It sure wasn't pretty and at times it was hard to watch, but when it was all set and done, the Indiana Hoosiers got a Big Ten opening win on the road against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The Hoosiers were without one of their best scorers in James Blackmon Jr. following a knee injury he suffered in practice on Monday. Without Blackmon Jr., Indiana had some issues on the offensive side of the floor.
First Half Struggles
The Hoosiers came out of the gates and struggled to open up a big lead. The starting lineup had issues getting going, but two guys that did get it done for Indiana early were Collin Hartman and Max Bielfeldt. Hartman hit two early threes to open up an early 9-3 lead, and then when Thomas Bryant picked up two early fouls, Bielfeldt came in and was very effective.
Bielfeldt and Hartman combined for 19 of Indiana's 34 first half points and without them, the Hoosiers would have found themselves down early. Indiana opened up a 30-18 lead, but following that Rutgers went on a 16-4 run and a 9-0 run in the last 2:11 to tie it up at 34 at halftime. Indiana turned it over five times in that last 2:11 and the Scarlet Knights were in business early heading into halftime.
Continued Turnovers
Indiana has had issues with turnovers this season and Wednesday was no different as they had 11 turnovers which turned into 20 Rutgers points at halftime and finished IU finished with 23 at the end of the game. At halftime, the starting lineup for the Hoosiers outside of Hartman combined for 3-of-11 shooting with 10 total turnovers.
These turnovers allowed Rutgers to hang around in the game and they didn't make anything easy for Indiana. Omari Greer had a team high 20 points while freshman phenom Corey Sanders finished with 17 points for Rutgers. They were a scrappy team and didn't let Indiana extend their lead in the first half when it looked like they could.
Grinding Out A Result
Rutgers took a 44-43 lead with 15:59 left to go in the game and in the next 3:33, Indiana went on an 11-0 run to take control of the game and for the most part were able to hold off Rutgers from then on out. Bielfeldt led this charge as he finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Yogi Ferrell finished with a team high 20 points. Ryan Burton came off the bench and also hit two big three's to keep the Indiana lead and provided a much needed second half spark.
Rutgers tried to get back in it as they cut it to a six point deficit, but OG Anunoby had some big offensive rebounds off of some free throws to keep the Hoosiers in control and fend off the Scarlet Knights run.
What's Next?
After a Big Ten opening win on the road, the Hoosiers will hope to get Blackmon Jr. back for their game on Saturday which will keep them on the road when they visit Nebraska. As for Rutgers, they will hit the road and pay a visit to Madison to face Wisconsin on Saturday.