With Indiana up 66-63 against Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday with 16.8 seconds remaining, Xavier Johnson put his red and white Adidas sneakers on the red foul stripe with a chance to seal Indiana’s first game of the season.
First, he looked up at the game clock above the backboard, then reached down to his ankles and rubbed the sweat off his hands onto his socks and shoelaces. The sixth-year college basketball veteran took three dribbles and made both free throw attempts — effectively ending the game.
The buzz on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning after the Hoosiers’ 69-63 win over the Eagles was the three-guard lineup that sparked a second-half run, freshman point guard Gabe Cupps and the poor perimeter defense.