IU’s trio of junior guards has started nearly every game for the Hoosiers so far this season.
Robert Johnson, James Blackmon Jr. and Josh Newkirk are at the core of what makes IU’s offense go.
In IU’s last nonconference home game of the season that offense worked to perfection and all of the starting guards scored in double figures as IU beat Austin Peay, 97-62, Thursday.
Newkirk has been IU’s primary ball handler this season, but in the Butler loss, he struggled and missed eights shots, only tallying one assist. That all changed against Austin Peay.
“I think I played with better pace today,” Newkirk said. “It was more in attack mode. When I saw the defense collide, I just made the simple pass.”
The simple pass was there and Newkirk tallied a career-high 11 assists to go along with his 11 points, giving him the first double-double of his career.
IU’s offense helped thump Austin Peay as the Hoosiers shot a crisp 62.5 percent from the field. The three guards combined for 55 points on 21-of-35 shooting.
“We definitely work well together,” Newkirk said. “We communicate well together and we just like to play well off each other.”
The support for Newkirk from Johnson and Blackmon has always been there. It’s helped him stay positive when things don’t go well and have performances like he did against Austin Peay.
“Really it’s easy because he has a lot confidence in himself,” Blackmon said about Newkirk. “So I never really have seen him down or anything like that.”
Early on in the game, IU struggled to get going and the Hoosiers let the Governors hang around. Whenever IU started to pull away from Austin Peay, the Governors would hit a shot to keep the margin relatively close.
At the under-four minute media timeout in the first half, IU only led by nine points. After that, the Hoosiers started firing on all cylinders and the Governors had no chance.
IU controlled the beginning of the second half, hitting six of its first seven shots. The Hoosier defense also stifled the Governors and helped IU command the second half of the game.
The defensive effort was crucial for shutting down Austin Peay’s attack. IU Coach Tom Crean even used a flash card that said “Don’t Hop” to help remind his team to slide their feet when defending.
“That was a new wave way of trying to get my point across,” Crean said. “I’m not sure I’ll bring it out again, but it made a point.”
The sign worked.
IU held Austin Peay to just 31 points in both halves and the Hoosiers did not give up a 3-point make in the second half. Austin Peay only had eight made field goals the entire second half.
The Hoosiers went on another run late in the game that increased their margin of victory significantly.
In IU’s final tune up before its schedule difficultly ramps up, the Hoosiers' guards are hitting their stride, especially Newkirk.
“He just has to play with a speed mentality and we’ll figure the rest of it out,” Crean said. “Because we are a lot better when he’s playing fast.”
