IU dominates Howard for 11-0 start

The IU men’s basketball team had a season high in points, assists and players scoring.

But lost in the hoopla of IU’s best offensive effort of the year was a defensive performance that resulted in a season-low 15 points allowed in the first half.

That defensive lockdown helped lead the No. 17 Hoosiers (11-0) to a 107-50 victory against Howard University (3-9) on Monday night at Assembly Hall.

“Pretty much everything was working because our guys were so locked in to each other,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “They were locked into communication. Their deflections were up. The transition defense was good. They weren’t giving up the dribble, and they were challenging shots.”

While IU was able to limit Howard offensively in the first half, the Hoosiers only led 8-5 at the first media timeout of the game.

Whatever Crean said in that first timeout worked for IU. In the final 16:27 of the first half, Howard was held to 10 points.

“Tom must have gave his team one heck of a speech,” Howard Coach Kevin Nickelberry said.

IU sophomore forward Will Sheehey said a change in defensive mindset is what allowed the Hoosiers to see a change in the results.

“It was just picking up the intensity,” Sheehey said. “Coming in, we knew their sets, and we knew that we had to be active on defense with our hands and talk.”

In addition to putting up just 15 points in the first half, Howard shot 19 percent (6-of-32) percent from the field. There wasn’t a single Howard player that had more than one shot made.

Another area IU was successful in was limiting Howard from scoring on the interior. Howard had six first half points in the paint and attempted two free-throws. Crean said that was a product of denying Howard’s entry passes.

“Our digs were good were off the ball to go into the post,” Crean said. “We didn’t have any breakdowns.”  

The defensive effort came after IU’s 69-58 against Notre Dame on Saturday in which the Irish only made four shots in the first half. IU senior guard Verdell Jones III said IU’s ability to close out on shooters stemmed from a major emphasis in practice.

“It’s what the coaches have been preaching about in the last few games,” Jones said.
“We’ve got to get on the shooters — no short close-outs.  Make them drive, and make them put in on the floor and make shots that way. We’re just working hard, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”

IU continued the defensive success in the second half, forcing 11 second-half turnovers and limiting Howard to 1-of-4 from beyond the arc.

By night’s end, Howard shot 31 percent from the floor and only got to the line 13 times. The Hoosiers outscored Howard 27-4 in points off of turnovers. Not a single Howard player with more than four attempts shot above 50 percent in the game.

Crean said it was exactly the defensive effort he was looking for.

“We wanted to play a 40-minute game, especially on the defensive end, and I think these guys did it,” Crean said. “They came back in the second half, and although the team scored more points obviously than they did in the first, our guys continued to play at a really high level.”