The Indiana Hoosiers keep their tournament hopes by barely beating Minnesota despite a 20+ point lead midway in the second half.
Indiana beat Minnesota 84-79 to keep their at-large bid chances alive. Xavier Johnson led the way for the Hoosiers with 24 points on 43 percent shooting. 12 of his 24 points came from three. The junior shot 66 percent from three on the game.
Minnesota was led by Payton Wills. Wills had 28 points on 47 percent shooting on the floor. He made a remarkable 7 threes. he shot 50 percent from three. Overall, the Golden Gophers shot 38 percent from three.
Indiana needed to win this game if they want to make the NCAA tournament this season. It seemed early on that the Hoosiers were the more talented team. Midway through the second half, they led by as much as 27 points.
Down the stretch of second-half Minnesota made the game close primarily through E.J Stephens and Payton Wills’s three-pointers. Indiana’s lead had shrunk to 10 points with less than 3 minutes remaining.
Despite not missing free throws, Indiana shrunk to six points with less than a minute remaining. The reason for this was the Hoosiers could not defend the Gophers from three. Additionally, Indiana had two key turnovers in the last three minutes.
The game got even closer as Minnesota made a three with 5 seconds left. The Gophers fouled Johnson prior to the inbounded. Johnson made both free throws which allowed Indiana to escape with a victory.
If Indiana blew this game, their tournament hopes would be almost gone. While the Hoosiers could still maybe get into the first four if they lose their next two games, beating one of their next two opponents would essentially clinch an at-large bid.
Their final two opponents are Purdue (away) and Rutgers (home). Considering the fact that they beat Purdue earlier this season, the game against Rutgers is not a must-win. While the game against Rutgers is not a must-win game, it is the easier game to win between the two. Indiana was able to keep their tournament hopes alive and will face Rutgers in essentially a play-in game on Wednesday.