IU Coach Tom Crean couldn’t believe it.
Just four days prior to IU’s 94-66 win against Grand Canyon University on Saturday, the Hoosiers had committed 19 turnovers against Louisville in a 20-point drubbing.
Against the Antelopes, IU had four — the fewest in Crean’s seven-year tenure at IU.
“Crazy isn’t it?” Crean said. “That’s beyond belief. We’re going to have to go back through the tape and see if that’s actually accurate. Because man, I’ve never coached a team that had ?that few.”
There’s no secret about it. Turnovers and a lack of rebounding have been weaknesses for IU this season.
Saturday, they became strengths.
IU (8-2) had zero turnovers in the second half and finished with a 5.7 turnover percentage and outrebounded Grand Canyon (4-6) 52-35.
Sophomore forward Troy Williams led IU with eight boards while junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea and junior guard Nick Zeisloft added seven apiece.
Williams insisted that it was about time he and Mosquera-Perea, the tallest players on the team, led IU in rebounding after guards have mostly dominated that area of the stat sheet in ?recent games.
“We’ve got the most ?athleticism on the team to get these rebounds,” Williams said. “We may not be the strongest, but we’re quicker than most big men. We’ve got to use that athleticism and quickness to get more rebounds.”
Uncharacteristically poor shooting and an inability to get the ball into the paint limited the Hoosier offense in the first half, but they still managed to enter halftime with a 42-31 lead.
In the second half, the offense came alive.
Freshman guard James Blackmon Jr. shifted from a bit of a shooting slump to score seven of IU’s first 10 points to start the second ?period.
He finished with a team-high 18 points and said it took a few easy shots to get him going again.
“I feel like I got an easy one to go,” Blackmon said. “After I get the ball to go in, the rim gets bigger and bigger for me. My teammates set me up on a couple easy backdoors, so they kind of got ?me going.”
Despite junior guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell being relegated to the bench at the 17-minute mark with foul trouble for a six-minute stretch, IU went on a 15-7 run without him. An 11-point halftime lead ballooned to a 27-point blowout even in his absence.
Crean credited the more efficient offense due to a dedication of getting the ball into the paint. He said the ball got into the painted area on 37 of 43 possessions.
“They came out in the second half and just attacked us,” Grand Canyon Coach Dan Majerle said. “We didn’t guard at all. Once they got it rolling, it was hard to stop them.”
The blowout win serves as the final tuneup before IU plays Butler in the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis on Saturday. With players having finals throughout the week, IU will have a brief break from playing.
Following IU’s loss to Louisville, Crean talked about IU needing to become stronger rebounders and to take better care of the ball.
Saturday, his team ?responded.
Next time out, he wants to see it again.
“I think that’s a big step,” Crean said, smiling. “What that does is it puts pressure on the players now to know that they can do it again.”
