Indiana 89 St. Francis (PA) 72: Three Keys | Final Box Score

Indiana defeated St. Francis (PA) in a first round NIT matchup on Tuesday evening.

The Hoosiers (18-15) will play a second round game against the winner of Arkansas and Providence in Bloomington. The game date and time has not yet been announced.

(Update: Indiana will host Arkansas on Saturday afternoon)

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. A second half transformation. Was it the Archie Miller technical foul? An R-rated halftime speech? Whatever it was — it worked. Archie Miller indicated that his team was not ready to play in the first half, and he said he let them know about it in the halftime locker room.

The impact was immediate, as Indiana started the second half on a 16-2 run.

Indiana emphasized getting the ball into the paint rather than settling for three-pointers. As a result, the Hoosiers shot 64% from the field in the second period after a 40% first half. IU was more effective on the defensive end as well, holding St. Francis to just 31% from the field after halftime.

The Hoosiers outscored St. Francis in the second half 55-32 to run away at the end after trailing by six at the break.

2. Al Durham notches a career high. Someone had to fill the void left by leading scorer Romeo Langford, who sat out with back soreness. Durham filled in admirably scoring inside and out. His 22 points topped his previous career high of 18 earlier in the season against Jacksonville. He told us after the game that he wasn’t looking to score anymore than usual with Langford out, but instead just taking the opportunities that came in the flow of the game.

3. Hoosiers take care of the ball. After a disappointing effort taking care of the ball against Ohio State, the Hoosiers were clean in this one. Indiana had just seven turnovers for the game and assisted 18 of their 35 shots from the field. IU had good ball movement in the second half and fed Juwan Morgan in the post. St. Francis did not have the size in the paint to contend with Morgan, who finished with 28 points.