With the shot clock winding down, Indiana men’s basketball freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako tirelessly scurried around the perimeter to hound Wright State University ballhandlers.
Yet, in a sequence that became all too familiar Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Mgbako aided a bit too heavily on a pass and left his man virtually alone on the wing. This time, it was Raider senior guard Andrew Welage.
The Greensburg, Indiana, native collected the pass from redshirt sophomore forward Brandon Noel and spotted up for his shot. He rose before Mgbako could contest and saw the ball swish through the hoop for his fifth triple of the night.
Welage, who hadn’t tallied a shot attempt or a single point in Wright State’s first two contests, torched the Hoosiers for 25 points on 7-10 shooting from 3-point range.
“Just us switching correctly and getting next to a guy before he shoots the basketball,” head coach Mike Woodson said after the game regarding how to solve Indiana’s defensive woes. “That would help.”
In another narrow victory, this time 89-80 over Wright State, the Hoosiers were again susceptible to shots from beyond the arc. The Raiders shot a combined 11-26 from deep — 42% — with Welage and redshirt junior guard Alex Huibregtse accounting for 10 of the 11 makes.
Coming into the season boasting about the team’s defensive upside, Indiana’s first trio of outings have proved worrisome. Against Florida Gulf Coast University on Nov. 7, the Hoosiers allowed 13 made triples at a 38% clip.
Then, against Army West Point on Nov. 12, Indiana surrendered another 13 threes, this time at a 34% rate. The struggles came to a head Thursday night with the Hoosiers allowing yet another double-digit 3-point performance, also surrendering a season high of 80 total points.
“We haven’t put a perfect game together,” Woodson said. “The three ball has been a major concern. We haven’t shot the three ball very well.”
Aside from the defensive miscues, Indiana struggled to make 3-point shots of its own. The Hoosiers shot 3-of-16 from range, a season worst and a continuation of failing to both create quality looks and knock them down.
Through three games, Indiana has yet to sink more than four triples. Mgbako’s 1-of-7 night from deep encapsulated both the freshman’s, and the team’s, persisting struggles. It also added to the mounting disparity in 3-pointers between the Hoosiers and their opponents.
So far, Indiana’s opponents have posted 111 points from the deep ball. Conversely, the Hoosiers have totaled 33. But Thursday night, at least early in the first half, the team’s offense appeared to have temporarily remedied the stagnancy that plagued the first two games.
Indiana jumped out to a comfortable 30-16 lead with 9:45 remaining in the first half, and an increased tempo and pace in transition was one of the main reasons why.
Hot start for @IndianaMBB. ? pic.twitter.com/QEukgCZRmA
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 17, 2023
“That was huge,” sophomore forward Malik Reneau said of the team’s offensive speed early in the game. “I was telling (senior guard Xavier Johnson), if I get the inbounds, we’ve got to push the pace.”
But with around four minutes left before the break, Wright State started to chip into the lead, primarily by way of 3-point shots. It wasn’t just the made shots, though. The Raiders frequently corralled long rebounds and converted them into second chance points.
Indiana’s guards were often beaten to the ball after it took ricochets off the rim, as evidenced by Wright State’s 14 offensive rebounds compared to the Hoosiers’ eight. Johnson and junior guard Trey Galloway only notched one board each.
“I can’t have my starting guards play 26, 28 minutes and get one rebound apiece,” Woodson said. “That just can’t happen. Hell, I can get a rebound at 65 years of age, probably. Stumbling into one.”
Beyond 3-point shooting, Indiana’s offense turned in its most efficient performance of the season. The 89 points were a season-high, and sophomore center Kel’el Ware extended his stretch of impressive play with 22 points and 12 rebounds, including a monstrous alley-oop dunk in the waning sequences of the game.
And still, Wright State hung with the Hoosiers until the end. The team’s effort, something Johnson mentioned after the Army game was lacking, was out in full Thursday night. But in terms of 3-point shots — making them and defending them — tangible success remains scarce.
Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
