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(11/29/22 9:08pm)
What was once seen as a potential top-10 clash between Indiana and North Carolina now has less buzz going into Wednesday. Last year’s national runner-up took two losses in the Phil Knight Invitational last week, which dropped the Tar Heels from first to 18th in the AP poll.
(11/21/22 2:24am)
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana defeated Miami (OH) 86-56 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to remain undefeated at 4-0 on the season. The game was the Hoosiers’ first of three this week in the second-annual Hoosier Classic.
(11/11/22 5:07am)
Threes were pouring down at Assembly Hall all night in Indiana’s 101-49 win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday. IU got its second consecutive lopsided victory to begin the season 2-0.
(11/07/22 2:30pm)
Despite Trayce Jackson-Davis being Indiana’s star in 2021-22, the team often went as point guard Xavier Johnson went. Johnson's play as the lead ball handler dictated much of what the Hoosiers did last season.
(11/04/22 2:53am)
Indiana has finished its exhibition slate 2-0 after defeating St. Francis (IN) 104-59 at Assembly Hall on Thursday night.
(11/03/22 1:45pm)
Race Thompson has been labeled as Indiana’s “glue guy” for a few seasons now. The sixth-year senior has been a Swiss Army knife for the Hoosiers thus far in his Indiana career.
(10/29/22 2:00pm)
Tamar Bates committed to Indiana late in the process as a four-star recruit heading into the 2021-22 season. His freshman campaign saw plenty of highs and lows throughout the year.
(10/25/22 2:00pm)
In 2021-22, the Indiana men’s basketball team often only went as far as Trayce Jackson-Davis went. When he was great (which was most games), the team competed. Jackson-Davis was recently named a preseason AP All-American, so the expectations are high going into his fourth year.
(10/14/22 2:01pm)
Trey Galloway was a fun player for the Indiana men’s basketball squad in 2021-22. Galloway’s season was disrupted by a broken wrist that took him out for 10 games and a high groin pull that left him out of five. The Hoosiers got some nice energy out of Galloway last year, but injuries interfered with what his sophomore season could’ve been.
(10/06/22 2:00pm)
Northwestern transfer Miller Kopp started in all 35 games for Indiana. He is the most trustworthy shooter returning to the Hoosiers this season.
(09/23/22 1:07am)
With four talented freshmen joining the Indiana men’s basketball team this season, there are lots of questions about lineups, positions and the overall minutes distribution of the team.
(09/22/22 2:00pm)
Many consider Jordan Geronimo a candidate to be the most improved returner for Indiana this season. The junior has a 7-foot wingspan and is the bounciest player the Hoosiers have.
(04/11/22 12:52pm)
It came down to the last pitch of the weekend, as Indiana lost two out of three games in its series at Purdue.
After taking a 17-0 thrashing from the Boilermakers to begin the series on Saturday, the Hoosiers rebounded with a 10-3 victory in the first half of Sunday’s doubleheader.
In a rubber match that was nearly four hours long, Purdue outlasted Indiana 16-15 for a series-deciding victory. A two-RBI single from Purdue outfielder Curtis Washington put the Boilermakers ahead 16-14 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
In the ninth inning, Phillip Glasser tripled to begin a two-out rally for the Hoosiers. In the ensuing at-bat, Matthew Ellis singled to bring Glasser home. Ethan Vecrumba pinch ran for Ellis, as a single from Brock Tibbits advanced Vecrumba to second base. A wild pitch sent Vecrumba to third and Tibbits to second. Josh Pyne then walked, leaving the bases loaded.
Carter Mathison stepped to the plate with a chance to tie or take the lead for IU, but Griffin Lohman froze Mathison with a third strike to log the save and finish the series for Purdue.
The Hoosiers have now lost the Sunday rubber match in both of their Big Ten series to this point. IU is 12-18 on the year and 2-4 in Big Ten play.
Samuel Murrison was a standout for IU on Sunday, as he went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs to begin the doubleheader and went yard again with a three-run blast in the second game of the day.
“I just felt good at the plate all day,” Murrison said following his fantastic Sunday at the plate.
Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer said that Murrison was “incredible” for the Hoosiers in the doubleheader.
“He was able to get pitches in the areas that he likes on the plate and when he got them, he didn’t miss them," Mercer said.
Indiana’s pitching struggles continued throughout the weekend as the Hoosiers now have a conference-worst 7.34 ERA. The Hoosiers are still searching for a reliable third-day starter to finish their weekend series. IU has used a plethora of pitchers to end series, but none of them have been able to remain a starter.
“The big thing is just helping those guys learn how to pitch, learn how to control their emotions and just execute pitches,” Mercer said.
Nathan Stahl started and was pulled early for the third Sunday in a row after allowing six earned runs in two innings of work in the second game of the doubleheader. This was Stahl’s third start in eight days, with none of those starts lasting over two innings.
