A look at Oladipo’s use of six ball screens in the latest edition of Film Session.

NO 1) 

Cody Zeller sets a high ball screen for Oladipo:

Oladipo splits the defenders:

Lewis Jackson leaves Remy Abell to stop Oladipo’s straight-line drive to the rim. Oladipo passes to the now-open Abell:

Abell hits a reverse layup for two:

Good help defense by Jackson here, but Oladipo made the right decision and Abell converted.

VIDEO:

NO 2)

Derek Elston attempts to set a high ball screen for Oladipo, but Terone Johnson falls:

Oladipo makes a move on Robbie Hummel:

Oladipo gets a step on Hummel:

Neither Ryne Smith or Sandi Marcius fully commit to help Hummel, and it’s another two for Oladipo:

VIDEO:

3)

With just 10 to go on the shot clock, Pritchard helps to free Oladipo from Anthony Johnson:

Oladipo gets into the lane and jukes Travis Carroll:

And it’s a sweet two:

VIDEO:

4)

Zeller sets a side ball screen for Oladipo:

Oladipo isn’t stopped on the perimeter by a hedge and again is given room to operate:

And he blows past Carroll for another layup:

VIDEO:

5)

Zeller gives Oladipo a ball screen:

Here, Hummel does a nice job of hedging:

And recovering back to Zeller. Yet, Zeller still has a step on Hummel and Oladipo zips a pass in:

Zeller catches ahead of an outstreched Hummel:

And scores:

This was a big play. Purdue had cut Indiana’s lead to just four before this score.

VIDEO:

6)

Zeller sets a faux ball screen for Oladipo, as he doesn’t draw any contact with Johnson:

Oladipo is still able to get by Johnson and head towards the cup:

But Jackson comes to meet him just outside the arc:

So he kicks it to Christian Watford on the opposite wing:

Watford makes the extra pass:

And Remy Abell hits perhaps the biggest shot of his young Indiana career:

Again, Purdue was in striking distance here late in the game. But Oladipo’s drive allowed an advantage for the Hoosiers, and they executed.

VIDEO:

A look a three plays near the top of the key in the first half where Michigan carved the Hoosiers up in the latest edition of Film Session.

NO. 1) A THREE FROM NOVAK

Here we see Jordan Morgan setting a high ball screen for Trey Burke:

Christian Watford, Verdell Jones and Cody Zeller swarm Burke. He loses a bit of a handle on the ball:

But is able to knock it up top to Stu Douglass:

After stumbling, Watford bites on a ball fake from Douglass:

Hulls comes over to stop the ball:

Zach Novak craftily maneuvers into the corner and gets the pass from Douglass:

He hops further into the corner. Rises, fires and hits:

Nice recovery here from Michigan in what almost turned out to be a broken play.

VIDEO:

NO. 2) A LAYUP FOR DOUGLASS

Burke brings the ball up and passes to Douglass. He passes over to Tim Hardaway Jr. on the left wing:

Here we see another screen from Morgan. This time it’s for Douglass:

Roth gets held a bit by Douglass. Derek Elston stays put. This allows Douglass space:

Hardaway  finds him:

Watford isn’t able to get over quick enough. It’s an easy two from Douglass:

VIDEO:

NO. 3) A DUNK FOR HARDAWAY JR.

Here we find a similar setup to the last play, but with different Michigan players. Hardaway Jr. passes it over to Burke on the left wing:

Instead of Morgan being the big setting the screen for him, it’s Evan Smotrycz:

Hardaway Jr. calls for the oop:

And though it’s not a perfect pass, Hardaway Jr. does a pretty stellar job of grabbing and flushing near Elston:

VIDEO:

A look at Pritchard’s offensive contributions in the latest edition of Film Session.

1) PICKIN’ & ROLLIN’ &  SCORIN’ // STEALIN’ & FINISHIN’ ON THE BREAK

Pritchard sets a ball screen for Verdell Jones down in the left corner:

Pritchard rolls to the hole. Jones comes around his screen to the left wing with Zach McCabe hedging:

Jones whips a pass to Pritchard, who’s got a clear path to the rim:

He skies and scores for two:

Iowa left Indiana open at and around the rim all game, and here was Pritchard taking advantage of that fact.

