Indiana holds off Arkansas in NIT

Arkansas's Jalen Harris (5) goes to the basket against Indiana's Devonte Green (11) during the first half in the second round of the NIT college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana 63, Arkansas 60 - FINAL

Jalen Harris took and missed a 30-footer in the final seconds and missed. Arkansas' season comes to a close at 18-16 overall.

Desi Sills scored a career-high 18 points, but fouled out with 4:25 to play. Isaiah Joe added 12.

Devonte Green finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Juwan Morgan had 15 points and seven boards.

More from today's game later on WholeHogSports.com.

Indiana 63, Arkansas 60 - 6.1 left

Devonte Green hits two free throws and puts the Hoosiers up 3. Fully expect Indiana to foul once Arkansas catches the ball on the inbounds pass.

Indiana 61, Arkansas 59 - 6.3 seconds left

Indiana misses a wide-open 3 with 13 seconds to go, and Adrio Bailey rebounds. Mike Anderson calls for time. Mason Jones is immediately fouled upon catching the inbounds pass. He'll shoot two at the line.

Jones makes the first, and Indiana calls a 30-second timeout.

Indiana 61, Arkansas 55 - 2:32 left

Desi Sills, who leads Arkansas with 18 points today, fouled out with under five minutes to play. Isaiah Joe is the only other Razorbacks player in double figures with 12.

Indiana has led by as many as seven points in the second half. Arkansas has essentially answered every Hoosiers run, but this is the one that counts most. The Razorbacks must run good offense, take good shots and come up with stops defensively or their season will end this afternoon.

Devonte Green has a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, Juwan Morgan has 15 + 7 and De'Ron Davis has 10 points.

Indiana 54, Arkansas 51 - 7:44 left

Desi Sills has a career-high 18 points on 4-of-6 from deep and has been the Razorbacks' most consistent offensive threat all day long. Isaiah Joe also has 11 on 3-of-7 from 3-point range.

Sills' fourth 3 of the day put Arkansas up 51-49 with 9-plus to play, but the Hoosiers scored five straight ahead of the under-8 media timeout.

Adrio Bailey, Jalen Harris and Gabe Osabuohien (0/3) have combined to miss all five of their 3-point attempts. Otherwise, the Razorbacks are 8-of-17 from deep.

Indiana 47, Arkansas 46 - 11:14 left

Isaiah Joe hit a 3 from the top of the key to stop the Indiana run and bring Arkansas within one at the under-12 timeout. He now has 113 made 3-pointers this season, tying the SEC freshman record - Jamal Murray (Kentucky).

Indiana 47, Arkansas 43 - 11:59 left

Hoosiers are on a 10-0 run and have all the momentum on their side after a dunk from Juwan Morgan, who now has a team-high 13 points to go with five rebounds.

Indiana guard Aljami Durham also has five points since the break. He has six today. Desi Sills has a game-high 15 points, which ties a career-high, and Bailey/Joe each have eight. Jalen Harris has three points since the break. He made the first of two free throws, missed the second then followed the miss and finished at the rim.

Arkansas 40, Indiana 37 - 16:00 left

Strong start to the second half for the Razorbacks. Arkansas is 4-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-3 and has five points from Desi Sills, four from Adrio Bailey and three from Isaiah Joe. Jalen Harris, after a Hoosiers turnover, drove strong to the rim in transition and will be at the line when play resumes.

Sills is 3-of-4 from deep today and has 15 points, matching a career-high he reached at Kentucky on Feb. 26. Coming into today, Arkansas was shooting 45.7 percent from 3 in the seven games he'd started. Hogs shooting 38 percent from deep today.

Indiana 30, Arkansas 28 - Halftime

Indiana scored 10 of the last 13 points of the first half and carries a one-possession lead into the break. Juwan Morgan leads the Hoosiers with nine points and three rebounds. Devonte Green has nine points and seven boards.

Desi Sills has a game-high 10 points and is in double figures for the fourth time in his eight starts this season. He is 2-of-3 from 3-point range and has a steal. Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones each have five points to aid Sills.

The Hoosiers are taking advantage best they can of Arkansas' lack of size inside. They have a 10-2 edge in points in the paint and an 8-2 advantage in second-chance points.

