Toughness. Attention to Detail. High intensity. The Big Ten Conference is no walk in the park for all 18 teams vying to compete in the end of year tournament. Particularly, with the conference tournament format changing to a more selective 15-team bracket, emphasis on the Big Ten regular season is at an all-time high, most notably for an unproven and inexperienced squad in Bloomington.
After marking head coach Teri Moren’s worst start in Big Ten play with a close loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, the woes continued for Moren’s squad, falling to the Washington Huskies late Wednesday night, 82-63, in a game that felt lopsided from the start.
“I think you can take a look at the stat sheet and figure out how we got beat by such a good team,” Moren said postgame. “We certainly took steps back… we come in tonight and lay an egg.”
Going into the season, the Hoosiers (now 11-8, 0-7 in Big Ten play) relied almost entirely on their ability to wear teams down, particularly given the team's current lack of experience and size. At this point in time, Moren questioned her team’s identity of effort and intensity.
“The effort thing is unacceptable,” Moren said. “That’s not how our program and our teams play here… you shouldn’t have to coach effort at this level.”
In such a competitive conference, the lack of effort this deep into the season is cause for concern, an aspect of the game that is beyond execution and strategy; it is a deep-rooted athletic mentality.
If there has been one constant theme of the disparity between Indiana and the Big Ten teams they have faced so far, it has been self-inflicted wounds. Specifically, the lack of opportunistic plays being the difference in going home with a win or a loss. Committing 15 turnovers to the Huskies' 11, deficiencies in taking care of the basketball were evident, losing the turnover battle for the fifth time in the last six games.
Turning the ball over does not simply lead to points in transition for the opponent; it induces pressure on the Hoosiers to make each possession count. However, while the Hoosiers are at the top of the conference in shooting from the perimeter, they are ranked just 17th in points per game at 59.7, while their opponents are averaging 74.2 points per contest, a minus 14.5 point differential.
“We gotta learn how to put 40 minutes together,” Shay Ciezki said following the loss. “It’s a want and will, I think it comes from experience.”
Facing an early deficit against the Huskies, Indiana played from behind for much of the game, and aside from a 7-0 run to cut the Husky lead to 10 going into the locker room, control was almost entirely in favor of Washington. The Hoosiers were beaten from the inside, surrendering 54 points in the paint, compared to their 20.
“Our plugs were not very good,” Moren said. “Our coverage tonight on that drop was beyond bad.”
While success has come at a premium, Ciezki once again led all scorers with 23 points, her 13th game this season surpassing the 20-point mark. Ciezki’s leadership and experience will be a vital component if the Hoosiers turn this season around, a team that is still looking for its first win in conference play.
It’s been a bumpy road through the first seven games in the Big Ten, but if Teri Moren’s past tells us one thing, it is that the expectation stays the same: the question is if you want it enough.
“If 0-8 [0-7] doesn’t spark your rear to be motivated, then I don’t know what is,” Moren said. “If it doesn’t ignite something in you, then you probably shouldn’t be playing this game.”
Following the loss, Indiana will get a much-needed week off before they head to Columbus to take on No. 14 ranked Ohio State next Thursday night.
