The IU men’s basketball team came out flat offensively Tuesday against No. 17 Texas in the second round of the Maui Invitational in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Hoosiers’ inability to finish around the rim and knock down shots from the field led them to a 66-44 loss to the Longhorns. IU never led in the game.
The loss marks the lowest final score and field goal percentage (23.9%) IU has had in its last 10 seasons. In fact, Texas had more rebounds (48) than IU had points.
“We’re better than we played today,” IU head coach Archie Miller said.
IU came off a 21-point victory over Providence College on Monday where it shot 45% from the field, with 36 points coming from inside the paint. In its game against Texas, IU only had 16 points in the paint.
“To me, this is a game you’re going to have to learn from,” Miller said.
He said the Texas defense really frustrated his players because they had lots of length and were very good around the basket.
Texas head coach Shaka Smart said his goal going into the game was to keep junior forward Race Thompson and sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis under a combined 24 points. The duo only scored 21 total, and instead combined for eight of the team’s 14 turnovers.
“I think Texas, really from the get-go, pushed us, denying wing entries so we couldn’t get reverses in our offense,” Jackson-Davis said. “Coach really talked about going backdoor and trying to make basketball plays, but I don’t think we ever adjusted well.”
Thompson only had four of those points after coming off a career-high 22 points against Providence. He couldn’t finish around the rim and only made one of five attempted field goals.
Miller said senior forward Joey Brunk’s absence on the court really showed.
Jackson-Davis had many looks around the basket, but he only made five shots of 12 attempts. He still finished the game with 17 points.
“I think it’s just me just rushing my shots honestly,” he said. “Some of them I feel like I have pretty good touch on them but they’re bouncing, but I just got to keep my confidence up and just keep going at them because we still got them in foul trouble.”
Miller said they need sophomore forward Jerome Hunter to play better. The 6-foot, 7-inch forward only had one rebound and made one free throw and a 3-pointer. He accounted for four of the team’s six bench points, with the other two coming from freshman guard Trey Galloway.
Even while IU couldn’t finish in the paint, they were able to draw fouls. Texas committed 28 fouls during the game. But the team’s poor shooting extended to the free throw line where it only made 20 of 29 attempts.
When the Hoosiers couldn’t get good looks down low, they pushed the ball out to the perimeter for shots. And those shots typically ended in the same way — the sound of the ball bouncing off the back of the rim and into the hands of the Texas defense. IU didn’t make a 3-pointer until the second half when sophomore guard Armaan Franklin knocked one down.
Behind Jackson-Davis, senior guard Al Durham was the second-highest scorer against Texas with eight points and shot 80% from the free throw line. But with eight minutes left in the game, Durham went up for a layup and came down wrong on his ankle.
He was helped off the court and taken back to the locker room. Miller said he isn’t sure how serious his ankle injury is, but said Durham won’t play Wednesday in the final game of the Maui Invitational.
IU will play Stanford at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday for third place in the tournament.
“I think in tournament’s like these, you gotta move on,” Franklin said. “You got another game in less than 24 hours. You gotta digest what we did today then move whoever we play tomorrow and be ready for that.”