Despite losing a second consecutive series, Mercer came away from Sunday's games optimistic.
“We competed like absolute warriors the entire day, all 18 innings of the entire day,” Mercer said. “There’s a lot of teams that would not have shown up and competed like that (after Saturday’s loss).”
Indiana will head on the road this week, where its pitching will again be in question. Mercer said the team plans to “staff” (use multiple pitchers in short increments) Tuesday’s bout at Indiana State. Jack Perkins and Bradley Brehmer are expected to start the first two games of the weekend series at Rutgers before the Hoosiers attempt to staff the final game of that series next Sunday.
The level of competition isn’t getting any easier for IU, as Indiana State (19-8) and Rutgers (25-6, 8-1 in the Big Ten) are both top-60 RPI squads. The Hoosiers will look to reverse their luck on the mound as another tough week away from home looms.
(03/18/22 2:35am)
The Indiana men’s basketball season came to an end on Thursday night in Portland, as the No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s Gaels defeated the No. 12 seed Hoosiers 82-53.
Here are three takeaways from Indiana’s final game of the 2021-22 season.
THERE WAS NO DIVERSITY IN INDIANA’S OFFENSE
IU’s offense has been all over the place this season and on Thursday night, it was abysmal. Indiana was only able to produce 53 points in its first-round loss to Saint Mary’s.
At the beginning of this season, the Hoosiers lived and died by post-ups from Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson. While they ran other actions, none of those actions were run with the same purpose and volume as post ups were.
But those post-ups, especially when there wasn’t a simultaneous action to complement them, became stale very quickly. Every defense found out how to play the post, pass and repeat strategy that Indiana relied on too heavily. That was when IU’s offense began to truly break down and become the reason Indiana lost games.
A few weeks ago, IU’s pick and roll game began to work efficiently for the Hoosiers. Indiana ran pick and rolls all year but once again, they weren’t run with the same purpose and preciseness. Xavier Johnson became phenomenal at making reads out of ball screens and Jackson-Davis’ athleticism was tough for defenses to contain.
Slowly but surely, Indiana overutilized pick and rolls and the offense was predictable once again. And the Saint Mary’s defense, which is one of the best in the country, figured out IU’s stagnant, repetitive offense after the Hoosiers scored 18 points in the first nine minutes of play.
There was never enough player movement or enough simultaneous actions occurring to throw off great defenses. You mix the lack of creativity with the disappointing 3-point shooting and you get a team that went 9:35 without a field goal in an NCAA Tournament game.
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Indiana’s offense will need some serious revamping in the offseason. That means both the players and the sets must go through drastic changes. The perimeter players need to be more efficient and the sets need to create more flow and rhythm for Indiana. Whatever the offense was this year has to change.
OVERHELPING WAS DETRIMENTAL TO INDIANA’S DEFENSE
Saint Mary’s was 10-for-23 on 3s in Thursday's game. An offense that plays at one of the slowest paces in the country and averages 69.8 points per game hung 82 on Indiana, and 3s were a big reason why.
Indiana’s defense was great this season, but if you look at its worst defensive performances, poor 3-point defense was the common denominator. Why did good shooting teams expose the Hoosiers throughout the season? Because IU would often play too aggressively in the gaps and overhelp, leading to wide-open jumpers.
The strategy of being ready to help worked against teams that weren’t great at shooting. But against teams like Saint Mary’s, Illinois and Iowa, that strategy gets exposed. Shooters cannot continually be left open in hopes to deter a driving ball handler (especially when they’re already contained).
There is an extremely tiny list of complaints one could have about Indiana’s defense, but consistently helping one pass away against shooters is one of them.
INDIANA’S MENTAL FATIGUE WAS WORSE THAN ITS PHYSICAL FATIGUE
We all know the story of the past week for IU. The Hoosiers had to play three games in three days in Indianapolis, then play Tuesday night in Dayton and then they experienced flight delays (and initially had to leave some items behind) when flying three time zones away to Portland on Wednesday morning.
Many will say that the players’ bodies were too tired to put together a quality performance against a veteran Saint Mary’s team. I’d argue that Indiana wasn’t mentally fresh enough to deal with facing and preparing for a wide variety of teams in such a short span.
Indiana basically played five consecutive must-win games in an eight-day span, and the Hoosiers faced a lot of different styles in that period. Against Saint Mary’s, it just didn’t look like IU knew the Gaels’ personnel very well. IU would close out too hard on bad shooters, help too much off good shooters, dribble into traps and do a lot of other things that seemed unwise to do against the Gaels.
Everyone on the roster has played a lot of basketball before and has played a lot of ball in a short period of time. But having these players prepare for five different teams was too much. It was clear that the Hoosiers didn’t know their opponent or the gameplan very clearly, and Indiana was too worn-out mentally to beat a team as disciplined as Saint Mary’s.
