In the midst of IU’s 12-game win streak and IU’s 7-0 Big Ten start, IU Coach Tom Crean has allowed his team nine turnovers a game.
For every turnover IU commits past nine Tuesday at Wisconsin, players will be forced to run during the next practice.
“The bottom line is these guys are too good to be giving the ball over or back like that, and that’s going to be one of the biggest things going to Wisconsin,” Crean said. “We give them far too many opportunities to score here off of our own mistakes.”
Specifically, the Hoosiers have to run what are called 17s. These are when each player lines up and runs sideline to sideline at least 17 times in 65 seconds.
“I think one time we ran two,” senior guard Yogi Ferrell said. “We bought off one, but we had three at one point in one practice. So it was a tough day.”
In IU’s 89-57 win against Northwestern on Saturday, the Hoosiers committed 10 turnovers. This meant that despite the 32-point win, they still owed a 17 during practice Monday.
While IU steadily outplayed Northwestern, there’s no guarantee this will always happen.
The Hoosiers shot more than 50 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from behind the arc. They can’t always shoot that well, Ferrell said.
“We can’t turn the ball over and have other teams scoring off our turnovers, because one night we could be cold and not everything’s going for us and if we give up those turnovers, it could be hard for us to win,” Ferrell said.
But the focus isn’t entirely on not turning the ball over, Crean said. It’s more based on running the offense well.
He’s focused on the Hoosiers moving the ball well and being active. If they are doing these things, the turnover numbers will decrease.
It really all comes down to making good decisions.
“We just keep talking about the decision making and keep putting them in situations in practice where they have to do different things,” Crean said. “A lot of three on four, four on five things when we can, and that stuff helps them. But, again, when you’re cutting and moving without the ball like that, it shouldn’t be that hard.”
This is especially important against Wisconsin, Crean said.
In IU’s 59-58 win against Wisconsin on Jan. 5, the Hoosiers did struggle offensively. They also struggled holding onto the ball.
The Hoosiers turned the ball over 19 times during the game. IU struggled to find a rhythm offensively, so its superior shooting numbers were neutralized.
IU shot 48.8 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from behind the arc. Comparatively, Wisconsin shot 41.3 percent and 25 percent in those same areas.
So the 17s are really a way to maximize the Hoosiers’ offensive ability. If the focus is there in terms of decision making and offensive movement, IU will be at its best, Crean said.
“We really, really just need to be accurate, right?” Crean said. “If we’re accurate with our ball movement, then we’re going to get good looks. If we get to the glass, we’ve got a chance to get the second shot.”
