IU Coach Tom Crean said he knew what his team would need to improve to beat Wisconsin Jan. 26 for a second time this season
Limit the turnovers.
It’s the statistic that kept the Badgers in the game at Assembly Hall on Jan. 5, when the Hoosiers pulled out a 1-point win.
Ball security, which was an issue early in the season, had been less of a talking point recently with the Hoosiers’ then 12-game winning streak.
It’s now something the Hoosiers will go back to in preparation for Minnesota, whom they play 2:15 p.m. Saturday at Assembly Hall.
On Tuesday, IU gave the ball away 19 times — the same number of turnovers as their first meeting — and those mistakes led to an 82-79 overtime loss in the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
“We had to get better at taking care of the ball,” Crean said on his radio show Monday night. “So we tried to do different drills and bring different concentrations to it, but at the same time you keep imploring them to understand how simple the game is when you just make the next pass.”
Fifteen of IU’s 19 turnovers against Wisconsin came from the Hoosier starters, which included a team-high five from freshman center Thomas Bryant. He committed four turnovers in the second half before they scored any points.
Junior forward Troy Williams has 60 turnovers this season, the most on the team, followed by senior guard Yogi Ferrell with 58.
“It was the same thing in both games we played them — we had a lot of turnovers,” Ferrell said after the loss to Wisconsin. “That’s what kept them in the game down there, and that’s what kept them in the game here too. We just have to eliminate those.”
Team chemistry growing
Junior forward Collin Hartman called this team the closest group he’s been a part of at IU. Ferrell said it has the best chemistry a team has had since his freshman year.
The Hoosiers had no choice but to play more cohesively when they learned sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr. would be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
In his absence, ball movement on offense and communication on defense have become even more crucial, Crean said.
And his players have risen to the challenge.
“(Team chemistry) is growing because they’re maturing and we’re getting very good leadership and guys aren’t afraid to say something to somebody,” Crean said. “And I think that’s really important.”
Last time against Minnesota
The Hoosiers came away with a 70-63 win against the Golden Gophers when they traveled to Minneapolis Jan. 16.
After a slow offensive start, senior guard Nick Zeisloft hit four straight 3-pointers to help extend IU’s win streak to 10. He finished with 15 points.
Ferrell scored a game-high 20 points with seven assists and six rebounds, while Bryant and senior forward Max Bielfeldt each had 10 points.
Crean called the win against the Gophers a “grow-up game,” as it helped his team realize nothing would come easy in the Big Ten.
Minnesota (6-15, 0-9) is coming off a loss to Purdue and still is searching for its first conference win.
