A mere 10 minutes before Indiana men’s basketball tipped off its nonconference matchup with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon, Mike Woodson was stopped for an interview.
The Big Ten Network’s Stephen Bardo held a microphone to Woodson and asked what was needed for the Hoosiers to come out with a win. Indiana’s fourth-year head coach kept it simple — defense, playing fast and rebounding the ball.
When the final whistle blew nearly two hours later, the Hoosiers walked off the hardwood floor inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with a 74-65 win, but the performance left Woodson dejected.
“We prepared all week for this team,” Woodson said postgame. “Worked on a lot of things. I didn't see a lot of good things from my work that we put in this week. That's kind of discouraging.”
There were three main focuses mentioned prior to the game, and Indiana didn’t fully succeed in any of them. The inconsistency forced a narrow escape in what would have been a devastating Quad 4 loss.
Defense
Indiana’s defense ultimately ended up being the catalyst for the Hoosiers’ victory. Early in the second half, the Hoosiers held Chattanooga scoreless for more than three minutes and took a 61-48 lead, one which provided a much-needed cushion for the rest of the game. That 13-point margin was the largest they managed to create as poor defense prevented them from putting the game out of reach.
On the perimeter, a much smaller yet faster Mocs’ offense created chaos for Indiana. Junior guard Honor Huff led the way with a team-high 20 points, and all six of his made field goals were 3-pointers.
“We had one stretch where we went up 10, and our defense was pretty solid,” Woodson said. “Then we give up a three. That 10, 11-point lead goes back to 7, 8. Those are things you got to eliminate, especially against good teams.”
The Hoosiers trailed by as many as 7 points in the first half, largely due to the Mocs’ 6 for 13 clip from beyond the arc prior to the break.
While the Hoosiers managed to string together spurts of quality defensive possessions, the overall product was lackluster –– a trend with Woodson’s gameplan.
Playing fast
Pace of play has been a talking point for Indiana all season long. With the speedy redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice running the point, pushing the floor and racing for fast break looks was an inevitability.
The results have been mixed this season. Indiana coughs up 13.5 turnovers per game, which ranks 287th among Division I programs. Still, utilizing Rice’s speed in transition has provided the Hoosiers with stretches of offensive dominance.
There’s a fine line between playing fast and playing reckless, and the Hoosiers have had a tendency to straddle it.
Early in the second half, fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway generated a steal at half-court and turned to push up the floor. The veteran Culver, Indiana, native found sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako at the top of the key, who buried the open look. That’s playing fast.
Late in the second half, after Chattanooga had cut Indiana’s lead to 6 points, Rice grabbed the rebound of a missed 3-pointer. He then took a single dribble before hurling a full court pass several feet over Mgbako’s head and off the backboard. That’s playing recklessly.
When asked what needed to change to prevent some of those mistakes, junior forward Malik Reneau got straight to the point.
“Slowing down and trying to execute and just getting the shot every time down,” Reneau said. “Not trying to rush anything and making sure we get a good shot every time we come down the court.”
When the Hoosiers needed it most, speed provided the decisive score. Leading 69-65 with under a minute to go, Rice used his quick first step to accelerate past his assignment and get the rim for a left-handed layup.
Rebounding the ball
Of the three keys Woodson layed out, rebounding was the one executed most effectively as Indiana outrebounded Chattanooga 37-29. It should be noted that the Hoosiers entered with a significant height advantage, but they still used that upper hand to the fullest.
Indiana hauled in 11 offensive rebounds that generated 15 second-chance points. The issue wasn’t on the offensive end, it was crashing the defensive glass, which fell under the radar at times against Chattanooga.
With just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half, the Mocs had three separate chances in a single possession as Indiana failed to close out the stop. Despite playing over 30 seconds of tight defense, the Hoosiers’ inability to squeeze the defensive board resulted in an uncontested layup and 2 points.
The Mocs finished with eight offensive rebounds despite their tallest starter standing at 6-foot 7. Indiana started three players over 6-foot 9.
“It’s on me”
In his postgame press conference, Woodson took blame for the underwhelming performance on seven different occasions.
“I just got to get it fixed,” “I got to keep pushing,” “I got to get us over that” and “I got a lot of work still ahead,” were some of the remarks Woodson made.
While Indiana’s coach is willing to take responsibility for his team’s faults, the product on the floor is how success is gauged. The Hoosiers wearing the Cream and Crimson speak for themselves with their play, and Woodson hasn’t suited up since 1980.
“I think we're trying to do a lot of things, but we're not executing or not doing it the way Coach wants,” Reneau said, shouldering the blame.
When Woodson talked into Bardo’s microphone Saturday afternoon, he made his game plan simple. Despite escaping with the win, Indiana’s inability to achieve the goals laid out by its coach bodes concern with 18 conference games looming.
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.
