When it comes to priority No. 1 during the offseason, Indiana basketball is two-for-two.
The Hoosiers outrebounded Butler 53-33 at Hinkle Fieldhouse earlier this month, and they followed that up by posting an even larger 53-31 margin against North Carolina at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
IU had 17 offensive rebounds against Butler, and then 20 against the Tar Heels, and produced a total of 42 second chance points in the two games it won by a combined score of 46.
North Carolina coach Michael Malone was frustrated by the way Indiana dominated his team on the boards.
“To be manhandled, to be outworked on the glass was disappointing,” he said after Indiana’s 76-58 win.
Even in exhibitions, the rebounding numbers are eye-popping against fellow high majors, and to put those early results in context, consider this: IU was outrebounded by a total of 121 in its 14 losses last season, or 8.6 per game. In some of the losses the margin was massive, including -18 at Michigan, -17 at Michigan State, -15 at USC, and -14 at Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois.
IU only got double-digit offensive rebounds once last season against a high major opponent — and that was 12 at a an undersized Maryland team.
As his debut season in Bloomington wound towards its end, IU coach Darian DeVries began to acknowledge he felt a lack of size played a role in those 14 losses that caused the Hoosiers to miss the NCAA Tournament. He plugged in two bigs as starters for the first time all season at the Big Ten Tournament, but it was too little too late by that point.
DeVries could not ignore that some of the top teams in the nation last year were top-10 nationally in rebounding margin, including Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, Duke, and Arizona. Five of the top-10 teams in rebounding margin made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and three made the Final Four.
You either match that size, or you get overwhelmed.
So with another roster rebuild ahead of them, IU went about placing a heavy emphasis on the glass.
“It’s been our focus the whole offseason,” DeVries said after the Butler exhibition. “We want to be built for that.”
IU added the tallest player in program history in 7-foot-2 Samet Yigitoglu. He’s proving to be more nimble than you might expect for his massive frame. He can rebound over people, of course, but he’ll also move out of his area and tap an offensive rebound out to a guard.
The Hoosiers have never had a 7-foot power forward until this year either, but that’s how the program lists Aiden Sherrell. When he’s at the four, Sherrell is going to have a size advantage in just about every matchup he’s in too.
Through two games, again, against high major length and athleticism, the results are notable.
Sherrell is averaging 9.5 rebounds including 3.5 on the offensive glass, and Yigitoglu has posted 8.0 and 3.5. Coming off the bench to bolster that duo is Sam Alexis, who has averaged 11.8 rebounds per-40 minutes over his college career.
But DeVries’ focus on rebounding appears to extend beyond his big men. The second-year IU coach had to decide on whether to start Jaeden Mustaf or Bryce Lindsay ahead of the exhibitions. They were both high major starters a year ago, and as Lindsay’s 26 points off the bench against North Carolina highlighted, it was no easy choice.
Part of the decision was the size, defensive presence, physicality, and yes, rebounding ability Mustaf provides. The 6-foot-6 wing has averaged 6.5 rebounds including 2.0 on the offensive end in the exhibitions.
As you may have noted, those massive rebounding deficits a year ago were all on the road. That’s where often shots don’t fall and turnovers pile up. Indiana saw that dynamic play out against North Carolina on Sunday when it shot 36% and coughed it up 15 times. Those are losing numbers on most nights.
Unless of course, you rebound 20 of your own misses and score 17 second chance points.
“We weren’t very clean on the offensive end, but we were still able to overcome it with some offensive rebounding,” DeVries said Sunday. “And like I told them before the game, we’ve been talking about it all summer and fall, this is our identity. This is who we’re going to be. Just embrace it because we’re going to stay on it, stay on it, stay on it. And again, I thought that eventually broke the game open.”
Of course a heavy emphasis on offensive rebounding comes with potential risks when you come up empty.
The more players crashing the offensive glass means less players back in transition.
That’s an area of focus, especially as this Indiana team gets scouted more and more.
“Occasionally you are going to get caught a little bit, maybe with some long rebounds, and maybe it leads to some breakouts,” DeVries said. “So, your transition from going to the glass to getting your defense put back together is a huge priority.
“But I think it’s going to be worth the risk for us, because those second and third opportunities, you score at such a high rate when you get an offensive rebound, whether you just get a putback or a kickout three, that we just feel like if we can get enough quality shots on our first attempt, but then on the ones we do miss, if we can get second and third opportunities, it has a chance to make us an elite offense.”
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