On the ensuing Iowa possession, Pritchard bats down an entry pass from Aaron White:

He comes down with the ball:

And begins to lead the break. After a few dribbles, Pritchard passes to Jones in the middle:

Jones passes back to Pritchard:

Who finishes the rare Pritchard-steals-and-scores-in-transition sequence:

VIDEO:

NO. 2) PUT-BACK DUNK

Jordan Hulls pulls up at the free throw line and passes into Christian Watford:

Watford tries a reverse lay-in:

It hits only the backboard, and comes down right into Pritchard, who is just beginning his ascent:

Dunk!:

Offensive rebounding was a strength of the Hoosiers all game, and because Gabriel Olaseni left Pritchard to defend Watford, he had free range for this put-back.

VIDEO:

BONUS VIDEO: PRITCHARD MAKES HIS THIRD FREE THROW OF THE SEASON:

The Hoosiers used both again in its loss to the Badgers — this time with different results.

A look at these two, as well as an inbounds play, in the latest edition of Film Session.

1) DOUBLE SCREEN

Indiana goes right to this its first possession of the game, similar to how the Hoosiers went to it to start the second half against Penn State. But this time it comes after some earlier action the shot clock, and we have Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford in the high post instead of Watford and Cody Zeller, who’s down on the opposite block:

Watford becomes the roll man with Oladipo flashing out past the 3-point line. Jones, after he comes right off the screen, looks to get it inside to Zeller:

But the angle doesn’t quite match, and it ends up being a turnover for the Hoosiers:

A common theme from the spectator end of Indiana’s offense is “Get The Ball Into Cody!” Perhaps that was the plan to start the game, but it didn’t end up with a touch or bucket in what became a rough night for the big man.

VIDEO:

2) INBOUNDS PLAY

Not sure we’ve highlighted an inbounds play yet this season with Film Session, but here was a successful one. We see the Hoosiers starting in a box. Will Sheehey fakes action towards Zeller and cuts out to the corner. Jordan Hulls starts to curl around Oladipo:

As Hulls makes his way around Oladipo, his man, Mike Bruesewitz, is caught looking at everything going on to his right. Which allows Zeller to sneak in for a pick:

Oladipo flashes to the now unoccupied right block:

Receives the pass from Jones:

And scores the bucket:

It’s been said Tom Crean is good out of timeouts and on inbounds play, and this is an example of that.

VIDEO:

3) CROSS SCREEN

Here, Indiana is set up just as it was against Penn State with four across the wings and free throw line:

This time it’s Watford going across from wing to wing instead of Sheehey:

After Zeller sets a cross screen for Hulls, he again has room to rise and fire just like against the Nittany Lions:

But this time around, Hulls decides to ball fake and go to the hole instead:

He’s able to toss a floater in for two:

Hulls has been deadly behind the arc this season, and the opposing defenses know this. So by getting a defender to bite on a shot, Hulls created an advantage for himself here and went to the rack.

VIDEO:

BONUS VIDEO: ONE OF ZELLER’s “FOULS.” THERE IS NO CONTACT HERE:

A look at three early plays — all of which featured some interesting sets — in the latest edition of Film Session.

1) DOUBLE SCREEN IN THE HIGH POST

Indiana has the ball to start the half, and Cody Zeller and Christian Watford set a double screen for Verdell Jones:

Jones curls around the screens and heads for the paint. Watford flashes out beyond the 3-point line to “The Spot.” Zeller rolls to the rim:

At first, Ross Travis looks to stay in front of Jones (above photo). But he flashes out to mark his man, Watford, which allows Jones a clear lane to the basket:

Jones is met by Jon Graham at the rim, which allows for a miss:

But he left Zeller to try and stop Jones, which allows Zeller to get a putback for two:

VIDEO:

2) DOUBLE SCREEN IN THE HIGH POST, PART DEUX

With just a fast break score inbetween, the Hoosiers set up in an identical fashion on their next half court possession. But instead of Watford, it’s Victor Oladipo up top with Zeller:

Oladipo flashes out to the same spot as Waford. Zeller rolls to the rim. But this time Jones’ penetration is stopped by a hedge off the screen by Graham:

Which leave the other side open for attack. Jones swings it weakside to Oladipo:

Who finds Watford in the corner. He has the option to dump it down quick to Zeller, who now has a mismatch on Tim Frazier after Travis sprints out to contest the three:

Watford, a strong 3-point shooter, elects to shoot. He connects:

With Indiana going to an identical play here so soon, one wonders if the coaching staff saw something to exploit with such a set at halftime and instructed the Hoosiers to go to it early and often.

