Men's basketball overcomes offensive woes in 71-54 win

Mired in its worst shooting effort of the young season, the IU men’s basketball team turned to less conventional ways of scoring Tuesday.

The Hoosiers shot just 38 percent from the field, including just 33 percent in the first half, but used opportunistic defense and unselfish passing to pull away from Mississippi Valley State in a 71-54 victory at Assembly Hall.

“You’ve got to play through bad offensive nights,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “It’s so hard for a player that puts offense first to continue to do that. Because more often than not, you’re not going to have great offensive nights. It’s not realistic. But to come out and play great team defense, to come out and get better defensively as the game goes on, that’s maturity.”

IU (3-0) collected a season-high 10 steals, scoring 32 points off turnovers and earning 16 assists on 23 total field goals to put away the visiting Delta Devils (0-2). For the first time this season, the Hoosiers won the turnover battle, forcing the Delta Devils into 23 while committing 17 of their own.

Though the opponent left Bloomington without a win so far this year, Crean said Tuesday’s victory will be a highlight for IU’s resume at the year’s end.

“I don’t have any doubt that team continues to get better this year,” he said of the Delta Devils. “That will turn out to be a very good win for us against an NCAA tournament team out of their league.”

Leading by just four after the first half, the Hoosiers’ defensive pressure quickly turned the tide of the game in the second. With 11:48 remaining in the game, IU had already forced two turnovers and held MVSU to just 9 percent shooting and three points.

The IU lead exploded to as high as 23 points midway through the half, and Crean attributed the turnaround to halftime adjustments.

“We were not really reading the game as well, especially with pick-and-rolls,” Crean said of the first half. “We were trying to force the ball into areas where they had good help instead of really taking what they were giving us, and I thought the guys really made a good adjustment there.”

Sophomore forward Christian Watford led all scorers with 18 points and was one rebound shy of back-to-back double-doubles. Sophomore guard Jordan Hulls led the team with five assists, one of them a behind-the-back pass to freshman guard Victor Oladipo.

The victory also marked the end of a stretch of three games in five days for the team. Oladipo, a key contributor off the bench, said the team’s depth aided IU’s first 3-0 start under Crean in the endurance-testing start to the season.

“I think we have probably one of the best benches in the country,” he said. “So I think we need to just be consistent and just let everybody know we do have depth.”

The IU bench distanced itself from MVSU, outscoring the opposing alternates 32-9. Freshman guard-forward Will Sheehey, who shot 4-of-7 from the field with a career-best nine points, said wins come easier when the team has a prepared group of backups.

“We’re pretty energetic. I don’t know if you watch us, but we’re ready to get in there at all times,” Sheehey said. “When we do, we try to just make the most of it. If it’s one minute, two minutes, 10 minutes, everyone’s just looking forward to get on the floor.”