It began on the first possession.
After winning the opening tip, No. 14 Indiana men’s basketball began to set up in its half-court offense. However, an errant pass from sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo was tipped by the University of Louisville senior guard Chucky Hepburn, who raced down to the other end of the court for a layup.
On Louisville’s next offensive possession, Hepburn found Terrence Edwards Jr. wide open in the corner, and the fifth-year senior forward drilled a 2-point basket with his foot on the 3-point line.
Louisville’s early lead turned into one it never relinquished, ultimately defeating Indiana 89-61 on Wednesday in the Imperial Arena in Nassau, Bahamas.
It’s overreacting to believe Indiana’s season is already over. But the Hoosiers need to be better, starting as soon as Thursday afternoon when they play next.
The Battle 4 Atlantis provided an opportunity for Indiana to earn marquee nonconference victories, as its only non-Big Ten challenge was against the University of South Carolina on Nov. 21. With a lineup of teams including No. 3 Gonzaga University and No. 24 University of Arizona, Indiana needed to make a run in the tournament to earn those crucial victories.
Louisville provided the first challenge, a team entering the day with one loss –– a blowout 77-55 home defeat to No. 7 University of Tennessee. Given the Volunteers fell to the Hoosiers in a charity exhibition Oct. 27, Indiana seemed highly favored to win, entering the game with a 71% chance of victory according to KenPom.
Remarkably, an Indiana win never seemed possible.
Only two Hoosiers scored in double digits, with junior forward Malik Reneau scoring a game-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Ballo was next with 11 points, 4 of which came within the first three minutes of the game.
Next were the turnovers.
Indiana committed 23, two more than its total number of baskets made. The Hoosiers’ primary ballhandling guards –– sophomore Kanaan Carlyle, redshirt sophomore Myles Rice and fifth-year senior Trey Galloway –– combined for nine giveaways and contributed only 3 points and two assists.
And finally, the 3-point shooting floundered –– a common issue for Indiana squads led by head coach Mike Woodson. The Hoosiers managed a respectable 7 for 20 clip, but that is misleading given three of those makes came in garbage time.
Falling ill to one or two of these problems could be manageable, but committing all three is a recipe for disaster.
“I’m not going to let us forget this game because this was embarrassing,” Woodson said postgame. “You got to give Louisville credit because they played their butts off, but we didn’t play Indiana basketball, I didn’t think.”
It’s not as if we haven’t seen this story played out before.
Almost exactly a year ago, Nov. 19, 2023, the University of Connecticut defeated Indiana 77-57 in the Empire Classic inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. A month and a half later, Auburn University demolished the Hoosiers 104-76 inside State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Two seasons ago, Indiana fell to Arizona 89-75 Dec. 10 inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Now in 2024, Indiana was once again dominated in another nonconference, neutral-venue game. Only this time, it didn’t come at the hands of the back-to-back NCAA Tournament champions or a top tournament team.
That’s what ultimately makes the defeat to Louisville worse –– it’s not UConn, Auburn or Arizona. There’s no excuse when it comes to the Cardinals, a team that has won only 12 times in the previous two seasons.
This is certainly not the same Cardinals squad with new head coach Pat Kelsey and a completely new roster filled with transfers including Hepburn. But Indiana isn’t the same either –– at least, it wasn’t supposed to be.
A top transfer class and key returners were supposed to bring Indiana over the hump it has struggled to hurdle over since its last Sweet 16 appearance in 2013. It’s still possible this is the squad that can do it, as we have seen the talent it has through flashes from Ballo, Rice, Reneau and sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako.
But the defeat to Louisville is a wake-up call. A slap in the face. A message to Woodson and his players that more is needed –– and fast.
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.