VIDEO:

 NO. 3) CROSS SCREEN AT THE FREE THROW LINE

Indiana gets out quick in transition a few minutes later, but Penn State does a nice job of recovering. So Jones sets the offense:

Sheehey comes across from the left wing to the right wing as Zeller sets a cross screen for Jordan Hulls at the free throw line:

It frees Hulls enough to rise, fire and hit:

Both the double screens and the cross screen here were effective; they also freed Indiana from that passing-around-the-perimeter-and-maybe-dumping it-into-Zeller offense, which has gone stagnant at times in Big Ten play.

VIDEO: 

A look at three errant passes which turned into points for Nebraska in the latest edition of Film Session.

NO. 1) RICHARDSON HEADS OUT OF BOUNDS

Christian Watford grabs a rebound off a Jordan Hulls missed three:

Watford holds the ball high and sees an open Tom Pritchard:

Watford tries passing over the top of Brandon Richardson, but he deflects the ball up in the air:

Richardson hops out of bounds and saves the ball back to Caleb Walker who passes it up to Bo Spencer:

Hulls fouls Spencer in the act of shooting:

He made both free throws.

VIDEO:

NO. 2) RICHARDSON’S DEFLECTION

Watford gets the ball at the top of the key and makes a move just inside the key:

He stops, looks over and attempts to pass to Hulls. Richardson is at it again on Watford. He deflects the ball, grabs it and heads down the court:

Watford fouls him in the act of shooting:

He converts one of two before halftime.

VIDEO:

NO. 3) HULLS TO SHEEHEY GETS INTERCEPTED

Verdell Jones takes a Nebraska miss up the  court and passes to Hulls on the right wing:

Hulls spots Will Sheehey near the free throw line, who has Toney McCray behind him anticipating the pass:

McCray cuts off the pass for the steal:

McCray takes it up the court and passes to Spencer:

Who puts it in for two:

It was early in the shot clock here, so Hulls could have elected to dribble up top himself to reset the offense. But by passing to Sheehey — who wasn’t quite high enough above the key to have a clear passing lane — it was a turnover for IU and score for Nebraska.

VIDEO:

A look at a play from each of these four factors, as well as an Indiana score tossed in for good measure in the latest edition of Film Session.

1) A SECOND CHANCE

Aaron Craft shoots a three from the corner:

It misses. Christian Watford has inside position on DeShaun Thomas, but the ball hits the backboard after it caromed off the rim and then hits the rim again– making Watford mistime his jump. Thomas snags the rebound behind him as all five Hoosier defenders are below the free throw line:

Thomas initially tosses it back out to Craft, who swings it to just-heating-up Lenzelle Smith Jr. at the top of the key:

Verdell Jones had been marking Smith before the shot went up, but he’s over on the wing now. Smith steps in to take a relatively uncontested 15-footer over Jordan Hulls. It goes in for two:

VIDEO:

2) SMITH DUNKING ON THE BREAK

Craft deflects a Hulls pass to Will Sheehey:

Which is nearly stolen by Thomas:

Sheehey gets space because of Thomas going for the ball. He drives into the paint, but loses it to Sullinger:

Who passes it with his back on the hardwood up to William Buford:

Buford has options and passes it off to Smith (who else)?:

Dunk:

Timeout Hoosiers.

VIDEO:

3) A SPLIT SECOND FOR ZELLER

Tom Pritchard hands it off to Hulls on the right wing and gets a body into Shannon Scott:

Hulls is able to get a step on Scott due to Pritchard’s action. Evan Ravenel, who was marking Pritchard, comes over to stop Hulls’ penetration:

Hulls dishes to the open Pritchard:

Sullinger slides over to disallow an easy hoop from Pritchard. Ravenel recovers back to him as well.

Ohio State’s big men are now both focused on Pritchard. This allows Zeller a sliver of space in a split second to receive a pass from Pritchard and score in the act of getting fouled:

He made the free throw. Nice work all around by Pritchard here.

VIDEO:

A look at some of the Hoosiers’ breakdowns in both man-to-man and 2-3 zone defense in the latest edition of Film Session.

