IU handles Miami (OH), but heads into Big Ten opener with same inconsistencies
On a night where four Indiana basketball players scored in double figures and the Hoosiers earned a 19-point win, it may be difficult to scrounge any glaring concerns.
IU moved to 6-0 at home and 7-2 overall with its 76-57 win over Miami (OH) Friday night inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers held the RedHawks to 21 second-half points and rattled off a 12-0 run to seal the result.
But dig just beneath the surface. The same inconsistencies that plagued Indiana against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 21 and ultimately proved catastrophic in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas reappeared Friday night.
“We controlled it early, but we let it slip away,” Mike Woodson said postgame. “These are growing pains. When you get a team down, you just got to keep stepping and building. We didn’t do that early on.”
The script has become eerily similar: Indiana storms to an early advantage, stumbles into the halftime break and pulls away in the second half. Friday night was no exception. The Hoosiers were efficient through the first 10 minutes, and the lineup with junior forward Malik Reneau and senior center Oumar Ballo was especially effective, but Miami punched right back.
Since last season, Woodson has lamented the team’s defensive rotations and susceptibility to open 3-point looks. Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako notably struggled in that aspect Friday night, but Indiana appeared a step slow to close out on RedHawk shooters as a team.
Miami’s Reece Potter and Eian Elmer combined for five triples in the first half — four of which were made in the final seven minutes — and capitalized on Indiana’s lackadaisical tendencies. The RedHawks also found themselves in favorable positions even on misses, corralling 12 offensive rebounds.
Still, the defensive lapses weren’t the only issue down the first-half stretch.
Sophomore guard Myles Rice turned the ball over twice in the final 1:15 of the half. Indiana lost the ball on two other occasions roughly two minutes prior.
“Our players are still thinking home run plays,” Woodson said. “We were taking chances on passes that just weren’t there and doing things with the ball off the dribble that just weren’t there. These are things that you got to fix.
“Moving forward, once we start playing Big Ten basketball, plays like that can really put you in the hole with these good teams.”
At the half, Indiana led 39-36. Despite shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc through the first 20 minutes, its nine turnovers overshadowed an impressive early offensive display.
Senior guard Trey Galloway said the halftime focus was “urgency.” Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, that’s become a recurring theme.
“We shouldn’t go into halftime only up three,” Galloway said. “Obviously, we’re a better team than that.”
Granted, there were positive trends that emerged Friday night. Ballo logged his best game as a Hoosier, scoring 14 points to go along with 18 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in 28 minutes.
On defense, he consistently impacted shots and dominated the glass. On the other end of the floor, his size proved simply overwhelming for Miami defenders. When double teams crashed, Ballo tended to find an open cutter.
Reneau added 19 points alongside Ballo in the frontcourt, Rice had 17 and Galloway finished with 13. At times, the Hoosiers’ offense emphasized pace and excelled in transition. There were stretches — like early in the game — when the revamped style Woodson mentioned through the offseason was on full display.
However, as has been the case recently, opponents have adapted. When Indiana was forced to slow down in the halfcourt, its offense sputtered. The RedHawks couldn’t outlast the Hoosiers in part due to the disparity in size, but that’s subject to change when conference play begins.
“The Big Ten is big,” Woodson said. “Everybody’s got big guys. Four and fives are huge in the Big Ten. It won’t be a surprise when we play Big Ten schools that got the five and four that matches Ballo and Malik.”
The question will soon turn to whether Indiana can adjust and, if so, how. Its bench was quiet Friday night, scoring just nine combined points — senior forward Luke Goode accounted for all of them. Bryson Tucker cooled off from a hot start to his freshman campaign and his reliance on creating midrange shots seems at times misplaced within the offense.
While senior guard Anthony Leal is primarily utilized for his defensive efforts, the Hoosiers could certainly use an added offensive jolt, with sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle still sidelined due to injury.
These struggles would have been more concerning if Miami’s success continued into the second half — and Indiana not coasted to an ultimately comfortable victory. But the fact that they continue to reappear in similar fashion, could conceivably foreshadow what’s to come.
Indiana knows it can’t afford for these trends to persist.
“We got to learn quick,” Galloway said. “We can’t have those breakdowns. There was a lot tonight. I think it’s just our attention to detail and really focusing and sticking to the game plan.”
A lack of discipline and adjustments marked Indiana’s dismal performances against Louisville and Gonzaga in The Bahamas. Those games may have offered a glimpse into how the Hoosiers stack up against stiffer competition, but they also may have been aberrations.
It’s difficult to say.
But with Monday’s Big Ten opener against Minnesota looming, Indiana will no longer be able to depend on dominating smaller post players and count on opponents’ cold shooting streaks.
“The Big Ten is real,” Galloway said. “Anybody can win on any given night. You got to be prepared and practice with urgency and with a purpose.”
It can confidently be said that the Hoosiers have the talent of an upper-echelon Big Ten squad. At Indiana’s best, the backcourt is getting downhill and creating a variety of shots. Ballo and Reneau certainly have the makeup of one of the league’s top frontcourt tandems.
But at its worst, just look at how the Hoosiers closed out Friday night’s first half. Time will tell which version of Indiana will show up next.
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