'Smacked in the face.' Indiana basketball players feel weight of latest Big Ten setback
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana basketball guard Trey Galloway struggled to find the words at the microphone following a 85-70 loss to Nebraska.
Galloway, one of IU's few veterans, has represented the locker room in post-game press conferences more than anybody this season, but he’s never been as despondent as he was on Wednesday night.
“They just -- we weren't up to touch on a lot of things they were doing,” Galloway said, of falling behind by 20 points in the first half. “They were comfortable and made a lot of shots, and it affected us and they got that lead.”
Indiana fans boo team's lack of effort in the first half
When the Hoosiers made their way back to the locker room trailing 51-31 at the half, the fans vented their frustration by heavily booing the team.
It wasn’t the last time either.
More: Why Indiana basketball point guard Gabe Cupps was thrown to the wolves this season
After Indiana’s run fizzled in the second half and Nebraska pushed its lead back up to double-digits, the fans who remained at Assembly Hall let the coaches and players how disappointed they were.
Galloway had eight points with three assists and a career-high six turnovers. Fans could be heard throughout the game yelling for Galloway to shoot the ball when he passed up on some open looks.
“I can't worry about that,” Galloway said. “I got to worry about helping my team, and we got to be focused on each other and can't worry about the outside noise. Just be a unit and stick together.”
Galloway used the phrase “stick together” four times in just three minutes, but that’s not going to be easy with the team’s preseason goals falling by the wayside.
More: Indiana basketball’s free throw woes are a ’between the ears’ problem
Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson: 'Nobody is going to feel sorry for Indiana basketball'
Indiana has fallen to 11th place in the conference standings, putting them at risk of having to play in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Hoosiers would need to win multiple games to have a chance at reaching the NIT tournament.
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for Indiana basketball,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “They're not. My locker room is down. As a coach I got to keep pumping them up and see if I can get them to overcome being down and get us back into winning ways.”
That’s going to require a bit more consistency than Indiana has shown this season, a fact Woodson has repeatedly talked about.
“When you get smacked in the face like we did the first half, you're not going to beat anyone,” Woodson said. “We didn't compete. I thought the second half we competed.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Can Indiana basketball 'stick together' amid latest losing streak?
