The Minute After: Miami (OH)

  • Dec 6, 2024 10:11 pm in

Thoughts on a 76-57 win against the RedHawks:

Indiana’s bad habits remain.

Let’s start with the turnovers. Indiana had a whole mess of them tonight, turning the ball over on nearly a quarter (23.9 percent) of its possessions for the game. Multiple Hoosiers threw poor, ill-advised passes. Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo lost balls down low. Myles Rice traveled a couple of times. The Hoosiers had more turnovers (16) than assists (15). After tonight’s sloppy performance, IU is turning it over on 19.6 percent of its possessions for the season, which ranks 279th in the country. To put that number in perspective, the last time Indiana finished a season with a turnover percentage higher than 19 was Tom Crean’s last season as head coach in 2016-17 (21.4).

With the early Big Ten slate up next, Indiana needs to value the ball better. Mike Woodson said as much after the game.

“We were taking chances on passes that just weren’t there and doing things off the dribble that just wasn’t there,” he said. “These are things we just gotta fix. Moving forward, once we start playing Big Ten basketball, plays like that can really put you in a hole with these good teams.”

Indiana also had several defensive breakdowns. In the first half, the RedHawks were left wide open on too many 3-pointers. They made the Hoosiers pay, hitting 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) in the first 20 minutes of action. The Hoosiers only made 6-of-18 for the game. Beyond the lack of awareness on 3-pointers, Indiana also got burned on back-door cuts and didn’t communicate on screens and switches well enough, leading to good looks for Miami.

Play-by-play man Connor Onion said on the broadcast that Woodson told him pre-game that he was going to favor the two-big lineup tonight, and he did. Indiana had a big size advantage down low. Reneau (15) and Ballo (eight) took the most field goal attempts for Indiana this evening. Reneau was the leading scorer of the game with 19 points. Ballo added 14, and it could have been better had he converted more at the line (4-of-8). The Arizona transfer also dominated the boards, picking up 18 in the win.

While Indiana did focus on its bigs tonight, Rice still found a way to make an offensive impact. He scored at all three levels and made things happen with his speed and shiftiness. Rice’s first half was particularly stellar. While he did rack up three turnovers, he went 5-of-6 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and scored 14 points. Rice was quieter in the second half to end the game with 17 points.

Trey Galloway hit 3-of-4 from distance. His shot mechanics look improved. He’s now shooting 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range on the season.

After a strong 14-3 start, Indiana let the RedHawks back into the game. The Hoosiers took just a three-point advantage (39-36) into halftime. And a Luke Skaljac 3-pointer at the 10:09 mark of the second half had Miami within five points (55-50). But from then on, Indiana shut the door and Miami went cold. The Hoosiers finished on a 21-7 run to close the game.

It’s a win. But play like this against equal or better competition? Most nights, it’s not gonna get it done.

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