There’s no doubt that their bodies had been through a lot in this stretch, but the brains of Indiana’s players were also exhausted by this point of the season.
(03/15/22 12:44pm)
After winning two Big Ten Tournament games last weekend, the Indiana men’s basketball team received a No. 12 seed and will play Wyoming in a First Four game in Dayton on Tuesday.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Wyoming Cowboys ahead of Tuesday's NCAA Tournament game — IU’s first in six years.
AN OLD-SCHOOL APPROACH (KINDA)
Wyoming’s offense reminds me of a late-1990s/early-2000s NBA offense. The Cowboys have a guard and a big man who eat off isolation and post up possessions. That would be 6-foot-7 point guard Hunter Maldonado and center Graham Ike.
Ike is a traditional big man. He backs down with a lot of force (weighing 252 pounds) and finishes inside. While Ike isn’t a shooter, he has a nice touch in the short mid-range. Wyoming draws up an abundance of post ups for Ike every game.
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Watch Ike’s post ups again. You’ll see that there are three (sometimes four) Wyoming players standing on the other side of the court, just letting Ike go to work. This is the part that makes the Cowboys’ offense look so old-fashioned. The spacing makes it look like you’re watching the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals. There are isolations and there are flat-out clearouts, which is what Wyoming does.
Notice how Ike doesn’t get very high on his finishes. Per basketball statistician Bart Torvik, Ike has only dunked the basketball 11 times this season. Ike is a great post player, but he doesn’t play with the verticality of guys like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson.
Despite his lack of vertical athleticism, Ike is pretty solid at making quick dribble moves to get in his spot. Ideally, this is still the type of great big man Indiana would prefer to face. Ike isn’t a 7-footer and he isn’t an amazing screener. It won’t be easy for the Hoosiers, but they should have the post defenders to put up a fight.
It’s 2022, and Wyoming has a top-notch scoring point guard. He must be a phenomenal shooter, right? Wrong. Well, he probably has dazzling athleticism that shines on fast breaks, right? Nope.
Hunter Maldonado’s points often come in the same fashion as his 250-pound center. As a point guard, Maldonado uses his 6-foot-7 build to bully smaller guards in the mid-post. Maldonado only shoots 23.8 percent on 3s, so his identity is also to back down in isolation.
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Maldonado’s post ups also come with multiple Wyoming teammates being spaced to the other side of the court. That’s just how the Cowboys play. They try to clear out and give Ike and Maldonado as much space as possible to operate.
This may sound crazy, but I’d suggest Mike Woodson at least tries to station Race Thompson on Maldonado to begin the game. Maldonado is four inches taller than IU’s point guard, Xavier Johnson. Thompson has shown the ability to guard perimeter defenders who aren’t too shifty (which Maldonado isn’t), and Thompson might be the best post defender the Hoosiers have.
If it doesn’t work early, Indiana can adjust, but I’d like to see Thompson draw the assignment of containing Maldonado.
While Ike and Maldonado are the best shot creators for the Cowboys, Wyoming’s most efficient player is actually Drake Jeffries. Jeffries takes 6.8 3s per game and 93.7 percent of his field goal attempts are from downtown. Jeffries is shooting 42 percent on these 3s.
When Wyoming initiates post ups and sends three players to the other side of the court, the one player that usually stays on the same side of Ike and Maldonado is Jeffries. The Cowboys do this so that when defenses double from the strong side, they end up leaving Wyoming’s best shooter with a good look.
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Wyoming has a couple of other wrinkles to get Jeffries open looks as well. To throw defenses off, Jeffries sets ball screens for Maldonado and then pops for a 3-point shot.
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This simple play is so effective because if defenses send too much attention to Maldonado, Jeffries is wide open for the 3. If defenses worry too much about Jeffries, Maldonado has an easier path to get downhill and score.
The Cowboys also have a veer set to get Jeffries going. On these veer plays, Ike sets a screen (or acts like he’s setting a screen) for Maldonado and then sprints to the corner that Jeffries is in to set up an above-the-break look for Jeffries.
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This works because the center guarding Ike is usually focused on stopping the ball screen, and he has no idea that Ike is about to set another screen. When Ike freezes Jeffries’ defender on the veer screen, nobody is ready to give a contest on Jeffries’ shot.
In total, 41.8 percent of Wyoming’s shots are 3-pointers. This is well above the national average of 37.7 percent. While Wyoming’s top two players utilize the post, the rest of the squad fires from beyond. The Cowboys only shoot 33 percent on 3s, but they have to take these shots because their best players clog the lane.
Maldonado creates a lot of these perimeter shots with his passing. He uses his scoring gravity to spray the ball out to the team’s shooters.
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Maldonado averages 6.3 assists per game, and he has a good understanding of positioning and spacing. His understanding of spacing and positioning generates high-quality looks for the Cowboys.
