Thoughts on a 67-54 win over the Evansville Purple Aces:
Can the Hoosiers put it together for a full 40 minutes?
That’s the challenge heading forward.
After a first half thick with turnovers (12), fouls (three each for Bobby Capobianco, Tom Pritchard and Christian Watford) and only 25 points (thanks to Evansville’s defense taking away perimeter shooting which equaled minimal shot attempts for IU), the Hoosiers put together arguably their finest stretch of the season in the second half — at one point ripping off a 27-2 run on the Purple Aces.
Maurice Creek was a big catalyst. The sophomore hit three 3-pointers early in the second frame (after IU only attempted three the entire first half) and was fouled on another 3-point attempt in which he hit all three free throws.
Creek also scored on a nice left-handed runner off the backboard later in the half, along with another three with just under two minutes left to seal the deal.
For the game, Creek scored 18 points (5-of-10 from the floor, 4-of-7 from three, 5-of-5 from the line).
In addition, IU clamped down hard on defense and Evansville’s offense was stymied for most of the second half.
But most impressive was the way the Hoosiers took care of the ball. After giving it away 12 times in the first 20 minutes, only three miscues occurred in the second half for a total of 15.
As Alex tweeted this morning, IU ranked 329th out of 344 Division I teams in turnover percentage heading into this game. Not very good.
And whether the team builds off the turnover-light second half remains to be seen.
But in a season where turnovers have been a glaring problem, this afternoon’s performance was encouraging.
The four factors: Evansville
For those unfamiliar, here’s some background on the four factors to winning: Established by Dean Oliver, the four factors are building blocks for Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency formula. It’s important to mention, as noted by Stat Sheet, that the factors are not weighted equally. Research shows the best way to weight the numbers is as follows: shooting (40 percent), taking care of the ball (25 percent), offensive rebounding (20 percent), and getting to the line (15 percent).
Here’s a recap of the four factors in Sunday’s 67-54 win over Evansville:
Free throw rate (Free throws attempted divided by field goals attempted): Best performance of the season thus far (62.2 percent) for the Hoosiers here, but they shot themselves in the foot a bit by leaving 13 points at the line (15 of 28). In a close game against a better opponent down the road, those misses could be the difference in a win or loss. But this stat isn’t about makes or misses, it’s about the fact that getting to the line more than your opponent increases your chances to win.
Turnover percentage (Turnovers divided by possessions): Indiana entered the game with a 28.4 turnover percentage, which was 329th out of 344 Division I teams. Not good. Nonetheless, for the second straight game, the Hoosiers turned in a respectable, but not great, performance (23.8 percent). Also of note is the 28.6 percent for Evansville, which was by far the worst performance in three games by the Purple Aces.
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