Following Indiana men’s basketball’s 89-73 defeat to No. 3 Gonzaga University in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday afternoon, head coach Mike Woodson spoke on what the loss meant for the team’s long-term growth this season.
“We’re still trying to work things out and work through it,” Woodson said postgame. “I’m gonna keep pushing until I get this team where I think it should be.”
Easier said than done.
The Hoosiers weren’t simply beaten in their first two losses of the season, they were outplayed in nearly every facet of the game. While many Americans sat with a plateful of turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving Day, Indiana showcased a complete platter of struggles against the Bulldogs.
Offensive inconsistencies
In their 89-61 first round defeat to the University of Louisville on Wednesday afternoon, the Hoosiers’ Achilles’ heel was clear: turnovers.
Indiana gave 23 extra possessions to the Cardinals, who scored 30 total points off turnovers. Misplaced passes, careless ball-handling and poor offensive decision-making derailed the Hoosiers’ scoring attack from stringing together quality possessions.
“You’re not gonna beat very many teams, turning it over 23 times,” Woodson said following the Louisville loss. “Those are things that are fixable, we got to just clean them up.”
It did. Indiana nearly cut its turnovers in half against the Bulldogs with 12 while forcing 14. Still, the Hoosiers couldn’t match the Bulldogs' scoring. Turnovers weren’t the sole issue — they certainly didn’t help — but a static scoring production from Indiana’s guards translated to a paint-reliant offensive game plan.
Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice, sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle and fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway shot a combined 7 for 37 across the two losses. The Hoosiers repeatedly failed to find perimeter spacing against Gonzaga, shooting 22.2% from beyond the arc.
Aside from sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo’s season-high 25 points, Indiana didn’t have a consistent scorer against the Bulldogs’ defense.
Foul Troubles
Four Hoosiers reached four personal fouls, while the team committed a season-high 22 total fouls. With their only successful offense flowing through the frontcourt, foul trouble left junior forward Malik Reneau and Ballo on the bench for significant portions of the loss.
“Malik didn’t play hardly any the first half with the foul troubles,” Woodson said. “The last few years we struggled with that.”
Reneau fouled out seven times last season and finished with at least four fouls in 16 of the 33 games he appeared in. These aren’t new problems, yet they continue to prevent Woodson’s teams from playing competitive basketball against quality opponents.
With the Hoosiers’ starting bigs off the floor, senior center Langdon Hatton was chosen to fill in. He ended with a -10 plus/minus in six minutes of playing time.
It would’ve been difficult for Indiana to pull off an upset as double-digit underdogs to a top five team with its go-to scorers playing quality minutes. It was impossible with them sitting on the bench.
Defensive lapses
Prior to the Battle 4 Atlantis, Indiana boasted the 30th-best scoring defense among Division I teams. After allowing 89 points in back-to-back outings, that won’t remain the same when the Hoosiers travel back from the Bahamas. Both Louisville and Gonzaga utilized the same recipe to run up the score against Indiana: they attacked the paint.
The Cardinals scored 48 points inside the paint while the Bulldogs tallied 46. It wasn’t hot shooting or contested makes that opened the floodgates against the Hoosiers, but it was high percentage looks close to the rim.
“We’re not connected right now defensively,” Woodson said.
If the Hoosiers’ fourth year head coach wants to get his team “where they should be,” maintaining a defensive presence around the rim is a good place to start.
Indiana will wrap up its three-game tournament in the Bahamas at 11 a.m. Friday against the losers of Thursday night’s game between Providence College and Davidson College. Should the Hoosiers lose Friday, they would finish eighth in the 8-team bracket.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