Overall, Wyoming’s offense consists of a lot of backdowns from two players. The rest of the Cowboys spend time getting ready to shoot (even if they don’t make a lot of jumpers). Wyoming plays a style that is just so unorthodox for 2022, and Indiana will have its hand full trying to guard this fashion of basketball.
TIME TO FEAST?
Wyoming’s defense is the lackluster side of the ball for the Cowboys. The main reason for this is the lack of a true rim protector. Ike’s subpar leaping ability gets exposed on the defensive end. When Ike’s in position, he’s capable of making plays with his size, but he’s often in the wrong spot and his shoddy athletic ability doesn’t give him grace when recovering.
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Players usually finish at the rim with ease against Wyoming because there’s nobody there to protect the basket. This is where Xavier Johnson’s downhill ability should come in handy for the Hoosiers on Tuesday night.
As for how Wyoming guards the post, a definitive answer was hard to find. Interestingly, Wyoming didn’t play very many great post players this season. I’d expect the Cowboys to send double teams at Jackson-Davis and maybe Thompson too. The one notable post player Wyoming faced was Cal State Fullerton’s E.J. Anosike, who saw two defenders against the Cowboys most of the time.
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While finishers have success at the rim against Wyoming, it’s not always easy to get deep inside the paint. Wyoming’s perimeter defenders are relentless on the outside. In pick-and-roll situations, the Cowboys’ guards do a wonderful job at fighting through screens to stay in a ball handler’s air space.
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As for overall ball screen coverage, Wyoming usually puts its big men in drop coverage. Drop coverage just keeps the defending big man in front of the ball handler while allowing the defensive guard to recover to his man.
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Johnson has been a wizard for Indiana in the pick and roll recently. Drop coverage attempts to negate any quick hitters on ball screens, but it can sometimes allow for pull-up jump shots. We’ll see if Wyoming continues to play drop coverage on Tuesday and if Johnson can continue his excellence off of ball screens.
The post presence of Jackson-Davis and Thompson should give the Cowboys a challenge they’re not used to facing. I expect IU to throw the ball into the post early and often to test how Wyoming defends post ups and if Indiana can score through the post. If Wyoming struggles guarding post ups, the Hoosiers could be in for a nice offensive night.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND KEYS
Wyoming’s offense is so unique that it may be hard to prepare for in just over 48 hours. For the most part, this style of offense works for Wyoming. Ike and Maldonado are efficient players, and those two are pretty much the entire offense.
Against Division I competition, Ike has a usage rate of 35.3 percent (fifth in the country) and Maldonado has a usage rate of 30.5 percent (45th in the country). The only duo in the nation that uses a higher percentage of possessions is Purdue’s Trevion Williams and Zach Edey, who don’t log minutes at the same time.
The downfall of this philosophy is that when an offense relies on two players at that rate, the team is in danger when just one of those players has a bad game. When Ike and Maldonado are rolling, it’s hard to slow down what the Cowboys do. But when half of the duo has a poor offensive night, Wyoming tends to struggle.
If the Hoosiers can find a way to stop just half of the Cowboy’s dynamic duo from going off, then IU should be in good shape. It’s also notable that Indiana’s defense struggles most against great 3-point shooting teams, and Wyoming isn’t that. Wyoming’s lack of consistent shooting should play in the Hoosiers’ favor.
IU will also need to do its best to speed Wyoming up on Tuesday. The Cowboys are one of the slowest offensive teams in the country, averaging 18.7 seconds per offensive possession.
No play shows Wyoming’s drawn-out tempo better than this one. Wyoming had gone on a spurt and retaken the lead against Boise State. After a miss, and with momentum and a hyped-up crowd, Maldonado was looking to push. But Wyoming head coach Jeff Linder walked up to him and called out a set, and the play took 22 seconds.
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The Hoosiers are at their best when they’re running and they just can’t allow the Cowboys to make this a complete half-court game.
Indiana is rightfully favored to win this game to advance to the Round of 64. If they can control the pace, punish the Cowboys inside and not allow Wyoming’s weird offense to throw them off, the Hoosiers should find a way to pull at a victory in Dayton.
(03/13/22 2:58pm)
INDIANAPOLIS — Connor McCaffery dribbles up the court and holds the ball. Then Iowa sets an exit screen in the left corner for Jordan Bohannon, but Indiana shuts it down. Iowa’s Tony Perkins flares to the right wing, but Xavier Johnson denies him the ball. Then McCaffery tosses the ball to Bohannon, who dribbles a few feet in front of the Big Ten logo and fires.
Bohannon banks it home.
A perfectly-defended possession ended with a 30-foot bank shot that sent Iowa to the Big Ten Championship game and Indiana back to Bloomington.
But this week was a success for Indiana. The Hoosiers arrived in Indianapolis not knowing if they’d make the NCAA Tournament. They leave with two Quad 1 victories and high confidence in what they will do in the NCAA Tournament.