MAN-TO-MAN

1) AHANMISI TO THE HOLE

Elliott Eliason sets a ball screen for Maverick Ahanmisi out near half court:

Maverick is off to the rim past Oladipo. Elston just slides along to the side of him:

Jones doesn’t step up or get a body in front of Ahanmisi. He just swipes in with his right hand:

And it’s an uncontested lay-in for Ahanmisi:

 VIDEO:

NO. 2) WELCH TO THE HOLE

Oladipo plays Julian Welch tight — perhaps too tight — out past the 3-point line:

A move allows Welch to get by Oladipo and he’s playing from behind:

Remy Abell doesn’t use his body but a hand to try and disrupt Welch. Jones is caught behind Joe Coleman’s body:

Welch lays it in for two:

VIDEO:

3) HULLS LOSES HIS MAN

Ralph Samspon III sets a ball screen for Ahanmisi:

Zeller and Oladipo do a good job here and recover to their men. But Jordan Hulls has decided to come over to perhaps help clog the lane and  stop any penetration:

Which leaves the man he was marking, Austin Hollins, alone in the corner. Both Watford and Hulls point to the open man:

Zeller is able to rotate over, but Hollins scores on him:

VIDEO:

2-3 ZONE

1) 3-BALL

After some patient perimeter passing, Oto Osenieks dribbles into the middle of the zone, which collapses the Hoosiers. Hulls, Abell, Zeller and Will Sheehey are nearly all in the paint:

With Hulls and Abell — the two on top of the zone — near the paint, he passes to Ahanmisi at the top of the key:

Ahanmisi ball-fakes Hulls and quickly swings it over to a wide-open Hollins:

Who splashes in a 3-pointer:

VIDEO:

2) DUNK FOR WILLIAMS

Eliason flashes to the middle of the zone and Hollins darts in a pass to him:

With Sheehey coming all the way across the lane to mark Eliason, he dumps the ball over the top of Zeller to Rodney Williams, who’s streaking towards the basket from the basline:

Williams gather and dunks with no one in front of the hoop to challenge:

VIDEO:

3) ANOTHER 3-BALL

Hollins kicks it over to Ahanmisi on the right wing:

Abell stays with him as he drives towards the hoop:

This leaves an opening out on the wing, which Ahanmisi fills as Hulls tries to contest with Eliason blocking his path. And it’s another 3-ball from the Gophers:

VIDEO:

AND WE END WITH AN OBLIGATORY SHOT OF MEG RYAN AND JOHN MELLANCAMP. THEIR LOVE CONTINUES TO BLOSSOM INSIDE ASSEMBLY HALL.

As we’ve noted previously, Indiana is currently the worst defensive team in the Big Ten — it’s allowing 1.11 points per possession and is tied with Iowa, according to StatSheet — and allowed 82 points to Penn State.

So a look at the Hoosiers’ defense is warranted in the latest edition of Film Session.

NO. 1) BLOW-BY

Victor Oladipo sags off Frazier on the perimeter:

Sasa Borovnjak sets a pick for Frazier, but Oladipo goes underneath and easily avoids:

Frazier drops a hesitation move on Oladipo, knocking him off balance:

And it’s an easy deuce for him:

VIDEO:

NO. 2) PULL-UP J

Jordan Hulls pushes the pace and attempts a cross-court pass to Matt Roth, which Cammeron Woodyard deflects:

Woodyard saves the ball from going out of bounds and finds Jermaine Marshall:

Frazier calls for the ball:

Christian Watford sees Hulls between Frazier and the rim, so he doesn’t immediately get in front of Frazier:

Hulls is there, but Frazier opts for a smooth pull-up J, which splashes in for two:

Though Frazier wasn’t at the rim here, Dan Bonner notes on the broadcast that another strength of his is a move such as this.

VIDEO:

NO. 3) IN TRANSITION 

Frazier picks Daniel Moore’s pocket:

Ross Travis snags the ball and passes ahead to a running Frazier with Oladipo hot on his trail:

Frazier makes a nice up-and-under move for two:

Oladipo did a nice job of recovering back, but Frazier was just too good with the ball to stop him.

VIDEO:

 NO. 4) FRAZIER WITH A STRONG FIRST STEP

Remy Abell marks Frazier out on the perimeter:

Borovnjak comes to set a pick, which Abell goes underneath:

Frazier goes back left, then quickly right to get a step on Abell:

Though the freshman plays strong, fundamental D by locking into a spot, standing tall and getting his hands up, Frazier is able to jump stop and hit for two — again showing off his finishing skills:

VIDEO:

BONUS VIDEO: BIG TEN NETWORK’S TOM HART MENTIONS INSIDE THE HALL ON THE BROADCAST:

A look at four plays involving both players in the latest edition of Film Session:

NO. 1) WATFORD DRIVE AND DISH TO ZELLER:

Jordan Hulls brings the ball up the court and passes it to Watford on the left wing:

Hulls gets a bit of a body into Stu Douglass, which allows Watford some space to attack the paint:

Watford takes it into the lane:

Jordan Morgan comes up to stop the ball:

Which leaves Zeller open under the hoop:

He scores and draws a foul, converting the and-1 at the line:

As Dan Dakich said on the call, Watford had just hit a three on a previous possession and had another opportunity for one here. (And probably a pull-up in the lane as well.) But by staying patient and attracting another defender, it gave Indiana a higher-percentage look at the rim. When Zeller is open at the hoop, it goes in at a high clip — often even when he gets fouled in the process as shown here.

