After every game, IU Coach Tom Crean can pinpoint at least one area where his team can get better.
Whether it’s transition defense, like it was Saturday against Minnesota, or creating better shots on offense, there’s always room for improvement.
But there’s one thing Crean hasn’t had to talk about. The Hoosiers (18-4, 8-1) have out-rebounded every conference opponent so far.
With the exception of IU’s first game against Wisconsin when each team collected 27 rebounds, the Hoosiers are +10.8 in rebounding margin through nine Big Ten games as they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, tonight.
“We’ve made a lot of improvement on the glass,” Crean said. “We spend a lot of time at it. They’re athletic, they’re quicker, they’re understanding it more.”
Rebounding became an important factor at the end of a 74-68 win over Minnesota last weekend.
After a 16-point first-half lead evaporated, the Hoosiers found themselves losing by one point with just a couple minutes remaining.
That’s when freshman center Thomas Bryant, who nearly recorded a double-double with 23 points and eight rebounds, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put IU back on top.
It helped swing the momentum back in the Hoosiers’ favor in their eventual eighth conference win.
To Bryant, rebounding is just his job as the Hoosiers’ big man.
“Rebounding is very important to this team,” Bryant said. “When . . . you know you can get in there, you have that mindset, you just have to go in there and get it.”
In addition to what the frontcourt has done on the boards, Crean said without sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr., he needs more guard rebounding. Sophomore guard Rob Johnson had eight rebounds against the Gophers.
Although Johnson hasn’t scored as consistently during Big Ten season, he’s done the little things for IU like defense and rebounding, Crean said.
“We have a number (of rebounds) we want to hit and we don’t hit it very often,” he said. “Rob’s getting a lot done and it doesn’t always show up in his scoring, but it’s showing up in different areas.”
IU is currently fourth in the Big Ten in rebounds per game (38.2), while Michigan is 13th with 32.8 boards per game.
Earlier this season IU used a 50-31 rebounding advantage to beat Ohio State, the third-best rebounding team in the Big Ten, by 25. Against Northwestern — a 32-point win — the Hoosiers out-rebounded the Wildcats 40-23.
Crean said the ability to rebound says a lot about his team’s toughness.
“Your greatest toughness level is your consistency level, right? So going to the glass consistently — that shows they’re pretty tough,” he said. “You show your toughness in different ways, and us getting to the backboards has got to be a huge part of it.”