The story of this week was the superb play of Trayce Jackson-Davis. His Big Ten Tournament ended with him averaging 25.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. His 76 total points and 25 total rebounds are the most in a Big Ten Tournament in Indiana history. Jackson-Davis was excellent against a pair of 7-footers to start the week and on Saturday, he tortured Iowa’s undersized lineups.
It’s been well-documented that Xavier Johnson has been playing his best basketball of the year for the Hoosiers. Johnson averaged 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game for IU this week. His two-way play has been crucial for Indiana recently. Johnson has harassed other point guards at the point of attack and controlled the tempo of the game offensively.
Indiana is not a team that anyone is going to want to face in the NCAA Tournament. The main reason for that is IU’s defense. The Hoosiers guard extremely well (even though sometimes the ball goes in).
IU will be challenging to navigate for an offense that hasn’t faced the point-of-attack defense of Johnson and Rob Phinisee, the rim protection of Jackson-Davis or the overall defensive versatility of Race Thompson. The Hoosiers gave Michigan and Illinois fits early in the week.
On Saturday, 32 of Iowa’s 61 field goal attempts were 3s. When they make 14 3s (43.8 percent), it’s nearly impossible to beat them. Yet had the Hawkeyes made one less 3, there would have been an extra five minutes of basketball, with Indiana having the momentum.
Indiana has played five straight competitive games with at least three NCAA Tournament teams and two teams (Rutgers and Michigan) who will either be in the NCAA Tournament or host NIT games. You won’t find many teams who head into the NCAA Tournament having played this many tight games against quality opponents in the past few weeks.
After the game, Jackson-Davis showed a high amount of confidence in what Indiana can do going forward.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see us right now,” Jackson-Davis claimed. “It took a last-second 3 to beat us to the hottest team in the Big Ten right now. It stings but at the same time, I feel like we’ve got a lot of ball left.”
Of course, the matchup that Indiana draws will matter. IU probably doesn’t want to draw a team that has a great defensive big man. As well as Jackson-Davis has played recently, the Hoosiers would much rather have him face a team like Iowa that doesn’t have an interior defensive force.
A team that plays at a slow pace is also not ideal for Indiana. The Hoosiers are best when they can play in transition and run. Going against a team that averages 18 to 19 seconds per offensive possession could knock Indiana out of its rhythm.
Once again, IU’s defense won’t be easy to score on for some random opponent and the Hoosiers are very battle-tested, for better or for worse. Not to mention that when Phinisee and Trey Galloway both play, Indiana is 10-3 with wins over Ohio State, Purdue and Illinois.
This season has been all over the place for Indiana and the program is still nowhere near being great. This week shows that IU can be competitive with a lot of tournament teams and that a lot of tournament teams probably don’t want to face the Hoosiers. Sunday night's Selection Show will reveal who Indiana has to face — or who has to face Indiana.
(03/11/22 9:25pm)
INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time since 2003, the Indiana men’s basketball team has won multiple games in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers defeated Illinois 65-63 on Friday to advance to the Big Ten semifinals.
Here are some takeaways from IU’s upset win over the Illini.
THE HOOSIERS ARE GOING DANCING
This is an obvious takeaway but it can’t be stated enough. This Quad 1 victory over Illinois locks Indiana into the field of 68. For the first time since 2016, IU will be in the bracket.
When the Hoosiers trailed Michigan 60-43 at the under-12 timeout on Thursday, this didn’t seem possible. But Indiana rallied in that game and followed it up by going toe-to-toe with the Big Ten’s regular-season co-champions.
It felt like the Indiana men’s basketball team was cursed before winning these two games. Year after year, this program collapses after January. Fans have said, “we’ll be in the tournament” too early in the season and have experienced meltdowns that didn’t seem possible. This season felt identical to the seasons before this, but IU has come into Gainbridge Fieldhouse and given its fans a show this week.
In typical coach fashion after the game, Mike Woodson asked, “Are you sure we’re in the tournament?” The answer is yes, and after years of heartbreak, the Hoosiers deserve it.
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS UNDERSTANDS THE MOMENT
At its core, basketball is not a one-on-one sport. But matchups matter and it’s hard for players to ignore the battles they have against peers at their position. Trayce Jackson-Davis has struggled on both ends against 7-footers throughout his career, but he’s shown out against two of them in back-to-back battles this week.
Jackson-Davis had 21 points Friday against Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn, with 15 coming in the second half. This comes after a 24-point effort against Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson on Thursday. Was it perfect? No, Cockburn and Dickinson both had nice offensive outings against IU. But Jackson-Davis’ ability to play at or above their level has been crucial for Indiana in these games.
Jackson-Davis also played the last 30 minutes of Friday's game without a rest. When he had to knock down a pair of foul shots with 26 seconds left, Jackson-Davis stepped to the line and delivered. There’s a lot more to this sport than a matchup between two players, but it sure helps when your best player wins those matchups.
