Hoosiers rally to beat NC State 86-75

After coasting through their first five games, Indiana has been challenged by Butler and NC State. For their first Big Ten/ACC Challenge win in the Tom Crean era, IU finished strong at NC State winning 86-75.

“It was a hard-fought victory that every one of those young men deserved, they earned, and it’s something for them to build on,” Coach Tom Crean said postgame.

Jordan Hulls is a big reason for Indiana's early success.

Indiana opened the game up early, leading 12-3 and forced a Wolfpack timeout less than three minutes in. But NC State dominated the boards and limited IU on offense to take a 42-41 lead into halftime.

Hulls paced Indiana with 20 points (eight came in the first two minutes), four rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes of play. He has been extremely critical for IU to get into their offense, move the ball, and knock down open jump shots.

The junior point guard hasn’t received the attention he deserves for his play on the court, but I’m sure he’s not worried about that. His teammates have gone on and on about his leadership and said his presence on the court is coach-like.

I still don’t like what I’m seeing from Verdell Jones III. As a senior, he’s still making many of the same mistakes he made as a freshman. Every time he dribbles, I just want to hold his head up, because he rarely sees what’s open ahead of him. And far too often he forces shots that aren’t open. I do like how he has stepped up vocally, getting on teammates when they are out of position or not blocking out for example.

Freshman Remy Abell, who didn’t play against Butler, came in to score five points and help make stops defensively. He may be a nice role player for the Hoosiers, especially if he can help defensively.

Again, freshman Cody Zeller was one rebound shy of a double-double as he finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. He battled inside against a much taller NC State team and came out on top. Zeller had another coast-to-coast layup off a steal on defense. He scored the basket on an emphatic dunk.

Tied at 68, Christian Watford knocked down a big three with 4:03 remaining and the Hoosiers never looked back. They closed the game very well, scoring the last ten points. IU went 0-11 on the road last year so winning away from home in a sold-out environment was a huge step in the right direction. They were mentally strong, didn’t beat themselves, and connected on critical free throws when they needed to. Indiana played with guts and an attitude that has been absent the previous three seasons.

“All Hoosier fans should feel really, really good and feel a part of this one because they have stayed with us as we tried to get ourselves to the point where we can come and win a game like this on the road,” Crean added. “Now we’ve done it and I wish we could just give everyone a big hug and tell them thank you and we’ll see them Sunday. We need a packed house for the ’87 team coming back.”

IU now improves to 7-0, and has won every game by double-digits. The Hoosiers did their part helping the Big Ten win the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the third straight year. Not much of a challenge anymore is it?

Next up for Indiana is Stetson on Sunday at Assembly Hall, before hosting Kentucky on Sat., December 10th. There’s a chance Indiana could head into the Kentucky rivalry game ranked in the top-25 for the first time in four years. I will be broadcasting the IU-Stetson game on BTN.com with former IU star Brian Evans. That game will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1987 championship team with most of the players back including Steve Alford and Keith Smart.

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