The Minute After: Tennessee

Thoughts on a 66-62 win against the Volunteers:

This certainly didn’t have the feel of a charity exhibition.

Indiana and Tennessee both played with intensity. Each squad got after it on defense. Things got chippy at times.

But that didn’t mean this was always pretty, high-level basketball. The first half was rough offensively for both squads. Indiana started the game with four straight turnovers on offense. The Hoosiers missed all 11 of their 3-point attempts. The Volunteers weren’t much better from distance, going just 3-of-20. As each team entered halftime, neither scored over .70 points per possession in the first half (Indiana: .61, Tennessee: .68).

The second half went differently. The shots started to fall more on both sides. Indiana was right in the game, never trailing by more than six. But it wasn’t until the 6:21 mark that the Hoosiers gained the lead courtesy of a Malik Reneau 3-pointer. That put Indiana up 55-54. It was a lead it would never relinquish en route to a four-point victory despite Tennessee threatening a bit down the stretch.

A big reason, perhaps the reason for Indiana’s win? Myles Rice.

The Washington State transfer brings a different dimension to Indiana’s offense. At point guard, his relentless attacking style and quickness opens things up for himself at the rim and his teammates around him. Rice pushed the pace in transition for a couple of buckets this afternoon in Knoxville, but also used high ball screens to free himself downhill for scores. And when the defense swarmed him, he made good reads and found teammates, even if they didn’t always knock down shots around him.

Most importantly, when Indiana needed to make plays in winning time to close the game out, Rice was up to the task. With the shot clock winding down and Indiana nursing a one-point lead, Rice hit a deep jumper with confidence to push the lead to three points at 1:38 to go. On Indiana’s next possession, Rice got into the lane, attracted multiple defenders and found Malik Reneau on the left block, who had plenty of room to dunk the ball home virtually uncontested to push Indiana’s lead to four points with 1:02 to go. Rice then also hit 1-of-2 from the line late in the game over the last 32 seconds twice to help seal it. He finished with 20 points (7-of-14 shooting) and four assists.

Speaking of Reneau, he was also key to this afternoon’s victory. Indiana’s junior led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, hitting the aforementioned 3-pointer and late dunk to keep the Volunteers at bay late. Reneau added eight boards, two assists, three steals and one block as well.

Mackenzie Mgbako was the third Hoosier in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. His attention to detail and intensity on defense are noticeably improved from this time last year. Oumar Ballo scored just six points, but he pulled down 11 rebounds, the only player on the court to post double-digit boards for the contest. Gabe Cupps played some solid minutes as a backup point guard and got to the bucket off the perimeter a couple of times.

Sure, this is just an exhibition game. And Indiana was far from perfect. Still, you can see how things are poised to look different this year. There’s more balance and talent across all positions on the floor. The offense doesn’t feel like such a bogged-down struggle. And the Hoosiers very much looked like they belonged at Tennessee’s level — the No. 12 team in the country to start the season. It’s a team that’s fresh off an SEC title and an Elite Eight appearance. The Volunteers have also had an elite defense the last four seasons under Rick Barnes, finishing fifth or better on KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency. This Indiana performance on the road was also without Trey Galloway, Jakai Newton and Bryson Tucker, who didn’t suit up for the game.

Solid win for the Hoosiers to start the season. We’ll see how things continue to evolve.

(Photo via IU Athletics)

Category: The Minute After

Filed to: Tennessee Volunteers