Roth works to fill offensive void

It wasn’t the typical way for Matt Roth to get going.

Roth got an open look from 3-point range, the place he had scored 82 percent of his points. But instead of pulling the trigger, Roth saw Penn State guard Nick Colella closing out on him and pump-faked. He got Colella in the air, drew the foul and knocked down three free throws for a five-point lead at halftime.

In the second half, Roth went back to his usual way of getting three points. With Penn State focused on stopping IU junior guard Jordan Hulls, Roth went off.
The senior hit five 3’s and scored 19 second-half points to lead IU to its first Big Ten road win in nearly two years.

The performance was an example of how Roth has risen — and fired — in his career. Since sophomore guard Will Sheehey’s injury, Roth has filled his offensive void and averaged 9.4 points per game, shooting 70 percent (12-of-17) from 3-point range.

“I think sometimes his range catches people by surprise,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “You know what? When they adjust to his range, he’ll just back it up a little more. Seriously, not many guys can do that, but he can.”

Like Sheehey, Roth knows about watching games in IU sweats from the bench.
Coming off a freshman season in which he played in all 31 games — eight of which he made three 3-pointers or more — Roth was ready to make the next step in his sophomore season.

For the first time, Roth was bitten by the injury bug. He tore his fifth metatarsal in his right foot during practice at the Puerto Rico Tipoff. Just two games into his sophomore campaign, Roth was shelved for the season.

“It was definitely a huge disappointment for me,” Roth said.

Besides getting his legs under him again, Roth had to regain the stroke that defined him on the court.

“It definitely changed how I moved and really made it difficult to get comfortable again making those cuts and just trusting that everything was good to go and that I wasn’t going to have another problem with it,” Roth said.

The injury stuck him on the sidelines for the first four games of his junior season.

However, Roth slowly returned to his old form. He had three games in which he knocked down four trey balls.

But Roth wasn’t getting the minutes.

After averaging 21 minutes per game as a freshman, Roth averaged only 8.2 minutes as a junior. He was down to 3.4 points per game and made less than half the 3’s he made as a freshman.

But Roth said he adjusted to his post-injury role.

“It’s something I had to embrace and really work on what it was that I was going to bring to the team,” Roth said. “I feel like I did that throughout the course of last year.”

Roth came to IU after setting the Illinois state record for 3-point field goals. He tied the IU single-game record with nine 3-pointers in a 29-point outburst against Ohio State his freshman year.

But entering his senior season, Roth was still searching for playing time.

He was behind a backcourt rotation that included Hulls, Sheehey, senior Verdell Jones III and sophomore Victor Oladipo. He also competed with incoming freshmen Remy Abell and Austin Etherington for minutes.

In IU’s first 10 games, Roth received double-digit minutes once. Roth didn’t see the floor in IU’s buzzer-beater win against then-No. 1 Kentucky or the next game against Notre Dame.

But he said all that mattered was IU’s 11-0 record.

“We were undefeated, and that’s why I came here,” Roth said. “I came here to win, and I know what my role is. I’m confident in my abilities, and I’m confident in my teammates’ abilities. It didn’t matter to me what the stat line said. At the end of the day, did we win, or did we lose?”

On Dec. 21, 2011, IU Athletics released a statement announcing Sheehey was injured in practice and would be sidelined. It wasn’t the break IU needed heading into Big Ten play.

It was the break Roth needed.

The next game, Roth delivered. He knocked down four shots from beyond the arc in a blowout win against the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Crean said Roth’s defensive improvements have enabled him offensively.

“It’s helped him stay on the court,” Crean said of Roth’s defense. “Absolutely, that’s the biggest area.”

It wasn’t the way Roth drew up his career when he signed his IU letter of intent.
He had games like he did against Ohio State his freshman year and last Sunday at Penn State, when he couldn’t miss from beyond the arc.

He had games he watched from the bench, chained to a protective boot.

He had games like those against Kentucky and Notre Dame when he was 100 percent and didn’t take off his warm-ups.    

It’s been an unconventional climb for Roth. But luckily for IU, he’s peaking at the right time.

“It’s had its shares of ups and downs,” Roth said, “but we have a great group of guys. Our coaching staff has done a great job of preparing us day in and day out for what we’re going to face. I couldn’t be happier where I’m at and what we’re doing as a team.”