It was an ominous start for IU.
After dropping three out of four Big Ten conference games, IU desperately needed to get a victory against Rutgers to get its season back on track.
Instead of coming out firing on all cylinders IU let Rutgers get out to a nine-point lead five minutes into Sunday’s game.
IU turned it around after the slow start and beat Rutgers, 76-57, on the back of a reinvigorated offense.
Against Rutgers the 3-point shots weren’t falling for IU, and that has tended to spell doom for IU this season. Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. finished zero-of-eight from beyond the arc, and the team went 4-22 from 3-point range.
“The game is always giving you something,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “The maturity process is when it’s not giving you what you want it to give you, you’ve got to find a way to get something else. We had some open shots, they challenged some shots. We didn’t make as many today.”
The Hoosiers would have to turn to other ways to score to beat the Scarlet Knights.
“It just was one of those nights,” Blackmon said. “I just had to try help the team in a different way and not focus on my shots.”
What Blackmon and the Hoosiers would turn to against Rutgers was driving the ball.
IU dominated down low and scored 42 points in the paint. Blackmon in particular looked to drive, and he finished 6-10 on 2-point shots.
The Hoosiers also were able to get out onto the fast break often as many of their easy points in the paint came after IU forced a turnover. IU had 33 points off Rutgers turnovers. Many of those came on the fast break where IU scored 21 points.
When IU looked sluggish early on, Crean turned to three of his freshmen to help give the Hoosiers a lift. Forward De’ron Davis and guards Devonte Green and Curtis Jones boosted IU’s offense in the first half.
The pair of guards were critical to IU regaining the lead in the first half.
“They bring energy, both of them,” Blackmon said. “When they’re locked into the gameplan and come out like that like they did today, it really gives us a lift.”
While the two only combined for ten points, the offense seemed to move well when they were in the game.
Crean talked about how Davis, Green and Jones all provided the team with a jolt on offense.
“They’re getting better, no question about that,” Crean said. “They’re improving but a long way to go. Long way to go maturity-wise, long way to go understanding that urgency and long way to go when it comes to understanding how efficient you have to be possession by possession.”
With the offense finding a new gear scoring in the paint and on the fast break, IU was able to notch its second conference win of the season. The players think it can help moving forward.
“I feel like any game can do that,” Blackmon said. “Tonight’s win definitely can be that game to get us going.”
