As IU slumped to its fifth-straight defeat Tuesday night, losing 73-66 at Northwestern, the 3-point shooting woes experienced by the Hoosiers became more apparent than at any other time this season.
The four of 21 shooting performance from three-point range by IU was among its worst showings of the season. It was juxtaposed by an efficient display from Northwestern redshirt junior forward Aaron Falzon, who made six of his seven three-point attempts.
While Falzon’s sharp-shooting performance may have been unexpected, IU’s issues with distance shooting have become a common theme.
During the month of January the Hoosiers have made only 24 of their 98 three-point attempts. This mark of less than 25 percent is only slightly worse than the overall 26.8 percent rate IU has converted three-pointers at during Big Ten Conference play.
This ranks IU as the worst team in the Big Ten when it comes to making three-pointers in conference play.
“I think some of it is the way teams are choosing to guard us,” IU Head Coach Archie Miller said after Tuesday’s loss. “Which is to give guys the open look, and some guys got to step up and knock a couple down.”
Of IU’s top-five three-point shooters this season based on attempts, several players have respectable conversion rates. Freshman guard Rob Phinisee, sophomore guard Al Durham and senior forward Juwan Morgan have all made more than 39 percent of their long distance efforts.
But a significant outlier from this group is freshman guard Romeo Langford. While Langford’s early season troubles shooting three-pointers were initially dismissed as a young player still becoming comfortable with the college game, those issues have persisted.
Langford is 15 of 69 on threes this season.
This means opponents can pack defenders in the free-throw lane, limiting both touches for Morgan and the ability of players like Langford and Phinisee to drive to the basket.
Northwestern used this strategy earlier this week, keeping IU’s assist numbers low and forcing the Hoosiers to attempt more than a third of their shots from behind the arc.
“We have to be able to be harder to guard and not as much stationary,” Miller said.
When revisiting the IU players most likely to attempt a three, solid nonconference numbers haven’t translated to Big Ten games.
After missing time with a concussion, Phinisee has struggled to regain his shooting touch, going a combined 4-13 shooting threes in IU’s last three games. Morgan and Langford both make less than 27 percent of their three-pointers in conference play, while Durham has been a recent bright spot by making a three-pointer in four of the last five games.
“We shoot so much every day,” Morgan said. “I know guys are putting in work on their own because I see it.”
One of the few Hoosiers to have success with 3-pointers in conference play is junior guard Devonte Green, who was six of 16 from downtown before being indefinitely suspended Tuesday.
With redshirt senior forward Evan Fitzner having made just two three-pointers in the last two months, IU is without a three-point specialist.
Freshman forward Damezi Anderson is a potential option off the bench. But despite being considered a “three-and-D” player, he’s found it hard to get playing time, having been on the court for just 10 combined minutes in three Big Ten games.
Following the Northwestern game, Morgan cited his conversations with Anderson as an example of how he communicates to younger players they are trusted to take and make shots.
“It just opens up so many things,” Morgan said of successful three-point shooting. “I just think it’s a matter of confidence.”
