The mood following IU’s 83-78 loss to Butler in the Crossroads Classic could only be described as disappointing.
IU Coach Tom Crean and his players were frustrated with the way they performed against the Bulldogs on both ends of the court, but especially on the defensive end.
However, the Hoosiers have a chance to bounce back quickly as they play host to the Delaware State Hornets on Monday.
IU looks to extend its 24-game home winning streak, which is good for fifth in the nation behind Kansas, South Dakota State, Oregon and California.
So far this season Delaware State is 3-9 and boasts just one win away from home, a 79-72 victory over St. John’s on Nov. 29.
IU fell to Butler after its offense struggled to get going in the first half. That problem should be resolved against Delaware State's defense, though, as they give up an average of 75.9 points per game.
After the loss to Butler, junior guard James Blackmon Jr. took some of the blame for the miscues.
“Just really trying to bring it on both ends, get everyone going, and just getting my teammates going, as well,” Blackmon said. “I feel like I could have done a way better job of that, and we fell a little short.”
After IU struggled to contain Butler’s junior forward Kelan Martin, it now faces Delaware State’s junior forward Kavon Waller who does some of the things that Martin does. Waller is Delaware State’s second leading scorer at 11.5 points per game and is shooting 56.9 percent from three.
Delaware State’s leading scorer is sophomore guard Devin Morgan, who is averaging 13.8 points per game. While he has an ability to score, Morgan has not been efficient this season as he is only shooting 39.2 percent from the field because the majority of his shots are from 3-point range. However, he is Delaware State’s best distributor, averaging 3.67 assists per game.
Prior to the Butler loss, IU’s sophomore forward Juwan Morgan was injured in practice, Crean said. Against Delaware State, IU will look to get him and sophomore forward OG Anunoby back in rhythm after the time out due to injury led to up-and-down performances from the pair.
“Juwan never got into the sync,” Crean said after the game. “Juwan wasn't cleared to play until this morning because he got injured in practice the other day, and he wasn't himself. OG's being off affected him, especially in the first half, and trying to find his way, and he got better in the second half, but that's no excuse, those are just things that we dealt with today.”
Getting both players fully healthy will be key for IU heading into Big Ten play, which starts next week.
But, for Crean, an improved showing on the defensive end is of paramount importance after the lackluster effort against Butler.
“As I told the coaches, there's no magic answer, we've got to guard better,” Crean said. “We've got to get our hands up, and I'd like to tell you that it's a lot deeper than that or that it's a lot more schematically involved than that, or it's a lot more detailed than that.”
