ATLANTA — As Indiana freshman guard Gabe Cupps’ 70-foot heave sailed off target, senior guard Trey Galloway and freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako jogged to the locker room inside State Farm Arena.
Everybody else on Indiana’s bench trudged slowly, still feeling the effects of Auburn University’s dominant 42-12 run to close the first half of Saturday’s game, giving the Tigers a 52-34 lead.
The Hoosiers’ fortunes didn’t change in the second half, as Auburn ran away with a 104-76 victory.
“We’re not ready for big time yet,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said to a staff member while walking off the court into the tunnel after the game.
Indiana (7-2) entered the contest riding a wave of momentum, winning four straight games after its 20-point loss to the University of Connecticut on Nov. 19. The energy showed up early, as the Hoosiers stormed out to a 22-10 lead with 12:54 to play in the first half.
But from thereon, Auburn (6-2) dominated, outscoring Indiana 94-54. The Tigers went on a 33-6 run and scored on 16 of 20 possessions after falling behind by 12. Woodson pointed to Indiana’s bench, which was outscored 41-20 by Auburn, and turnovers, as the Hoosiers had 12 to the Tigers’ three, as key factors in the result.
Perhaps most importantly, Indiana couldn’t match Auburn’s energy, intensity or physicality over the 40-minute event.
“I’d say they were the most physical team tonight,” Woodson said in his postgame press conference. “In a game like this, you’ve got to force more turnovers, get more stops, rebound. I just thought physically, they were the better team tonight.”
Indiana’s far from where it needs to be, but it’s also not disheveled after the 28-point beatdown in Atlanta. The Hoosiers are fresh off consecutive Big Ten wins, both without injured starting point guard Xavier Johnson.
Still, after another uncompetitive loss, Indiana’s at a crossroads – to rally together and correct its errors, or let this feeling linger. Cupps believes his team has the mentality needed to turn a disappointing defeat into a positive experience.
“There’s a good balance of not letting the taste out of your mouth, get beat like this, but then also using it as motivation to practice harder, communicate better, give more effort,” Cupps said. “That’ll allow you to become a better basketball team. Everybody can feel we need to get better, so I think this can bring our team together more.”
Cupps added all the reasons the Hoosiers lost – defensive breakdowns, offensive turnovers and an inability to regain their early energy – are in their own control, which feels indicting now but encouraging for improving future outcomes.
However, there’s another important element to consider: Auburn played extremely well, going 35-of-72 from the field, 14-of-29 from distance and 20-of-23 at the foul stripe with 25 assists to just three turnovers.
Some days, you just get beat. Saturday, Indiana was beaten badly, but Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl believes it’s not an indication of where the Hoosiers stand.
“As you look up and down our roster, virtually every player had a big day,” Pearl said. “And so, I wouldn’t be so hard on IU in the sense that I don’t know right now that we can play much better.”
Pearl also said Johnson’s absence hurt Indiana’s ability to handle Auburn’s press defense, which threw the Hoosiers out of rhythm offensively and led to the swing in momentum that snowballed into the defeat.
Woodson agrees with Pearl’s lack of long-term concern surrounding Indiana’s loss, and while the Hoosiers’ third-year coach is adamant about needing to be better, still boasts a clear sense of optimism about what his squad can accomplish.
“We’ve got a lot of work still left in front of us,” Woodson said. “I’ve always said that. We’ve got to take it a practice at a time, a game at a time and build. This won’t set us back. We’ll rebound from it and keep marching on.”
The Hoosiers have a chance to not only rebound but send a statement when they host the No. 2-ranked Kansas University in Assembly Hall on Dec. 16. The Jayhawks already have three wins over ranked opponents, including a 4-point victory over the same UConn team that ran Indiana out of Madison Square Garden.
As such, Indiana needs to build quickly – especially with Kansas marking the Hoosiers’ final marquee non-conference litmus test before they fully enter conference play.
“At the end of the day, it’s a long season,” Reneau said. “One game’s not going to determine how we play. We bounced back from the UConn game. We’re trying to win the Big Ten. We’re going to go back to the drawing board; we’ve got a week to work on Kansas. That’s what we’re going to do, we’ll go in there and practice hard.”
Last season, Indiana suffered a 14-point non-conference loss to the University of Arizona before playing Kansas the week after. The result was a 22-point road defeat to the Jayhawks. The Hoosiers used it as a learning experience and ultimately finished fourth in the Big Ten.
When punched in the mouth for the first time this season against UConn, Indiana responded, playing an encouraging four games that carried into the first seven minutes Saturday.
Now, the Hoosiers are left searching for answers, with Woodson needing to get his team “ready for big time” – or else, a repeat of both the Auburn game and last year’s loss to Kansas may be in store at next Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. tipoff.
“We’ve got a big week coming up,” Woodson said. “We’ve got to play Kansas; we’ve got a week to prepare. I've got to get us in a better place where we can play a 40-minute ballgame.”
Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
