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Last weekend, Indiana lost a 14-point lead with seven minutes left, due in part to Missouri's tough defense down the stretch. On Saturday, it was IU's defense that helped the Hoosiers pull out a 62-50 win against Butler at Assembly Hall.
After Butler sophomore guard Avery Sheets brought the Bulldogs within two points with 6:27 remaining, the Hoosiers clamped down and limited Butler to just two field goals and five points the rest of the game.
"The keys
were just staying ready 'cause they run a lot of misdirection plays and they
try to catch you relaxing," IU sophomore guard Marshall Strickland said.
"If you relax against them, they'll get an easy bucket."
IU closed the game on a 15-5 run, including all nine of junior guard Donald
Perry's points in the game. The Hoosiers also converted 13-of-14 free throws
down the stretch.
IU coach Mike Davis said the team made an effort to be more aggressive late in the game.
"We talked about it after the Missouri game because we didn't shoot but two or three free throws in the second half of that game," Davis said. "We knew we wanted to try to take advantage of Butler that way. Our guys did a great job of drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line."
IU was led by sophomore guard Bracey Wright, who scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including 10 straight. Davis said he talked to Wright about taking more shots and being more aggressive in the second half.
Butler coach Todd Lickliter said Wright was the difference.
"IU did a great job of keeping the ball in the right hands," Lickliter said. "Bracey Wright was very effective in the second half. The guys who were able to play off of him hit big shots as well."
With 7:13 remaining, IU sophomore forward Sean Kline had to head to the bench with his fourth foul. IU brought in a four-guard lineup with senior forward A.J. Moye -- standing at 6-foot-3 -- the lone big man on the court for IU.
"With a smaller lineup, we had to play with a lot of energy and I think we were really able to do that," Strickland said. "Coach had us switching everything, so I ended up on the big 7-footer one possession. We were just playing scrappy defense, trying to get loose balls and make them turn it over."
Moye was the spark for IU, coming off the bench in the first half to score eight points. IU led by as many as 10 in the first half, but the Bulldogs were able to cut the lead to 30-27 at the half.
IU pulled ahead late in the game with offensive execution and tough defense, two things that Davis said go hand-in-hand.
"Having a young basketball team, they have confidence if the offense is going well," Davis said. "If we miss shots and stand around, then they make plays and we turn the ball over, then our defense suffers and everything suffers. So I want to get to the point where we can really play well offensively, and if you go back and look at this game, you'll see some nice things offensively."
IU has a week off until the team faces Kentucky at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Last year, Davis ran onto the court during the end of the game arguing a call. He received a technical foul that put the game out of reach for IU. Davis joked that he didn't want to talk about the upcoming Kentucky game.
"I'm going to enjoy Butler," Davis said. "I'm not even thinking about Kentucky. I told you guys last year I'm going to have [IU assistant] coach [John] Treloar coach that game. It's going to be a game-time decision."