Defensive lapses and turnovers have plagued IU, prevented sealing games

At times, the Hoosier offense has looked down-right sloppy.\nThey've thrown passes to no one. They've lost their dribble trying to keep a quick pace. Twice their turnover totals climbed into the twenties. And in their two losses, their turnovers have surpasses their assists.\n"Our turnovers are unforced turnovers," said IU coach Mike Davis. "We are dribbling the ball too fast and throwing to people who are not looking."\nThere's been no shortage of culprits either. Senior Marco Killingsworth has turned the ball over five or more times in half the Hoosiers' games. Fellow Auburn transfer and point guard Lewis Monroe has two games with four turnovers, including a three-turnover, zero-assist performance against Duke. And three other players have added four-turnover games of their own this season.\nThe question remains, can it cease?\nThere's no single answer to solving the Hoosiers consistency problem. Amidst a string of four games in 10 days, Davis said a lack of intensity can be cited as the primary culprit for Tuesday's loss to Indiana State.\n"We didn't play with a lot of intensity," he said. "We played like we thought we could win the game at any time."\nWithin the steady stream of opponents has come a multitude of different defensive schemes to overcome. In IU's first couple games, the opposition focused its attention on Killingsworth -- opening up the three-point shot which IU took advantage of. Then Duke came into Assembly Hall and focused entirely on limiting the Hoosiers' open looks from outside. And though Killingsworth had a career night, the 2-10 three-point production left IU just short of an upset. \nSince then, Eastern Michigan and Indiana State have presented the Hoosiers with more zone defense, collapsing on Killingsworth every time he touched the ball. The result -- 24 total points and nine turnovers between the two games. \nBut regardless of what the defense is doing, Davis said most of the turnover blame falls squarely on what IU is doing, not the other team.\n"We have talked about turnovers from day one -- about how they are unforced," he said. "It is hard to overcome that, and still we were in a position to win the (ISU) game despite the turnovers. We just can't play that way. We have addressed it in practice and in meetings. We just have to take care of the basketball."\nHeading into a match up against Kentucky that has been one-sided in recent years, offensive efficiency should prove as crucial as ever. But, again, there's no magic answer. In fact, the way Davis sees it, the solution may be far simpler than one might think.\n"We just have to play basketball," he said. "There is no panic setting in. We just have to play basketball. There isn't any panic if there is no panic within us, and we're not panicking"