No. 22 Indiana 94, Jacksonville 64: Three Things

On Saturday night No. 22 Indiana closed its non-conference schedule with a 94-64 win over Jacksonville. With the win, The Hoosiers’ record improves to 11-2 on the season and they’ve won six straight dating back to December 1 against Northwestern. If you couldn’t (or didn’t want to) watch IU pummel an A-Sun team into oblivion, here are the big takeaways from the game.

Juwan Morgan Triple-Double

For just the second time in IU history a player recorded a triple-double. Juwan Morgan became the first Hoosier to accomplish the feat since Steve Downing did it in 1971 against Michigan. This is also the first Hoosier triple-double in Assembly Hall, as Downing’s was in the New Fieldhouse.

“I think that’s an incredible accomplishment to do that.” IU head coach Archie Miller said, “You have to be an unbelievable, complete guy to be able to be that type of efficiency. Took five shots in the game, you know what I mean? You can tell he completely dominated with his unselfish play.”

Morgan also became the first player in Big Ten history to finish with at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks and two steals since Draymond Green put up 15 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks and two steals against Penn State in 2011. Now let’s all be rational. This does not mean that Morgan is the “next Draymond Green.” That comparison is unfair to everybody involved for a number of reasons. (Steps off soapbox)

What it does mean is that Morgan played one of the best games of his career. He was the best player on the court and made everything look easy.

Al Durham’s Career Night

The only player contending with Morgan for attention in this one was Al Durham. The sophomore posted a new career-high in points with 18 on the night. His previous high was 13, which he scored against Marquette. Durham’s explanation for what was working for him tonight was pretty simple.

“My teammates finding me and trusting me. I feel like they had the confidence in me.” Durham said, “I was just knocking it down, as Juwan would say.”

The cherry on top for the guard was that he scored those points efficiently. He shot 6-8 from the floor including a 3-5 effort from downtown. He also went 3-4 from the charity stripe.

If Durham can continue to score like this it would be a huge boost for the Hoosiers, as they need a consistent tertiary scorer behind Morgan and Romeo Langford.

Slow Start

Despite this one ending up as a blowout IU didn’t get out to a hot start. They allowed the Dolphins to get out to a 4-0 lead to start the game and then after nine minutes the Hoosiers were only ahead by three.

They eventually pulled away of course, but this is something that they’ve struggled with in the past and it won’t be a good thing to carry over into Big Ten play, which starts on January 3 when they host Illinois.