The Indiana Hoosiers took on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 9th Annual Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers came in with a 5-3 record at the Classic, which includes a 3-1 record against the Irish. Last year, the Hoosiers went on to defeat the Butler Bulldogs 71-68 in a buzzer-beating effort from guard Robert Phinisee. Indiana came into the event with tons of energy, picking up where they left off in their recent overtime victory over Nebraska at home.

Notre Dame came into this game with tons of confidence after a 75-61 home victory over UCLA. The Hoosiers quickly jumped on top of the Irish using their athleticism early on and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Irish would go 0-7 before scoring their first basketball of the game. A very energetic and stingy Hoosiers defense helped them get out to a great start in the first half. Notre Dame finished the first-half shooting 27.6% (8-29) from the field and 13.3% (2-15) from three-point range. Joey Brunk had a very impressive first-half by being  very active on the low block and finished the half with 8 points and 11 rebounds.

Trayce Jackson-Davis was dominant down low in the first-half (6 points, 3-3) before leaving the game due to foul trouble early.

Nice spin with the finish by Trayce Jackson-Davis pic.twitter.com/agj96Pzubg

— ESPN 1380/100.9 (@ESPN1380) December 21, 2019

Coming out in the second-half, the Hoosiers continued their assertiveness and aggressiveness and would at one point lead by 17. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish would eventually go on a run and make it a game. Sophomore guard Dane Goodwin had a tremendous second-half, scoring all 15 of his points. But, it wasn’t enough as the second-half would become “The Armaan Franklin Show.” Not only did Franklin score a career-high 17 points off the bench, but hit the game-winning three-pointer to seal a 62-60 victory over the Irish.

It’s the Armaan Franklin show! His clutch three-pointer puts the Hoosiers up 62-60 with 15.7 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/EKH10uBNTp

— ESPN 1380/100.9 (@ESPN1380) December 21, 2019

Looking ahead, the Hoosiers have to address their turnover issue. With 12 turnovers against Notre Dame and 15 against Nebraska, that has to become a point of emphasis. Nonetheless, Indiana gets the win and is now 6-3 all-time at the Crossroads Classic and 4-1 against Notre Dame. In the next 24 games, IU will play 11 games against Top 25 teams and 22 against teams that according to KenPom rank in the Top 100 teams. Currently, the Hoosiers are ranked 34th in the latest KenPom rankings and 35th in the NCAA’s Net Rankings. IU will host Arkansas in Bloomington next Sunday.