A few highlights:
Crean “anxious” for Mosquera-Perea
Junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea didn’t play in either of IU’s last two games against Purdue. A suspension and an injury kept him out of those two contests, both of which ?IU lost.
Crean said he was “anxious” to see what Mosquera-Perea can provide against Purdue’s size Thursday.
“It’s going to be critical that he continue to improve for us,” Crean said.
Mosquera-Perea, who is still working his way back from the knee injury that held him out of seven games, played 14 minutes against Minnesota ?on Sunday.
Crean has been wary of working the 6-foot-9 forward back into full game action too quickly, but said his presence on the defensive end has been missed. He’ll be especially important against Purdue’s pair of 7-footers, A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas, on ?Thursday, he said.
“Bottom line is that Hanner’s got to cover a lot of ground. We need him to be a lot more proactive defensively,” Crean said. “When he’s proactive and when he’s in position early and he’s mixing up his coverages, he’s using his length and his speed and his strength, that’s good for us.”
Crean expects even more from the offense
IU’s 18 3-pointers Sunday set not only a program record, but a Big Ten record in conference play. The Hoosiers scored 90 points for the first time since ?Dec. 13.
Even with the outburst of points, Crean said he saw areas for improvement ?on offense.
IU turned the ball over 18 times against Minnesota, its third-highest total of the season.
“We definitely left some points on the table,” ?Crean said.
The Hoosiers don’t run a lot of set plays, instead relying on fluidity and individual talent to see the offense through. That flexibility naturally leads to some streaky offensive ?performance.
“Sometimes there’s set plays, but most of the time, it’s just concepts and actions to play off of with this team,” Crean said.
IU not thinking ?postseason yet
Five games remain in IU’s regular season. Three of those will take place in Assembly Hall, where the Hoosiers are 15-1 this ?season.
Through Monday, IU is tied for fifth place in the Big Ten, one game out of second place. The top four finishers in the conference regular season will receive a double-bye in next month’s Big Ten ?Tournament.
But none of that is a concern, Crean said. He’s trying to keep his team focused on the next game and worry about the postseason when the time comes.
“I haven’t even thought about that, to be honest with you, in the sense of how that would play out,” he said.
The goal, Crean said, is not to win games for the sake of tournament seeding — it’s just to win games.
“If we’re winning every game that we can win, hopefully that will work ?itself out,” Crean said.
Starting lineup still not set in stone
When a fan asked whether Mosquera-Perea would return to the starting lineup or sophomore forward Collin Hartman would remain the starter, Crean said it remains to ?be seen.
“I would give you my stock answer, that we could go a lot of different ways,” Crean said. “That’s really the truth, though.”
Hartman has started all 10 games since Mosquera-Perea suffered a knee ?injury Jan. 12.
The Hoosiers’ offense has been boosted by Hartman’s versatility and shooting ability, but they’ve been unable to replace Mosquera-Perea’s defensive presence and size.
“The bottom line is we have versatility,” Crean said. “We’re not going to get away from spreading the floor, but at the same time, we have to get better defensively.
“The key is to have enough guys that are good enough to start, good enough to come into the middle of the game, but also good enough to close the game. And I would say Hanner and Collin are both in all three of those ?categories.”