Indiana turned the ball over eight times in its 34 first-half possessions - a 23.5 percent turnover rate. Morgan has a team-high three. Arkansas assisted on just five of its 10 buckets in the first half and turned the ball over six times.

In case you missed it, Hoosiers freshman guard Romeo Langford is not playing.

Arkansas 25, Indiana 25 - 3:44 left first half

Arkansas' last three buckets: Bailey long 2, Osabuohien jumper and Isaiah Joe 25-footer. Indiana has scored the last five points to tie the game entering the final media timeout of the first half.

Juwan Morgan has seven points for the Hoosiers to lead the way, and Devonte Green, who came into today shooting 59 percent from 3 over the last five games, has six points and six rebounds. He started today in place of Romeo Langford.

Arkansas 18, Indiana 17 - 7:59 left first half

Desi Sills got a layup to go following the Hoosiers' 8-0 run to stop the bleeding. Indiana's Zach McRoberts then hit a short jump hook at the rim to cut the Razorbacks' lead back to one at the under-8 timeout.

The Hoosiers have a 10-2 edge in points in the paint today and are 5-of-9 inside the arc - 1-of-7 beyond it. Indiana's plan is obviously to go at Arkansas' forwards early and often.

Arkansas 16, Indiana 15 - 9:24 left first half

Indiana is on an 8-0 run behind three free throws from De'Ron Davis, a bucket from Rob Phinisee and a 3 from Evan Fitzner. Mike Anderson calls for time. The Assembly Hall crowd is into it.

Arkansas 16, Indiana 7 - 11:13 left first half

Desi Sills and Mason Jones added 3-pointers between the media timeouts, and Jones hit another long 2 with the shot clock winding down. He banked it in to set the score at the under-12 timeout.

Sills and Jones each have five points to lead Arkansas. Isaiah Joe, Jalen Harris and Adrio Bailey each have two points as well. Indiana is 3-of-10 from the floor and has turned the ball over five times. Juwan Morgan has six of the Hoosiers' seven points.

Arkansas 6, Indiana 4 - 15:14 left first half

Not a bad start for the Razorbacks. Arkansas has gotten long 2s from Adrio Bailey and Jalen Harris so far - two guys you don't typically expect to hit those shots - and Isaiah Joe buried two free throws after being fouled on a jumper.

Arkansas jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Hoosiers have scored the last four points on buckets from senior forward Juwan Morgan. Indiana has turned the ball over three times on its first eight possessions.

Desi Sills will be at the line when play resumes. He was fouled after a strong baseline drive to the rim.

Pregame

Arkansas' starting lineup: Desi Sills, Jalen Harris, Isaiah Joe, Gabe Osabuohien and Adrio Bailey.

This lineup outscored Providence 9-3 over six possessions on Tuesday and hit both of its 3-point attempts. Bailey added an and-1 for the first score of the game. The group has still only played nine offensive possessions together all season, but is a plus-4. Osabuohien is perhaps coming off his best game as a Razorback, scoring 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds against the Friars in 17 minutes. Reggie Chaney finished with 14 points, five rebounds and seven blocks, becoming the third Arkansas player to reach those marks in a game - Darian Townes, Daniel Gafford.

Arkansas' forwards will be tested far more today than they were Tuesday. Juwan Morgan, Indiana's senior forward, is a handful. He's scored 20-plus points in three of the Hoosier's last four games, and in those games, he's shooting 33-of-42 from the floor. Bailey, Osabuohien, Chaney and Ethan Henderson must combine to have another big game on the defensive end to limit him.

Indiana's starters: Rob Phinisee, Aljami Durham, Devonte Green, Justin Smith and Juwan Morgan.

Without freshman guard Romeo Langford, who isn't starting today, Indiana's offense runs though Morgan much more. The Hoosiers hit 57 percent of their looks inside the arc with him off the floor. Defensively, IU is very solid all around, allowing .93 PPP for the season. Teams shoot 33 percent from deep against them. With Langford on the floor this season, Indiana is an average offense, scoring at a .99 point-per-possession rate. The Hoosiers shoot 52.7 percent on 2-point field goals with him in the lineup.

Green, who's drawn one start in the Hoosiers' last five games, is averaging 15.6 points on 59 percent from 3-point range in that span. Morgan is averaging 18.4 points and 8.4 rebounds over the last five, too.