VIDEO:

NO. 2) WATFORD TO ZELLER, TAKE TWO

Zeller sets a high ball screen for Hulls:

Hulls comes around to the right wing as Morgan follows:

Morgan recovers back to Zeller as Watford gets the ball on the right block:

Watford makes a curl move around Evan Smotrycz baseline side:

Like play No. 1, Morgan leaves Zeller to get a body between Watford and the hoop. With Douglass stuck behind Zeller, Watford dishes to him:

And he converts for two:

Again, it’s as simple as Watford making a move and attracting another defender. From there, he finds the open man (Zeller) near the hoop for an easy deuce.

VIDEO:

No. 3) SIDE BALL SCREEN

Zeller sets a side ball screen for Verdell Jones:

Morgan — a frequent target of the Hoosiers as we’re seeing yet again — hedges over with Jones, leaving Zeller’s roll to the rim open:

And it’s a dunk for The Handsome One:

Textbook pick-and-roll action here.

VIDEO:

NO. 4) CAUGHT NAPPING

Hulls brings the ball up the court as Novak points over to the wing for someone to pick up Victor Oladipo and perhaps Watford:

As Derek Elston sets a pick for Hulls, Watford is wide open on the wing as Smotrycz and Novak both appear to think they’re marking Elston:

Watford gets the ball with plenty of space:

Steps into the three and connects:

Nothing overly complicated here. But with Michigan falling asleep on D, it allowed a good 3-pointer shooter on a hot shooting night to get an open look.

VIDEO:

A few of Craft’s turnovers came on key possessions, allowing the Hoosiers to capitalize and escape with the W.

An inspection of his six miscues in the lastest edition of Film Session:

Craft’s first turnover came in the midst of Indiana’s 23-13 run to close out the fist half. Here, Cody Zeller continues to slide and move with Craft as he looks to get a body into Zeller and pass around him, creating a travel:

Verdell Jones hit two free throw on the ensuing Indiana possession.

Craft’s second and third miscues also came during Indiana’s first half run and allowed the Hoosiers to go up by a point at half, 33-32. Victor Oladipo played some ahem, crafty on-ball defense, picking Craft’s pocket on back-to-back Ohio State possessions:

Another offensive foul for Craft on his fourth miscue. Derek Elston slides over to cut him off baseline, and Craft lowers his shoulder:

In the closing minute of the game, Craft turned the ball over twice. His first occurred as Jordan Hulls slides over to give Jones some help defense. Craft decides to go airborn between the two of them, turn around and try and pass the ball to Sam Thompson. Hulls is able to recover back and get his hands up, deflecting the pass. From there, Jones gets possession of the ball and finds Oladipo for two and the lead:

On Ohio State’s next possession, Elston does strong defensive work on Sullinger and the Buckeyes don’t get it into him. Craft drives into the right block and attempts a tough one-handed pass around Hulls to Thompson. Thompson is unable to corral it and it goes out of bounds. Hulls is subsequently fouled and hit one of two free throws, extending Indiana’s lead to 72-70:

As Dan Dakich says on the call, Craft got “sped up” here, and it lead to a turnover.

Michigan State turned up the defense and stymied Indiana in the halfcourt — something the Spartans also did in the first half to build their 18-point lead — and got some fastbreak points by turning some of that defense into offense.

A look at two of Michigan’s defensive efforts — as well as an Indiana defensive breakdown — during these crucial five minutes in the latest edition of Film Session:

1) SHOT CLOCK EXPIRES

Seventeen seconds have expired on the shot clock and the Hoosiers have yet to get anything going. Matt Roth looks for Cody Zeller down on the block, but he’s fronted by Adreian Payne:

Roth passes to Victor Oladipo, who also looks for Zeller, but isn’t able to get it into him:

Oladipo passes it to Christian Watford, who gives it back to Oladipo:

Eventually, Verdell Jones looks to re-initiate the offense, but only seven seconds remain:

Zeller comes up to set a pick for Jones, but he ends up trying to drive the other way:

Not able to penetrate, he passes out to Watford:

Because Jones doesn’t space the floor and comes right at Watford, MSU is able to get two defenders around Watford:

He takes a heavily-contested 3-pointer, which doesn’t draw iron as the shot clock expires:

This was one of several occasions where the Hoosiers would pass around the perimeter, look to get Zeller engaged and ultimately have to settle for a less-than-ideal look as the shot clock neared zero.

