Hoosiers look to stop three-game skid at Illinois

IU will travel to play Illinois Sunday looking to regroup after an abysmal offensive performance in a loss against Northwestern that left IU Coach Curt Miller questioning the poise of his players.

Against the Wildcats, the Hoosiers shot 21-of-70 (30 percent) from the field and were 6-20 (30 percent) from the free-throw line.

Miller blamed the missed free throws on a lack of confidence, leading to the 58-52 defeat.

After the loss, senior forward Simone Deloach said the Hoosiers need to refocus their efforts before squaring off against the Illini at 2 p.m. Sunday.

“We have to gather as a team and collectively be determined to bounce back,” Deloach said. “This is a tough loss, but we have to refocus and re-get at it.”

Illinois (9-12, 2-6) will test the composure of the Hoosier offense with their unconventional “Buzz” defense.

The 2-3 zone-based “Buzz” is designed to force opposing offenses into using lob passes, allowing defenders ample time to shift and match up.

Because lob passes have the tendency to hang in the air, Illinois defenders have the chance to jump pass routes and steal the ball.

It has led to Illinois forcing a Big Ten-leading 11.3 steals per game.

When IU traveled to Illinois last year, the unconventional Illini zone forced the Hoosiers into committing 25 turnovers.

Those turnovers led to 24 points in a 73-60 defeat.

The Hoosiers (15-6, 2-6) committed only eight turnovers against Northwestern.
Freshman forward Lyndsay Leikem said limiting the turnovers is important, but IU needs to be able to take advantage of limiting turnovers by being efficient elsewhere.

“I think that (limiting turnovers) was really important for us and I’m glad that we limited those, but we still can work on other things,” Leikem said. “If we keep the turnovers down, we can bounce back and do really well against Illinois.”

One of the ways teams typically choose to attack the “Buzz” is from beyond the arc.
The best plan of attack may be relying on freshman guards Larryn Brooks and Taylor Agler to dribble-drive and kick the ball out to an awaiting shooter.

The Hoosiers have attempted the second-most 3-pointers in the Big Ten and are shooting 34.1 percent from behind the arc this season, but struggled against Northwestern despite open looks. Miller said that needs to change.

“This team does not have kids that can make tough shots, so the execution is so vital that you execute to an open shot every time,” Miller said.

At the forefront of the Illinois offense is senior Amber Moore.
 
The 5-foot-11 guard leads the Illini in scoring at 15.9 points per game and 3-point field goals made with 65.

Moore does most of her damage from behind the arc. Her 272 made 3-pointers makes her the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, shattering the previous record of 215 set by Lori Bjork.

Coming off a game where Miller compared his team’s performance against seventh and eighth grade teams he coached in 1986, IU is going to need to turn its offense around if it wants to compete against Illinois.

“You gotta get back up,” Miller said. “We haven’t shot the ball well in a long time and we’ve tried so many different things that sooner or later a kids gotta have some gusto and step up and have confidence in themselves.”

Follow reporter Sam Beishuizen on Twitter @Sam_Beishuizen