IU defense struggles in loss

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Much of the talk this offseason for IU had been on a re-emphasis on defense.  

So far this season, it’s shown.

But in the Hoosiers’ 88-76 loss to Boston College on Wednesday at Conte Forum, it was nowhere to be found.

The Eagles’ point total is the most IU (6-1) has given up this year. Before its first road game of the season, the previous high was 66 to Northwestern State on Nov. 26.

Boston College (5-2) also shot 51 percent from the field for the game and out rebounded the Hoosiers 32-27.

After his team’s loss, IU coach Tom Crean said the end result came down to two factors: poor on-ball defense and rebounding.  

“The two biggest issues for us were that we did not guard the dribble well enough, and we were not physical enough on the backboards, especially in the first half,” Crean said. “I’m proud of the way we came back. But we’ve got to do a much better job on the glass.”

These issues were most clearly shown in the first half, in which the Hoosiers ended the first 20 minutes down 14 points.

From the get-go, the Eagles attacked down low. Forward Joe Trapani made a couple of big layups, and Boston College’s frontcourt out-muscled junior forward Tom Pritchard and sophomore forward Christian Watford for rebounds.  

Many of those rebounds led to second-chance points. The Eagles ended the contest with 21 such points.

“I think one of the bigger stories of the game was the 21-12 on the second-chance points,” Crean said. “That hurt us.”  

Boston College’s low-post presence opened up shots from the perimeter in the first half. Guards Reggie Jackson and Biko Paris combined for 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

And while second-half offense was a major improvement for IU — 63 percent shooting allowed the Hoosiers to tie the game late — the defense was much of the same.  

Paris continued his hot shooting and ended with 19, while Jackson finished with 27.  
Jackson’s all-around game caught Crean’s eye.

“Reggie Jackson is the toughest matchup that we’ve seen thus far,” Crean said. “Without a doubt, one of the tougher guys we’ve faced going into my third year at Indiana.

“I had a strong appreciation for him going into the game but an even greater one now leaving the game.”

Junior guard Verdell Jones said Jackson and Paris could have been contained with better on-ball defense.

“That’s one of our biggest weaknesses right now,” Jones said. “We got to keep the dribble in front of us. We’ll watch film on that tomorrow, and it’s something we will have to work on in practice.”

Despite the large deficit early, the Hoosiers’ offense did a good job scoring in the
second half.  

But many times after a big basket was made, the IU defense would let up on the next possession and allow the Eagles to take any momentum right back.

“We weren’t rebounding the ball well and weren’t guarding the ball well,” Watford said. “That’s all it was. That was the ball game.”