VIDEO:

2) SLIPPING IN BEHIND THE ZONE

As Indiana sets up in a zone, Draymond Green calls for Payne to set up over on the left block:

Keith Appling passes it over to Brandon Wood:

Wood kicks it back to Appling, who sees Payne slipping in behind the zone:

By the time Zeller realizes it, Payne is dunking it over him for two:

Indiana doesn’t play much zone, and a miscue like this shows a bit of the Hoosiers’ inexperience with it.

VIDEO:

3) FAILED ALLEY-OOP

Watford looks for Zeller, who’s again fronted:

Eventually, the ball makes it over to Oladipo near the left of the top of the key, who calls Jordan Hulls over:

Zeller sets a pick for Oladipo, which frees him going to the hoop:

Hulls lobs it in the air for an alley-oop:

But it’s a bit too short in front of the rim and Payne is able to recover back and snag the ball:

Oladipo fouled him on this play. And with MSU in the bonus, Payne made both free throws. Payne’s defense was key in this game, and this was just one of many examples.

VIDEO:

Start and end here: 30 out of the Hoosiers’ 35 field goals came via a dunk, layup (or close to one) or a 3-pointer (where they shot a strong 64.3 percent). The only five baskets not of this variety? Two Will Sheehey mid-range jumpers; a long two by Christian Watford  for Indiana’s first points of the game; a jumper each from Jordan Hulls and Remy Abell in the second half. Add in the Hoosiers’ 26 points from the line — many of which came on fouls by Howard as the Hoosiers were going up for dunks or layups — and it was a recipe for high efficiency.

Often, the Bison would either double-team/over help and not recover/hedge and not recover or switch on a screen, and Indiana would find the open man for easy buckets. There was also plenty of scoring in transition here, a staple of the Hoosiers’ offense so far this season.

The below video highlights these 30 field goals. Enjoy.

A look at three of his plays in the latest edition of Film Session:

1) ASSIST TO OLADIPO

Zeller looks for the ball in the high post:

Victor Oladipo opts against dumping it in and swings the ball up top to Christian Watford. Zeller sets up in the mid-post on the other side of the paint, and Watford passes it into him:

Zeller makes a move into the paint:

With Jeran Grant turing his back to double-team Zeller, Oladipo slips in behind:

And slams it home for two:

Though Zeller didn’t score here, his ability to attract the defense and make the pass out of a double-team is the reason Indiana scored on this possession.

VIDEO:

2) BLOCK AND BREAK

Zeller blocks Pat Connaughton’s shot:

After a scum for the ball, Notre Dame recovers. With the shot clock winding down, Alex Dragicevich shoots a quick three, one that careens off the backboard. Will Sheehey grabs the longer rebound:

Sheehey outlets to Jordan Hulls. And Zeller, as he often does, has sprinted down the floor. He calls for the ball and Hulls makes the pass:

After a missed lay-in, Zeller tips it back in for two:

VIDEO:

3) PICK AND ROLL

Zeller passes it over to Watford, who’s isolated on the right wing:

Zeller comes and sets a pick for Watford:

Watford appears to go up for a shot and attracts both defenders:

But instead passes out of his shooting motion to Zeller and he easily scores over the smaller Eric Atkins:

VIDEO:

A look at both in the lastest edition of Film Session.

DAVIS’ FOULS

By dumping it into Cody Zeller twice in one minute during the first half, the Hoosiers went right after Davis. He picked up two quick fouls and went to the bench at the 8:03 mark. (Such a transpiring of events makes you wonder why the Hoosiers weren’t giving it to Zeller down low in the closing minutes of the ball game when Davis had four fouls and was guarding him, but I digress.) Davis didn’t play the rest of the first half. Indiana went on a 13-2 run with him out to go up 30-22, but Kentucky was able to score seven quick points in the final 1:55 of the half to close the gap and trail by only one at half, 30-29.

In the second half, Victor Oladipo got his shot blocked by Doron Lamb, but stuck with the play and picked up the third foul on Davis at the 17:35 mark. Davis sat until the 15:50 mark. Indiana went on a 10-0 run with the shot-blocker on the bench to go up 45-35.

