensboro. 

Much will hinge on Hartman’s ability to “play bigger than he is” and outgrit larger opponents in the paint. With this, of course, will come fouls, which Indiana fans will have to metabolize and accept.

I can live with a Hartman hustle-foul. After all, that’s the foundational bread portion of the Blue Collar Pyramid (an article/graphic for a later date).

Ferrell, Interrupted

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

That weird chill you felt on the back of your neck somewhere toward the end of the first half wasn’t a ghost. 

That was the absence of Yogi Ferrell, who spent an inordinate amount of time on the bench against Pittsburgh thanks to early foul trouble. 

Ferrell played 10 minutes in the first half against the Panthers, shooting only one shot—a lone triple early over Pittsburgh’s Michael Young. Indiana’s veteran point guard finished with a relatively quiet 11 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field.

The notable part of Ferrell's day was the team's ability to function adequately without him. Before the 2014-15 season, Ferrell leaving the floor led to complete, pant-soiling mayhem for Indiana. The moment he exited the game, opponents locked down viciously on Indiana’s proxy ball-handlers, who would then take turns painting the bed sheets under the increased pressure. 

This is not the case with this group. For the most part, Robert Johnson and James Blackmon Jr. are proving themselves more than adequate at running the offense and executing in Ferrell’s absence. Johnson went so far as to call their backcourt players “interchangeable” when asked about playing sans Yogi:

And despite several ugly streaks, Indiana handled the ball well against Pittsburgh. The Hoosiers kept the turnovers to a very dull roar, losing the ball nine times to Pittsburgh’s 11. Ferrell led the team in turnovers with three on the night.

So yes, it’s still weird to see the McDonald’s All-American guard sitting comfortably on the bench. But maybe you'll get used to it (you will not).

Other Notes

• Troy Williams should only handle the ball if the sky is on fire.
• Something is wrong with Stanford Robinson. He’s out there playing hero ball and taking on multiple defenders at the basket while his teammates are wide-open on the baseline and perimeter.
• Hanner Mosquera-Perea dunks the ball like the rim once shoved a ball gag in his mouth in a pawn shop basement. He gets medieval on it.
• Pittsburgh’s Josh Newkirk is a baller.
• The quality of this win will age with the grace of Pizza Express breadsticks as the season goes on.
• The Hoosiers spread the wealth against Pitt. Nine players scored over the course of the game.

Indiana's victory over the Pitt helped the Big Ten keep a firm, 6-2 handle on the B1G-ACC Challenge, and next the Hoosiers will face 2-5 Savannah State Saturday night.

This is the poor group of individuals who suffered a wholesale 87-26 slaughter at the hands of Louisville in November. The game devolved into such a massacre that Rick Pitino switched to a pity lineup of Caucasians and an Egyptian to soften the competition. This did not work, either.

So Indiana will play Savannah State's shell-shocked assemblage before taking on the Tigers' tormentors at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday. Louisville is 5-0 with wins against Ohio State and Minnesota to their credit. Hope you’re ready to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight.

Dan is a Trending Lead Writer for B/R. Once or twice a week during the college basketball season, he turns into an irrational monster that yells at men wearing candy cane pants.

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