INDIANA’S OFFENSE JUST HAS TO BE AVERAGE
We’ve all heard the cliché: “Defense wins championships.” Indiana has the best defense in the Big Ten, and the team still finished ninth in the conference. That shows how atrocious the offense has been at times.
Against Illinois, IU’s offense wasn’t great, but it wasn’t atrocious. The national average for points per possession is nearly 1.02 points per possession. Indiana scored 0.98 points per possession (65 points) against Illinois. During the team’s five-game losing streak in February, the Hoosiers averaged 0.88 points per possession.
Illinois shot 35.7 percent from the field on Friday due to Indiana's outstanding defense. Only two Illinois players, Cockburn and Coleman Hawkins, were really able to get anything going offensively. The rotations, closeouts and screen navigation were all excellent for Indiana against Illinois.
IU’s defense is so special that it doesn’t need to score like an Iowa or Purdue needs to. But it can’t be atrocious. Against the Illini, Indiana’s offense was a little bit worse than average, and that’s good enough to win games.
THIS TEAM CAN WIN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
Think about the remaining teams in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers controlled most of the game against Iowa before a meltdown, they beat Purdue once and lost by just two at Mackey Arena last Saturday, they lost two close games to Wisconsin and they split the season series with Penn State and dominated the Nittany Lions on Jan. 26.
The only team remaining that Indiana didn’t compete with is Michigan State. The Spartans beat IU 76-61 in East Lansing on Feb. 12. And while IU got blown out by Michigan State, the Spartans haven’t exactly looked like world-beaters (just 21-11) this season.
Beating Illinois was the most improbable part of the week for this team, and they managed to do it. There’s no reason to believe Indiana can’t win another two games this weekend. The Hoosiers might end up losing due to fatigue rather than being outplayed.
The players and coaching staff sure believe that IU can get the job done. As Trayce Jackson-Davis said, “We didn’t pack for two days, we didn’t pack for three days. We packed to win the Big Ten.” This might be the most confidence an Indiana team has had in years, and they’ll take that confidence into Saturday's bout with Iowa.
(03/10/22 9:36pm)
INDIANAPOLIS -- With 11:50 left in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, it looked like Michigan was in control and ready to knock Indiana out of this tournament again. The Wolverines led 60-43 heading into the under-12 media timeout.
But in front of a disgruntled Indiana-heavy crowd, the Hoosiers rallied and closed the game with a 28-4 run, winning 74-69. Here are three takeaways from IU’s thrilling victory over Michigan.
XAVIER JOHNSON IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER ON THIS TEAM
Xavier Johnson finished the game with a +13 +/-. Jordan Geronimo was the only player in the game with a higher +/-, as he was +21 in just 20 minutes in this one.
Johnson picked up his second foul and was taken out of the game with 11:16 left in the first half. Indiana trailed 15-10 at that point. The rest of the half was a layup line for Michigan, as the Wolverines had 22 points in the paint in the half and shot 13 free throws due to their penetration. None of the Hoosiers’ other perimeter defenders could stay in front of Michigan, making Johnson’s absence huge.
Johnson’s impact goes beyond the box score, which looked pretty good for him anyway. He had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and shot 5-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 on 3s.
But Johnson’s intensity and leadership were just as important as his numbers. There were multiple instances in the second half–even when IU trailed by double digits–where Johnson was seen trying to get the fans and his teammates to bring more spirit to the game.
Trayce Jackson-Davis noted this effort, saying, “on offense, having [Xavier Johnson] right next to me coming off the screens, getting easy lobs, I think that got me going."
That effort ultimately mattered as Johnson was the driving force to the comeback.
THE HOOSIERS ARE MONEY IN TRANSITION
I’ve been saying it all season, but this game truly changed when Indiana got stops and turned those stops into quick and easy buckets. There were eight instances during IU’s run where the Hoosiers attacked in under 15 seconds and either scored or got to the foul line.
This team doesn’t have enough offensive talent to consistently score in the halfcourt, but they have the potential to make magic in transition. With guards as explosive as Johnson and Trey Galloway, and forwards that can gallop down the floor like Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and Jordan Geronimo, fastbreak offense should come rather easily.
The Hoosiers were humming in the open court and it gave the team enough life to come back against the Wolverines.
SMALL BALL LINEUPS WORK
For most of the season, Mike Woodson has played his two slightly-undersized bigs, Race Thompson and Tracye Jackson-Davis together. Woodson usually plays Jordan Geronimo (who is really undersized at just 6-foot-6) at power forward with the 7-foot Michael Durr at center. This was so Durr’s abundance of size and strength could negate what Geronimo lacks in that category.
However, Indiana went small and had a frontline of Geronimo and Jackson-Davis during the huge run. Michigan could no longer get to the basket as easily and the Wolverines struggled to chase around IU’s smaller lineup. The Wolverines also play two large bigs, as Moussa Diabate is 6-foot-1 and Hunter Dickinson is 7-foot-1. Michigan could not keep pace with IU’s small ball.