Davis’ final foul of the contest was an ill-advised one, hacking Verdell Jones on a 3-point attempt with 12 minutes to go. The Hoosiers were able to maintain a seven-point lead for the duration of his time on the sideline. He entered with 6:28 to go and remained on the floor for the duration of the game.

INDIANA’S SECOND HALF 3-POINTERS

It was a varied attack for the Hoosiers after the intermission. The first two came in transition, one of Indiana’s deadliest scoring situations so far this season. Jordan Hulls pushed the pace off a Terrence Jones turnover to begin the barrage; the second came with Hulls pushing the pace off a rebound.

The third, fourth and fifth came in the flow of the offense. Hulls got free when Jones didn’t hedge a screen; both Christian Watford and Will Sheehey had a bit of space from their defender, fired and connected.

The sixth and final three came via a second-chance opportunity. Zeller rebounded a Watford miss, immediately turned and found Hulls behind the line for the team’s sixth straight three, which put the Hoosiers up 66-57.

(The Davis foul on Jones came during Indiana’s sixth-straight stretch in the second half and he knocked down all three free throws. So one could technically argue that was a seventh straight. And going back to the first half, the Hoosiers also hit their last two 3-pointers, so that would make nine straight by such logic.)

A look at how it was accomplished in the latest edition of Film Session.

1) CODY ZELLER

Out of a sideline inbounds, Zeller gets into the action at the top of the key:

With nothing doing, he goes down to the left block:

Verdell Jones passes over to Jordan Hulls:

With Christian Watford attracting Chris Perez and Adam Pegg in the middle of the lane on the back line of Stetson’s 2-3 zone defense, Zeller and Jones spy each other:

And connect for two:

PLAY IN FULL:

2) VICTOR OLADIPO

Off a baseline inbounds play with 30 seconds left on the shot clock, the Hoosiers don’t get much going. But with nine seconds left, Oladipo calls for Will Sheehey to come over to the top of the key:

Sheehey kicks it over immediately  to Daniel Moore. And when he receives the ball, Oladipo knifes to the hole:

Watford sets a bit of a screen on Stetson’s Willie Green:

Which gives Vic enough room to make the highlight reel:

The fluidity of this here makes you think Vic had a plan from the get-go.

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3) TOM PRITCHARD

Off a Stetson made basket, Daniel Moore brings the ball up the court and passes to Oladipo on the wing. Oladipo gives it back to Moore:

Pritchard is in a similar spot to Zeller on his alley-oop, and Moore, like Jones, sees the opening to slip it behind the back line of defense:

He does and Pritchard slams it home:

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Nothing too complex or fancy with these three alley-oops. This was simply a weakness in Stetson’s defense that Indiana exploited on a few occasions in the victory.

Christian Watford played a large role for the Hoosier during that final stretch. There was a defensive lapse or two, and four of his seven points came at the line off of what some considered two questionable foul calls. (Mark Gottfried is one of these people.)

Still, the Alabama native rose to the occasion by hitting all four of those free throw attempts, and he also snagged four crucial defensive rebounds to keep a good offensive rebounding team in the Wolfpack at bay.

A look at one such rebound before we roll the tape on Watford’s highlights in winning time.

As C.J. Williams launches a three, Watford is out near the free-throw line and doesn’t have inside position on DeShawn Painter:

Watford approaches the basket and gets next to Painter:

Watford simply out jumps and out muscles Painter for the board:

As Greg noted yesterday, Watford talked about bringing more toughness in the second half and challenging himself to close out the game. This rebound is an example of that.

A look at those two possessions, as well as a Victor Oladipo block in the latest edition of Film Session.

1) SMITH’S AIR BALL

Butler isn’t able to get anything going, so Ronald Nored looks to the bench to get another play going with 18 seconds to go on the shot clock:

Andrew Smith uses his body to try and give Nored some separation:

But Oladipo stays with him and he picks up his dribble:

Nored kicks it over to Khyle Marshall, who looks for a posted-up Smith. With Zeller covering Smith, he passes back up to Nored:

With the shot clock winding down, Smith comes up to set a pick for Nored, but it’s not strong enough and Oladipo fights through:

Nored gives it up to Smith, and the big man notices just four seconds remain on the clock:

He fires a contested three — not usually a shot he’d take — and it hits only the backboard as the clock expires:

POSSESSION IN FULL:

