The Daily Hoosier
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Trending
    • Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season
    • IU women’s basketball is top-10 in ESPN’s preseason rankings
    • More IU basketball recruiting housekeeping notes as field continues to narrow
    • Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker
    • The Daily Hoosier Report: The Latest in IU News and Recruiting Notes (9/28)
    • Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December
    • Watch: IU football coach Tom Allen with final Thursday thoughts on Maryland
    • IU football refocusing for Maryland following rough performance against Akron
    • Sign Up
    • About/Support
    • Jobs
    • Tickets
      • IUBB Tickets (Stubhub)
      • IUFB Tickets (Stubhub)
    • Shop
      • Official IU Store
      • IU Adidas Store
      • Amazon: Support TDH
      • IU Memorabilia
      • IU Press (Books)
      • The Daily Hoosier T-Shirt
    • Radio/Podcasts
    • Pro IU
      • IUBB NBA
      • IUFB NFL
      • IUBASE MLB
    • Forum
      • Disqus Forum
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    The Daily HoosierThe Daily Hoosier
    Friday, September 29
    • IU Basketball
      • Latest IU Basketball News
      • IU Basketball 2023-24 Schedule
      • IU Basketball 23-24 Roster/Staff
      • Offseason Roster Activity Tracker
      • Scholarship Chart
      • Future Schedules
      • 2022-23 Big Ten Standings
      • 2022-23 IU Basketball Stats
      • Rankings & Bracketology
      • IU Basketball Media Guide
    • IU Football
      • Latest IU Football News
      • IU Football: The 2023 Schedule
      • Roster
      • 2023 IUFB Stats
      • 2023 B1G Standings
      • Future Opponents through 2031
      • IUFB 2023 Media Guide
    • IU Recruiting
      • IU Basketball Recruiting News
      • IU Football Recruiting News
      • IUBB 2024-2026 Prospects
      • Recruit Interviews
      • Recruit Highlights
      • CBB Team Rankings
      • IU Football Recruiting Commits
    • IU Women’s Basketball
      • IU Women’s Basketball News
      • 22-23 Schedule
      • Big Ten Standings
    • IU Men’s Soccer
      • 2022 schedule
      • 2022 NCAA Tournament Bracket
      • Indiana Men’s Soccer: Program History
    • More Hoosiers
      • Fan and Business NIL options
      • IU Baseball
        • Baseball Schedule (links to iuhoosiers.com)
        • 2021 Stats (links to iuhoosiers.com)
        • Big Ten Standings
      • IU Swim & Dive
      • IU Olympic Results
    • Hoosier History
      • March Madness Classics
      • Basketball History
      • Football History
      • IUFB Best Seasons
      • IUFB All-Time Top 10 Players
    The Daily Hoosier

    An Optimistic Take: Indiana Basketball is Halfway There

    Mike SchumannBy Mike SchumannJanuary 5, 2018 IU Basketball 1 Comment
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Throughout the now 15 game 2017-18 Indiana basketball season we’ve heard various perspectives from head coach Archie Miller on the team’s apparent inability to piece together complete games:

    “We were, to be honest with you, soft on the glass,” Indiana coach Archie Miller said. “In the second half, the game really changed on second shots.” (Wisconsin game)

    “Give Louisville credit, they did some good things in the second half,” Indiana first-year coach Archie Miller said. “We had some turnovers the last six minutes that really hurt us.”

    “Really disappointing game for our team,” Miller said. “Give Fort Wayne a lot of credit. Executed their game plan on both ends of the floor really well. Wasn’t close in terms of the approach coming out of halftime. It wasn’t close.”

    And yes, before you even say it, we could have just as well titled this story “Pessimistic Take:  Indiana Cannot Piece Together a Complete Game”.

    Tribune News Service

    We’ve gone back and compared Indiana’s performance in the halves of all of their games and it is clear — this is a real thing.  In several of their games IU has seen a fairly dramatic, to even shockingly dramatic, spread between its first and second half performances:

    • Seton Hall:  Down 1 at the half, lose by 16
    • USF:  Down 1 at the half, win by 17
    • Eastern Michigan:  Up 5 at the half, win by 20
    • Michigan:  Down 13 at the half, lose by 14
    • Iowa:  Up 15 at the half, win by 13
    • Louisville:  Up 1 at the half, lose by 9
    • Fort Wayne:  Up 1 at the half, lose by 20
    • Youngstown State:  Up 9 at the half, win by 28
    • Wisconsin:  Up 3 at the half, lose by 10

    There were other games where merely comparing halves does not tell the complete story:

    • The Howard game was only a 1 point IU lead at the 5:00 mark in the first half
    • Arkansas State was tied with IU at the 8:00 mark of the first half, IU then ran out to a 14 point halftime lead, and then allowed Arkansas State back within 3 at the 8:00 mark of the second half before it proceeded to win by 17.
    • Notre Dame had a 14 point first half lead at the 5:00 minute mark, which IU cut to 1 early in the second half, only to see the Irish stretch it right back out to a 12 point lead over the course of only 2 more minutes.

    If you feel like this season has been exhausting — there’s good reason for that.  Sure, some of this is just the game of basketball.  It is largely a game of runs.  But this has been so extreme that it borders on a clinical diagnosis of multiple personalities.

    So the obvious question then becomes, what is the cause of all of this inconsistency?

    • Is it a team that hasn’t fully grasped what their new coaching staff is trying to implement?  Yes.
    • Is it a team that doesn’t have a lot of natural leaders on the floor?  Yes.
    • Is it a team that doesn’t fully appreciate the energy and focus that is required to compete at this level?  Yes.
    • Is it a team that is struggling to shoot from the perimeter thereby always leaving the door cracked open?  Yes.
    • Is it a team that seems to lack mental toughness and cracks when the tide turns against them?  Yes.

    Are things going to change midseason?  We don’t know.  At this point it doesn’t seem likely.  Either the seniors on the team are going to have to move out of their comfort zones and really start to lead, or a few guys (e.g. Johnson, Hartman, and Green) are going to have to consistently find their shooting touch.  Otherwise, buckle up, and keep your arms and hands in the ride at all times — or at least half of the time.

    You can follow us on Twitter:  @daily_hoosier

    Find us on Facebook:  thedailyhoosier

    Main photo credit:  (Mark Humphrey / AP)

    Share this:

    • Tweet

    Related

    indiana hoosiers
    Mike Schumann

    Keep Reading

    Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season

    Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker

    Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December

    Latest Hoosier News
    • Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season
    • IU women’s basketball is top-10 in ESPN’s preseason rankings
    • More IU basketball recruiting housekeeping notes as field continues to narrow
    • Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker
    • The Daily Hoosier Report: The Latest in IU News and Recruiting Notes (9/28)
    • Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December
    • Watch: IU football coach Tom Allen with final Thursday thoughts on Maryland
    Sign Up



    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    © 2023 The Daily Hoosier, LLC.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.