This was one of the biggest in-game changes that Woodson has made this season. To see him stick with Geronimo and Jackson-Davis for an extended period was unexpected but it yielded good results.
The Hoosiers play a bruising Illinois squad at 11:30 a.m. EST Friday, and we’ll see if they try some smaller lineups yet again.
(02/21/22 2:30pm)
After a 16-5 start and being considered as safely in the NCAA Tournament, the Indiana men’s basketball team has dropped four straight contests. The Hoosiers will now have a rematch with Ohio State on Monday. IU defeated Ohio State 67-51 at Assembly Hall on Jan. 6.
Can the Hoosiers do it again? Here’s a look back at how IU beat the Buckeyes in January and where each team is currently heading.
THE LIDDELL STOPPERS?
Indiana’s defense limited Ohio State to just 51 points and 0.75 points per possession in the Jan. 6 showdown. That’s the Buckeyes’ worst offensive performance by far this season. But were Ohio State’s scoring struggles due to good defense and unlucky shooting, or did Indiana’s defense do that well to shut the Buckeyes down?
It’s been well-documented that Ohio State’s offense runs through forward E.J. Liddell. Liddell is averaging 19.7 points per game this season, as he’s emerged as a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate. But against Indiana, Liddell logged 11 points and was 3-for-12 from the field.
While it is unlikely that Liddell shoots that poorly at home against the Hoosiers, IU’s defense deserves the credit for his struggles in the first matchup. Liddell’s ability to shoot, post up and handle make him a mismatch nightmare for most opponents. But Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis are the rare defenders that contain the strength and athleticism to stick with Liddell.
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Even when Liddell drew mismatches against smaller players, Thompson and Jackson-Davis were on the backline to prevent easy buckets. “It really just comes to playing hard and playing team defense,” Thompson said about guarding Liddell.
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The one part of Liddell’s game that has changed since the first game is his 3-point shooting. Liddell came into the Jan. 6 game shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc, and he shot 1-of-5 against the Hoosiers. Since then, Liddell is making 50 percent of his 3s (20-for-40). Liddell’s improved 3-point shooting brings another aspect for the Hoosiers to worry about on Monday night.
On a team level, Ohio State’s offense is dangerous due to their ball screens and their 3-point shooting. Neither of those showed up against Indiana earlier this season. The Hoosiers consistently stopped any immediate success against the Buckeyes’ ball screen actions.
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The Hoosiers have been inconsistent at times guarding ball screens, but they didn’t allow Ohio State to wreck them with the action. “I thought that when we played Ohio State we handled their pick-and-rolls pretty well.” Mike Woodson said.
Of course, there was the occasional breakdown in IU’s defense.
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If Indiana can defend ball screens with similar success on Monday, then they’ll be set up for success against the Buckeyes. I do believe that IU’s defense matches up well with Ohio State’s offense. The results of that first matchup were nowhere near a fluke, but Ohio State barely reaching 50 points can’t be expected in round two. Indiana should still be able to deliver a strong defensive performance.
PLAYING WITH TEMPO
Indiana’s offense was just mediocre on Jan. 6, as they scored 0.99 points per possession, which is exactly what they average in Big Ten play.
What stood out to me about Indiana’s offense against Ohio State was the pace at which they played. The Buckeyes have an adjusted tempo of 65.5 possessions per 40 minutes. That marks the fourth-slowest pace in the Big Ten. In their last four outings, Ohio State has not had a game with over 63 possessions.
But the Hoosiers did not settle for methodical basketball back in January. In that game, there were 68 possessions. IU was able to get out in transition and expose Ohio State’s lack of athleticism.
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The Buckeyes want to play slow for a reason. They don’t have the type of open-court defenders that can deter fastbreaks. When the Hoosiers decided it was time to run on Jan. 6, there was very little that Ohio State could do about it.
Indiana’s ball movement also shined at times against Ohio State. IU did a fine job at making ball reversals and timely passes, and it led to quite a few buckets.
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Once again, IU’s offense was nowhere near being great in this game. There were still plenty of moments where the Hoosiers were at a standstill.
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IU’s offensive struggles in their first game against Ohio State resembled their offensive struggles all year. The Hoosiers hit only two 3s in this game despite generating open looks. Inside the arc, Indiana was unable to create great opportunities for anyone besides Jackson-Davis.
The offense has been an issue for Indiana all season, and things have only gotten worse as of late. The Hoosiers have now gone five games straight producing under a point per possession. IU hasn’t cracked the 70-point threshold in that span either. IU is shooting just 26.1 percent from 3 in this stretch and 43.6 percent on 2s.