2) TIME EXPIRES

After a lot of passing around the perimeter, Smith sets a pick for Jackson Aldridge:

Sheehey switches onto Aldridge, who then passes to Garrett Butcher:

Hulls recovers out to him, so he passes back up top to Aldridge:

With just five seconds left on the shot clock, Aldridge decides to go to the rim:

Sheehey and Zeller are there, and his shot only hits the backboard, thus not re-setting the shot clock:

Butcher is able to snag the rebound, but with Zeller’s big body in front of him, he tries one ball fake before going up with the shot … which comes too late as time expires:

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3) OLADIPO’S BLOCK

The sophomore grabs a rebound and pushes it up the court as Nored pursues from behind:

Oladipo slows down a bit and dribbles high:

Which allows Nored to get the steal:

Nored only has Hulls in front of him, as Oladipo sprints from behind:

Hulls bodies Nored to the left as Oladipo begins to jump:

Oladipo skys in the air and is able to block his shot:

Impressive, LeBron-like move from Oladipo here.

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“They were all in the flow of the game; they were all from great passes,” said the sophomore after the win.

A fitting line for Indiana’s offense through five games.

A deeper look at Sheehey’s buckets in the latest edition of Film Session.

1) DUNK

Cody Zeller gets the ball in the corner and passes to a cutting-under-the-basket Victor Oladipo:

Double-teamed, Oladipo throws a nifty pass to Sheehey:

Who easily dunks it home:

2) LAY-UP

Off a Garnder-Webb make, Jordan Hulls pushes it up the floor, as Sheehey calls for the ball:

Hulls makes the pass:

Sheehey receives it and lays it in for two:

3) PULL-UP IN TRANSITION

Off a Gardner-Webb miss, Hulls against pushes it up the court and passes to Sheehey:

Sheehey pushes it up:

He stops and pops for two:

4) IN TRAFFIC

Verdell Jones passes to an open Jordan Hulls on the right wing:

Hulls makes a move baseline, as Sheehey cuts into the lane from the left wing:

Hulls makes the pass:

Sheehey makes a move and puts it in for two:

5) PICK AND POP

Sheehey sets a pick for Jones:

Jones attracts both defenders, leaving Sheehey open:

Sheehey converts the jumper for his 10th straight point:

Lots of variation on these scores — showing off Sheehey’s offensive versatility.

Video of the five baskets:

Simply put, this team is moving the ball better and finding the open man.

In the latest edition of Film Session, we’ll look at Christian Watford. Once a recipient of the ball in the post and mostly looking to score, Watford is now finding teammates out of the low block and in the paint.

1) SAVANNAH STATE

Cody Zeller has the ball at the top of the key as Christian Watford calls for Remy Abell to come across the court:

Zeller passes it to Verdell Jones on the right wing and Watford comes across to the right block:

Jones dumps it down to Watford as Zeller cuts down to the rim:

Watford makes a move into the lane and spots Zeller:

Zeller scores and gets fouled, later converting the free throw for a three-point play:

Watford could have gone up with the shot. But by passing to Zeller — who’s been absolutely deadly around the rim so far this season — it’s three points for the Hoosiers.

POSSESSION IN FULL:

2) WATFORD TO ZELLER AGAIN

Jones passes back up top to Jordan Hulls:

Against Gardner-Webb’s 1-2-2 zone, Watford flashes to the middle and Hulls passes it to him:

Watford attracts the defense, jumps in the air as if to shoot, then zips it to Zeller:

Who converts for two:

Again, another shot Watford could have probably taken. But by making the extra pass, the Hoosiers get a higher-percentage look from Zeller. This was also reminiscent of Zeller’s high-low pass to Watford against Evansville. But instead of Zeller making the pass to Watford, it was the other way around.

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3) WATFORD TO ELSTON NO. 1

Derek Elston sets a screen for Jones:

Jones dumps it into Watford, as Elston curls to the basket:

Finding two defenders on him, Watford sees Elston’s lane to the hole and passes to him. (Notice Zeller has some space here as well, but Elston is in clearer sight for Watford.):

Elston puts it in for two:

Heady basketball all around here.

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4) WATFORD TO ELSTON NO. 2

Off a Zeller rebound, the Hoosiers are off to the races with Daniel Moore pushing the pace:

Moore passes to Watford:

Watford takes it into the lane, attracts the defense and hits Elston coming off the baseline:

Elston reverses:

And puts it in for two:

A good one to highlight, as Watford is showing the ability to also make strong decisions when the Hoosiers are on the break.

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