IU’s question marks piling up with no time for answers after loss to Gonzaga
NASSAU, Bahamas – When Indiana basketball battled through a slow start and trailed No. 3 Gonzaga by two points with eight minutes left in the first half, it looked like there were signs of a closely contested matchup following Wednesday’s 28-point blowout loss to Louisville.
Then, the wheels fell off.
A 21-2 Zags run broke the game wide open to a point beyond recovery in the eventual 16-point loss, just as the Cardinals had done against the Hoosiers on Wednesday. After entering the Battle 4 Atlantis as the No. 14 team in the country with hopes of picking up some marquee wins, Indiana will now try to scrap its way out by salvaging one win.
“Well, we don’t have time to practice to try to get it fixed,” Woodson said postgame. “We’ll get up early tomorrow, watch some film and prepare for whoever we’re going to play.”
In its first two serious tests of the season, Indiana failed miserably. Question marks and areas of weakness are starting to pile up and time is ticking on whether the Hoosiers can turn it around or if what’s been seen should be expected the rest of the season.
Here are some of IU’s most troubling concerns:
Backcourt deficiencies
Indiana’s backcourt trio of Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle and Trey Galloway was anticipated to be a major improvement over last season’s guard rotation. After they combined to go 1-for-15 from the field with nine turnovers against Louisville, Thursday wasn’t much better.
The trio combined for 16 points and limited its turnovers against Gonzaga, but it was still on 6-for-22 shooting with no 3-pointers. Additionally, the offense has lacked any serious movement or flow. Against the Bulldogs, all they could do was throw it in to Oumar Ballo and hope he would produce.
“I just think the two guards that we played out front these two games have had their way in controlling the game,” Woodson said. “We’ve got to get better guard play, because if we plan on making a good run in the Big Ten, then our guard play is going to (need to) pick up.”
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few attributed the shift in dynamic to controlling the pace – another guard responsibility. If IU wants to pose a threat and dominate inside, it first needs to figure out its play on the outside.
Defensive identity
Woodson has always hung his hat on the defensive end and Louisville and Gonzaga each had their way on the Hoosiers’ defense in all areas.
As each opponent primarily played smaller, guard-heavy lineups, Woodson decided to stick with his two-big Malik Reneau and Ballo combination and paid the price defensively. Both the Cardinals and Bulldogs consistently took advantage of switches or bigger defenders on the perimeter for easy blow-by’s to the basket. Despite Indiana’s clear size advantage in each matchup, it allowed 94 points in the paint in the past two games.
“These last two games our perimeter play has gotten exposed and I’ve got to fix that,” Woodson said. “We’ve got to get guys sitting down and not having miscues in terms of our defensive coverages.”
Despite offseason talk of increased small ball lineups and clear mismatches, Woodson has stuck to his principles. As more teams continue to exploit that, the Hoosiers’ ceiling will cave in unless adjustments are made.
Inconsistent effort
Aside from the 16-0 and eventual 21-2 Gonzaga run that blew the game up, Indiana didn’t play as poorly as it did Wednesday. It actually outscored the Bulldogs in the second half.
However, college basketball is a 40-minute game and as they have in the past, the Hoosiers struggled to give a full-fledged effort throughout the game’s entirety. Whether it was lazy passes without looking, mental lapses, repeated possessions of losing guys defensively or simply being outhustled to the ball, Indiana hasn’t looked like it wanted to win more than its opponents.
“I thought we came out and competed early, then we hit that dry spot right before the half that gave them the cushion,” Woodson said. “Second half, I thought we competed, but again, unfortunately, we’ve got to play two halves, and we weren’t able to put two halves together tonight.”
Whether the coaching staff or players are to be blamed is up for debate, likely a combination of both. Regardless of who is at fault, countless moments of the team conveying a dread to be on the court is uninspiring basketball and the fan base has taken notice.
With a soft non-conference schedule with two conference games sandwiched between them before Big Ten play really picks up, the Hoosiers have one more chance to escape the Bahamas with a win and show a capability of improving and adjusting. If no improvement is shown, a long season may be in store.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
Filed to: Gonzaga Bulldogs