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- IUPUI basketball’s very difficult 2021/22 season has come to a close.
- The Jaguars played Tuesday’s Horizon League Tournament game with only five players but somehow covered the spread.
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Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis finished the 2021/22 season as the worst team in college basketball.
However, despite all of the challenges that were presented to them, they played with heart and didn’t go out without a fight.IUPUI, a public, collaborative university between Indiana University and Purdue University, has not had success on the hardwood this season. The Jaguars won just three games on the season, and only one of them came against a D-1 program.
Their first win of the year came against Division-III school Spalding University, a private Roman Catholic school with a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,305. They also won a game against USCAA independent East-West University, a school with an enrollment of less than 1,000.
As the season went on, the size IUPUI’s roster slowly shrunk to an extreme low. After beginning the year with 13 players on the team, due to injuries, transfers, and other unforeseen circumstances, the Jaguars roster shrunk to six— five starters and one substitute.
The team held open tryouts at the beginning of February but decided to finish out the season with the players that chose to stick it through. All six of them.
Even with only one bench player, IUPUI beat Robert Morris on February 17th to notch their third win of the season and first over a Division-I opponent. It was incredibly demoralizing for the Colonials and an incredible feat for the Jaguars.
That was two weeks ago. On Saturday, the six-man roster dropped to five.
During IUPUI’s 67-41 home loss to Green Bay, sophomore Bakari LaStrap — who started for the team down the stretch — lasted only three minutes before leaving with injury. He was ruled out indefinitely.
After losing LaStrap, the Jaguars opened the Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday night against Oakland as 23.5-point underdogs. On their way to the game, they got lost.
Once they got there, they took the court without LaStrap, leaving just five players.
Freshman guard Boston Stanton III, freshman center Chuks Isitua, junior guard Mike DePersia, junior guard Nathan McClure and grad transfer forward B.J. Maxwell dug deep and played all 40 minutes. There were no substitutes.
a good look at the IUPUI bench, which notably does not have any actual substitutes, because they only have five players pic.twitter.com/C8JN6gRqtp
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger)
It was tremendous showing of grit and heart. IUPUI had every chance to roll over and tap out. They didn’t.
During the game, the Jaguars definitely had their struggles. It is important to make the extra pass in basketball— always make the extra pass.
However, on Tuesday, it may have been better if McClure had not made the extra pass… to nobody. He took it in stride and, to his credit, playing with only five guys would be mentally and physically exhausting, and the trainer did look like he was in the game.
By playing with only five guys, the box score is extremely unique:
- Chuks Isitua — 40 minutes, 14 rebounds, 0 assists, 11 points
- Mike DePersia — 40 minutes, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 7 points
- B.J. Maxwell — 40 minutes, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 12 points
- Nathan McClure — 40 minutes, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 12 points, 1 viral fail
- Boston Stanton III — 40 minutes, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 13 points
If just being out on the court wasn’t enough, IUPUI pulled off what public money thought was impossible. The Jaguars lost the game, but only by 12. In turn, they smashed the spread by a solid 11.5 points.
IUPUI is looking to rebuild during the offseason, but before they do, their determination to finish out the season must not go underappreciated.
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