Lack of energy, adjustments prove difference in Indiana basketball’s loss to Auburn

ATLANTA — Dylan Cardwell saw the play coming the entire way.  

The Auburn University senior center was keen on blocking an entry pass to Indiana men’s basketball’s sophomore forward Malik Reneau, who the Hoosiers had tirelessly attempted to run their offense through. 

Cardwell refused to let Reneau push him backward. Indiana freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako lofted a high arching pass a touch ahead of Reneau, who saw the ball trickle past the baseline for a turnover. 

In what proved an encapsulating moment of the Hoosiers’ 104-76 loss to the Tigers Saturday afternoon at the State Farm Arena, Reneau shook his head and trotted away as Cardwell turned to the crowd and created a sword motion by slashing his connected fists from his right shoulder to his left hip. 

“From a physical standpoint, we couldn’t really move the ball,” head coach Mike Woodson said after the loss. “I’m not happy with the way we played tonight.” 

After scurrying to a 22-10 lead in the first eight minutes, Indiana eroded. An insatiable full-court press and lightning-quick transition play gave way to a 42-10 Auburn run to finish the first half.  

The Hoosiers shot 4-of-4 from deep less than four minutes in and proceeded to make just a pair of triples in the remainder of the contest. Early on, Indiana’s rapid ball movement exposed Auburn’s defensive eagerness and produced open looks on the perimeter. 

But energy and effort — as freshman guard Gabe Cupps bemoaned after the game — spearheaded Auburn’s surgical offensive onslaught. In the first half alone, the Tigers drained six triples, and they finished the game with 14. 

“I would say those two are the main factors,” Cupps said. “The bad thing is that those are in our control. The good thing is that those are in our control.” 

Auburn senior guard K.D. Johnson, an Atlanta native who was playing in front of plenty of friends and family Saturday afternoon, became the embodiment of the juxtaposition between the team’s effort levels. 

Johnson came off the bench and scored 14 points, continuously slicing through Indiana’s defense on drives and wreaking havoc on the defensive end. His intensity, which seemed to provide an instantaneous spark every time he entered the game, was magnified. 

With a little under five minutes in the first half, Johnson converted a nifty contested layup attempt to put the Tigers up 10 and drew a foul in the process. Johnson’s eyes turned fiery as he stomped around the basket, pumping his fists and pointing his finger toward his chest. 

Merely seconds later, Reneau turned the ball over on an inbound pass, and Johnson quickly capitalized on the blunder for a layup. Then, just seconds after that, Auburn forced yet another error on an Indiana inbound pass. 

Indiana sophomore guard CJ Gunn, while trying to create separation to receive the pass, extended his arms and pushed Johnson to the floor for an offensive foul. Johnson sprung to his feet, again inviting raucous cheers from the Tiger faithful. 

“They just physically took us out of everything that we wanted to do, so you gotta give them credit,” Woodson said. 

Woodson called the loss a “carbon copy” of Indiana’s 20-point defeat to the University of Connecticut on Nov. 19, but turnovers were a starkly different story against Auburn. In a relatively sluggish offensive affair in New York, the Huskies turned the ball over 14 times. 

Yet, the Tigers played an almost entirely clean game in that regard. Despite dishing out a whopping 25 assists, Auburn committed just a trio of turnovers — a mark that made Johnson turn to freshman guard Aden Holloway and whisper “damn” in the postgame press conference. 

Indiana’s lack of response to Auburn’s consistent pressure was jarring, especially because the Hoosiers saw it coming. Woodson said the Tigers didn’t do much differently than he expected defensively. 

Often the Hoosiers were able to get the ball in play and relieve the pressure, but once they slowed down in half court sets, the offensive production stagnated. Against a supremely athletic Auburn side, Indiana knew it would have to compete in a track meet of sorts. 

And while it succeeded early, Cupps said the Tigers enhanced their on-ball pressure and improved in denying quick passes swinging around the perimeter.  

“That kind of slowed down our offense, which then led to them getting out in transition,” Cupps said. 

Despite the lopsided defeat, Cupps noted an opportunity to grow. He said the team can use the loss as motivation for more effort moving forward. Reneau echoed a similar sentiment. 

He posited the ensuing four wins after the UConn game as reason the Hoosiers could bounce back from Saturday’s beatdown. 

“At the end of the day, it’s a long season,” Reneau said. “One game is not going to determine how we play.” 

Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.