On the heels of a taxing, chaotic 2OT win against UCLA, Indiana came out flat against USC, snapping a three-game winning streak to move right back to .500 in Big Ten play with eight games remaining in the regular season.
While conditioning certainly could have been a factor after the marathon game against the Bruins, Indiana’s bench was a little longer tonight with Tayton Conerway coming back from injury. He wasn’t in the starting lineup and probably not at 100%, but his presence is a good sign for
a team that needs his athleticism and ball handling.
The Hoosiers also started the game on an encouraging note, a made three from Nick Dorn, a breakout star over the last three games, averaging 22.3 over that span.
From that point on, Dorn, and Indiana with him, went cold.
Dorn wouldn’t hit another shot until late in the second half, going 2-12 from 3-point range tonight without attempting a field goal within the arc. Tucker DeVries, Indiana’s second leading scorer, also struggled with his shot, going 1-8 from 3-point range and 1-9 on the night.
Lamar Wilkerson led all scorers with 33 points, but it was something of a one man show. No other Hoosier reached double-digits, despite the fact that seven guys played ten minutes or more. Trent Sisley and Jasai Miles also checked in for brief runs.
For all of Indiana’s scoring troubles, a battered Trojans team struggled to put them away, keeping the Hoosiers around until the final minutes. Already down Rodney Rice for the season, USC lost Chad Baker-Mazara early in the second half to what appeared to be a leg injury.
Rather than fold without their leading scorer, the Trojans held steady, fending off a desperate Indiana push down the stretch. Conerway hit a layup that cut USC’s lead to two, but missed the free throw that would have brought the Hoosiers within a point with under a minute to play.
USC went down and hit their free throws on the following possession, and that was game. The Hoosiers head home having split the West Coast road trip 1-1, with work to do to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
