IU’s liabilities too much to overcome

Jan. 20--WEST LAFAYETTE -- Some one or some thing has to take the blame.

It's the way of the world, and the latest misstep for Indiana in what seems like a long, slow tumble down the stairs of the Big Ten boils down to a matter of liability.

A liability is some one or some thing that puts you at a disadvantage, and Purdue was merciless in taking advantage of the Hoosiers' shortcomings on Saturday afternoon at Mackey Arena.

For a time during the first half, IU's greatest certainty -- Juwan Morgan -- attempted to carry the Hoosiers through the turbulent waters created by their arch rival.

But Indiana simply did not have enough liability insurance, Justin Smith's efforts not withstanding, to overcome the early foul trouble and subsequent struggles of Romeo Langford, foul trouble part two for freshman point guard Rob Phinisee and poor shooting, just for starters.

This was more than a one-off appearance for the Hoosiers, losers of four straight who are beginning to more closely resemble last year's ill-equipped squad than the one that made up mentally for what it lacked physically in grinding out wins over Northwestern, Penn State, Louisville and Butler in December.

Indiana came into the game 12th in the Big Ten in free-throw percentage at 66.2 percent (231-of-349) and made a strong bid to reach the conference cellar by going 7-of-18 (.389).

It came in shooting 35.3 percent from 3, good for ninth in the league, and again made a bold move toward the bottom by going 4-of-20.

With Morgan doing most of his damage in the paint and Langford likewise, teams are daring the Hoosiers to beat them any other way, and right now Indiana is incapable of doing so.

Zach McRoberts got his first start since November on Saturday, and finally made his first basket since the same month with 4:39 left in the game. McRoberts proved a capable enough shooter when he was healthy earlier in the year but has been out of sync since a back injury sidelined him, hence the 0-for-4 effort from 3 on Saturday.

But McRoberts, like most of the IU roster is case of giving to get. In his case, the defense and hustle plays (seven rebounds, three steals) are what you're looking for. The shooting would be a bonus, but poor shooting a liability.

On the other hand, freshman Damezi Anderson saw first-half minutes, hoping for a spark offensively from a guy with a reputation as a shooter, but never attempted a shot and got burned at the defensive end of the floor, where he's still figuring out the college game.

A clearly hobbled De'Ron Davis gives you size and strength but no explosion. A still raw Clifton Moore gives energy and effort but still gets pushed around against the size of a Purdue.

Evan Fitzner didn't even play as IU coach Archie Miller seeks to push some different buttons.

The buttons might be different but the weaknesses of an already sketchy roster remain depleted by injury, even as Phinisee showed flashes of returning to form in his third game back from a concussion and Al Durham returned after leaving the Nebraska game early.

The Boilermakers and even the Hoosiers themselves exploited those faults on Saturday.

The weaknesses of a roster depleted by injury were further exploited by both the Boilermakers and itself, but that's what happens when you have one true point guard, one true center and maybe one true shooter in the as yet unproven Anderson.

Those are the measurables, and then there's the basketball IQ that remains elusive and is perhaps the most frustrating part for IU fans hungry for a successful basketball team.

Indiana made passes just because it was supposed to, regardless of the defense's positioning, was blissfully unaware of the shot clock on occasion and found a way to leave Matt Haarms alone for a dunk who knows how many times (OK, actually I know it was four).

While fans may not feel Miller's pain, Purdue coach Matt Painter does, and he offered some supportive words postgame.

"Your most important ability is your availability, it just is," Painter said of IU's injury woes, then suggested that stacking multiple recruiting classes is how success builds, something Miller hasn't yet had the chance to do. "You have to stay old in this business. Some people are unrealistic sometimes with how hard it is (to win)."

As for Indiana, there's no time to bemoan what it does or doesn't have, what it has or hasn't done.

Some one or some thing has to take responsibility for the liabilities.

"There's nobody to blame but ourselves," Miller said.

Sports writer Jeremy Price can be reached at 812-331-4342 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter

@JPPrice.

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