Due to their lack of athleticism and elite rim protection, Ohio State’s defense is far from a stifling one. The Buckeyes’ defense has stumbled just as much as Indiana’s offense has. Although they are traveling to a tough road environment, the Hoosiers’ offense has the chance to bounce back if they execute on Monday.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND KEYS
If the Hoosiers can defend at a level anywhere close to what they did on Jan. 6, they should be in very good shape. Ohio State has a very precise and efficient offense, and they likely remember how pedestrian IU’s defense made them look in the first game.
To limit Ohio State’s offense once again, Indiana will need to contain the Buckeyes’ complex ball screens and reduce E.J. Liddell’s scoring output. Ohio State may knock down more of their outside attempts on Monday, and IU will just need to be prepared to close out on those shots. The Buckeyes shoot 37.6 percent on 3s.
On offense, Indiana has to find Trayce Jackson-Davis some help. Following IU’s loss to Wisconsin, Badgers guard Johnny Davis said that Jackson-Davis “doesn’t really have too much help around him”. Someone on the IU squad had to have seen Davis’ comment, and chances are they weren’t too happy about it. The support that Jackson-Davis gets in the final five games of the regular season will either prove or disprove that statement.
Indiana is desperate to end their current losing streak. Ohio State is coming off an embarrassing defensive performance at home against Iowa. The crowd will be electric in Columbus on Monday night with both teams looking for something to prove. There is a good chance that yet another game comes down to the wire for the Hoosiers.
(02/13/22 12:41am)
The Indiana men’s basketball team took a 76-61 defeat at Michigan State on Saturday.
Here are some quick takeaways from the Hoosiers’ third consecutive loss.
Trayce Jackson-Davis struggles again
After going 7-for-22 in IU’s first two games of the losing streak, Indiana’s star Trayce Jackson-Davis continued his slump, going 5-for-13 against Michigan State. Jackson-Davis has not lived up to his hype recently and it has significantly hurt the Hoosiers.
This is a team that will only go as far as Jackson-Davis goes. Every other player on this squad has had poor games which Indiana has been able to overcome. But besides the Purdue victory, IU won’t be racking up too many wins with Jackson-Davis not being special. Indiana has another two tough matchups ahead of them, and the play of Jackson-Davis will be crucial.
The free-throw disparity made the difference
While Indiana shot 16-for-27 (59.3 percent) at the foul line, Michigan State was 25-for-28 (89.3 percent). This shouldn’t be a surprise, as the Hoosiers came into Saturday's game shooting 68.3 percent at the line on the season. The Spartans entered Saturday shooting 76 percent at the charity stripe.
This has been an issue for Indiana for years and nothing changed on Saturday. Mike Woodson expressed his frustration with free throws postgame, saying, “There’s no excuse for free throws. We've just got to be better in that area.”
With 24 games down in the season, it will be quite the challenge to make those improvements at the line.
The starting lineup isn't the problem, the team is
Mike Woodson finally did it. He changed the starting lineup. Trey Galloway responded to becoming an official starter by scoring…one point. Parker Stewart, who was moved to the second unit, scored four and was 1-for-6 at the free-throw line. Miller Kopp, who many fans wanted to be replaced as a starter, had just three points.
While the starting lineup concerns are valid, the true issue is the overall ability of the players on the current roster. Indiana has too many inconsistent players to compete at the Big Ten level.
Today, Tamar Bates was the team’s best backcourt player offensively, as Bates had 13 points. But we know that won’t be the case on Tuesday against Wisconsin. Why do we know this? Because that’s just how it goes for the guards on this roster. They haven’t shown the ability to put together a string of good offensive performances, and it’s hurting the Hoosiers at the wrong time.
The Khristian Lander experiment might be over
With Rob Phinisee remaining inactive with plantar fasciitis, Khristian Lander was Indiana’s expected backup point guard following his suspension. However, Mike Woodson chose to give Trey Galloway point guard responsibilities for the second game in a row, with Lander playing just one garbage time minute.
Lander has struggled to get consistent playing time all season and Phinisee’s injury was supposed to mean an opportunity for Lander to live up to his five-star status. Now, after being one of five suspended players on Tuesday against Northwestern, it appears that Lander has been iced out of the rotation yet again.
Maybe Woodson looks at this loss and goes back to Lander on Tuesday but currently, the Khristian Lander project looks dim nearing the end of his sophomore season.
This team feels defeated and disconnected
There were one of two ways that Indiana’s roster could respond to the suspension of five teammates. They could band together and go on a run, or let the Northwestern fiasco hamper the remainder of the season.
It’s hard to give a definitive answer of how the players responded after one game, but the response does not look like a positive one at the moment. The tight bond that it felt this team once had may be fading away.
Tuesday night will give us more answers. It’s a home game against a Wisconsin team that embarrassed Indiana in the second half in a 64-59 Badgers victory on Dec. 8.
If this team doesn’t come out with passion and energy against the Badgers, then that should tell you all you need to know about the state of the Hoosiers.