On an evening the place 4 Indiana basketball gamers scored in double figures and the Hoosiers earned a 19-point win, it could be troublesome to scrounge any obvious issues.
IU moved to 6-0 at residence and 7-2 general with its 76-57 win over Miami (OH) Friday evening inside Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor. The Hoosiers held the RedHawks to 21 second-half factors and rattled off a 12-0 run to seal the outcome.
However dig simply beneath the floor. The identical inconsistencies that plagued Indiana in opposition to UNC Greensboro on Nov. 21 and finally proved catastrophic within the Battle 4 Atlantis event in The Bahamas reappeared Friday evening.
“We managed it early, however we let it slip away,” Mike Woodson stated postgame. “These are rising pains. Whenever you get a group down, you simply bought to maintain stepping and constructing. We didn’t try this early on.”
The script has turn into eerily related: Indiana storms to an early benefit, stumbles into the halftime break and pulls away within the second half. Friday evening was no exception. The Hoosiers have been environment friendly by the primary 10 minutes, and the lineup with junior ahead Malik Reneau and senior heart Oumar Ballo was particularly efficient, however Miami punched proper again.
Since final season, Woodson has lamented the group’s defensive rotations and susceptibility to open 3-point seems to be. Sophomore ahead Mackenzie Mgbako notably struggled in that facet Friday evening, however Indiana appeared a step sluggish to shut out on RedHawk shooters as a group.
Miami’s Reece Potter and Eian Elmer mixed for 5 triples within the first half — 4 of which have been made within the closing seven minutes — and capitalized on Indiana’s lackadaisical tendencies. The RedHawks additionally discovered themselves in favorable positions even on misses, corralling 12 offensive rebounds.
Nonetheless, the defensive lapses weren’t the one difficulty down the first-half stretch.
Sophomore guard Myles Rice turned the ball over twice within the closing 1:15 of the half. Indiana misplaced the ball on two different events roughly two minutes prior.
“Our gamers are nonetheless considering residence run performs,” Woodson stated. “We have been taking probabilities on passes that simply weren’t there and doing issues with the ball off the dribble that simply weren’t there. These are issues that you just bought to repair.
“Transferring ahead, as soon as we begin enjoying Massive Ten basketball, performs like that may actually put you within the gap with these good groups.”
On the half, Indiana led 39-36. Regardless of capturing 44 % from past the arc by the primary 20 minutes, its 9 turnovers overshadowed a powerful early offensive show.
Senior guard Trey Galloway stated the halftime focus was “urgency.” Sadly for the Hoosiers, that’s turn into a recurring theme.
“We shouldn’t go into halftime solely up three,” Galloway stated. “Clearly, we’re a greater group than that.”
Granted, there have been optimistic developments that emerged Friday evening. Ballo logged his finest recreation as a Hoosier, scoring 14 factors to associate with 18 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in 28 minutes.
On protection, he constantly impacted pictures and dominated the glass. On the opposite finish of the ground, his dimension proved merely overwhelming for Miami defenders. When double groups crashed, Ballo tended to search out an open cutter.
Reneau added 19 factors alongside Ballo within the frontcourt, Rice had 17 and Galloway completed with 13. At instances, the Hoosiers’ offense emphasised tempo and excelled in transition. There have been stretches — like early within the recreation — when the revamped fashion Woodson talked about by the offseason was on full show.
Nevertheless, as has been the case lately, opponents have tailored. When Indiana was pressured to decelerate within the halfcourt, its offense sputtered. The RedHawks couldn’t outlast the Hoosiers partly as a result of disparity in dimension, however that’s topic to vary when convention play begins.
“The Massive Ten is large,” Woodson stated. “Everyone’s bought large guys. 4 and fives are big within the Massive Ten. It gained’t be a shock after we play Massive Ten faculties that bought the 5 and 4 that matches Ballo and Malik.”
The query will quickly flip as to if Indiana can regulate and, in that case, how. Its bench was quiet Friday evening, scoring simply 9 mixed factors — senior ahead Luke Goode accounted for all of them. Bryson Tucker cooled off from a sizzling begin to his freshman marketing campaign and his reliance on creating midrange pictures appears at instances misplaced inside the offense.
Whereas senior guard Anthony Leal is primarily utilized for his defensive efforts, the Hoosiers may definitely use an added offensive jolt, with sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle nonetheless sidelined resulting from damage.
These struggles would have been extra regarding if Miami’s success continued into the second half — and Indiana not coasted to an finally snug victory. However the truth that they proceed to reappear in related trend, may conceivably foreshadow what’s to return.
Indiana is aware of it could possibly’t afford for these developments to persist.
“We bought to study fast,” Galloway stated. “We are able to’t have these breakdowns. There was rather a lot tonight. I feel it’s simply our consideration to element and actually focusing and sticking to the sport plan.”
An absence of self-discipline and changes marked Indiana’s dismal performances in opposition to Louisville and Gonzaga in The Bahamas. These video games could have provided a glimpse into how the Hoosiers stack up in opposition to stiffer competitors, however additionally they could have been aberrations.
It’s troublesome to say.
However with Monday’s Massive Ten opener in opposition to Minnesota looming, Indiana will not be capable of rely on dominating smaller put up gamers and rely on opponents’ chilly capturing streaks.
“The Massive Ten is actual,” Galloway stated. “Anyone can win on any given evening. You bought to be ready and follow with urgency and with a objective.”
It may confidently be stated that the Hoosiers have the expertise of an upper-echelon Massive Ten squad. At Indiana’s finest, the backcourt is getting downhill and creating a wide range of pictures. Ballo and Reneau definitely have the make-up of one of many league’s prime frontcourt tandems.
However at its worst, simply take a look at how the Hoosiers closed out Friday evening’s first half. Time will inform which model of Indiana will present up subsequent.
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