Indiana’s efficient performance leads to a win against Sam Houston State

  • Dec 4, 2024 8:27 am in

After a Bahamas trip riddled with poor play, Indiana needed a rejuvenating performance upon its return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The focus was on the little things to overcome the difficulties of Thanksgiving week in Battle 4 Atlantis. The Hoosiers suffered two eye-opening losses to Louisville and Gonzaga in that event.

After beating Providence before departing Paradise Island, Indiana was sharp Tuesday night and easily defeated Sam Houston State 97-71.

Indiana shot better than 62 percent in the win and nearly 47 percent on 3s.

A spark from Luke Goode in the first half gave the rest of the team offensive juice that carried over into both halves for both the starters and the bench. The first-year Hoosier scored 13 points in the first twenty minutes and ended the game with 18 points, shooting 5-7 from three. The points and 3-pointers made were career highs for Goode.

Goode wasn’t the only one on the floor sparking production.

Indiana’s bench gave the team an offensive punch, finishing with 36 points. Fifth-year senior Anthony Leal embraced his time on the floor, having only played five minutes this season entering the game. The Bloomington South product added strong defense and leadership. The Hoosiers were +39 with Leal on the floor in the victory.

“Just the energy they gave early coming off the bench,” Mike Woodson said postgame of the bench. “I mean, they were into it and did a lot of good things, especially on the defensive end to get us a nice little cushion going into halftime. I thought they had a lot to do with it.”

From the start, Indiana also made its defensive presence known. The Hoosiers provided moments of sound defense in the first half, which made the Bearkats’ shooting half difficult. For a lengthy seven-minute stretch that started at the 13-minute mark, Indiana buried the Bearkats with a 25-3 run. Sam Houston State shot 25.8 percent in the first half.

The Hoosiers also improved their rebounding, a lingering problem entering the game. The Hoosiers, a much taller and more physical team than Sam Houston, thrived on the glass throughout the 40 minutes. Indiana out-rebounded the Bearkats 37-25 on the glass and only allowed three offensive rebounds.

Indiana also did better at taking care of the ball in Tuesday’s win. The Hoosiers have struggled to take care of the ball frequently and it seemed like that would be the case again against Sam Houston. Indiana had nine miscues in the first half but cleaned it up and committed just three in the second half.

On Tuesday night, Indiana had all the moving pieces to comfortably record their sixth win of the season. The Hoosiers’ showing was solid, as struggles from previous games were cleaned up in the matchup against the Bearkats.

“I thought it was a total team effort on everybody’s part,” Woodson said. “Helps when your bench come off and play the way they did. Goode was fantastic tonight, but everybody off the bench played well.”

It was encouraging for the Hoosiers to win a game definitively after coming back from the Bahamas. Indiana’s performance was well-rounded, but it’s about stacking these games for the ones down the road, deeper in the season.

The win doesn’t erase all of Indiana’s problems, but it was a good step toward turning the page after a disappointing trip to the Bahamas.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to who plays the hardest,” Goode said. “I think we just didn’t play the hardest. It’s something we fixed during the week. I think we came out today and played a lot harder on defense. Tweaked a couple things. Coach Woodson obviously saw something that needed to change, and we changed that today. I think it’s continuing to come in every day and be the hardest playing team.”

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