There have been two definitive halves to IU’s 2014-15 season.
The first included just one loss to go along with ten wins; the second was a 17-game stretch of inconsistent play, and a team of 11 freshmen and sophomores learning what it’s like to compete in the Big Ten.
The second half of the season began with a 66-51 loss to Rutgers. And it’ll end at 2 p.m. Sunday, with a game against the No. 20 Scarlet Knights (20-8, 11-6) in the Hoosiers’ first ever trip to Piscataway, N.J.
After a 9-point loss to Maryland on Thursday, IU Coach Teri Moren talked about the adjustment it’s been for the conference with the addition of the two East Coast teams. They play with a different style, Moren said.
“They bring size, athleticism,” she said. “The adjustment wasn’t for Maryland or Rutgers, it was the rest of the Big Ten adjusting to those two teams.”
IU (14-14, 4-13) entered the first meeting with Rutgers averaging 84.6 points per game, second to Maryland in the league by just .1 points, along with 18.6 assists. It was the dynamic offense Hoosier fans got used to watching after last season.
Until they hit a shooting slump. And began attacking stronger, more athletic defenses than they had in the first half of the season.
It all started against the Scarlet Knights, when the Hoosiers scored a season-low 51 points and assisted on just seven baskets. That loss was the first of three in a four game stretch. Not too long after, IU went on a four-game losing streak.
The Hoosiers look to end a second four-game skid on Sunday.
Rutgers’ Betnijah Laney, who scored 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the first contest, has had 17 double-doubles this season. During Big Ten play, the senior forward is averaging 16.6 points and 9.5 boards per game.
The way Rutgers plays on the defensive end is something Moren admired following the Dec. 28 meeting. She talked about needing more athletic “pieces” on her team to keep pace with the teams like Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are forcing 19.3 turnovers per game, including 38 miscues against Penn State earlier this year.
That led to 36 points off turnovers. Against Michigan State on Feb. 22, the Spartans turned it over 24 times, resulting in 27 Rutgers points.
The Scarlet Knights are currently on a two-game losing streak of their own, with losses to Michigan State and Northwestern.
Previously, their only Big Ten losses had come to teams that join them now at the top of the conference standings – once each to Ohio State and No. 16 Iowa, and twice to No. 5 Maryland.
Sunday’s game is IU’s final tune-up before the Big Ten Tournament, which begins Wednesday. The Hoosiers, who are guaranteed a spot in the bottom four of the conference, will have to play for a spot in the tournament.
IU versus Rutgers will be broadcast on BTN Plus and can be heard on the IU Radio Network.
