Close Menu
The Daily Hoosier
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • IU basketball recruiting: Top-25 PG Deron Rippey on Indiana visit, his game and recruitment
    • BTN releases “Indiana Classic” replay of IU football’s emotional 2007 win over Purdue
    • IU football 2025 opponent overview: Week 14 — Purdue
    • IU basketball recruiting Q&A: Latrell Allmond recaps Indiana visit, next steps
    • IU basketball recruiting: Hoosiers offer 2026 5-star forward Miikka Muurinen
    • Spring highlights: Class of 2027 in-state 4-stars Jason Gardner, Jr. and Isaiah Hill
    • The top-10 IU football seasons of all-time: No. 5 — 1910
    • CBS panel says Curt Cignetti has best job security in Big Ten, No. 10 coach in nation says PFF
    • 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
      • East 17th Street
    • Pro IU
      • IUBB NBA
      • IUFB NFL
      • IUBASE MLB
    • Forum
      • Disqus Forum
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    The Daily HoosierThe Daily Hoosier
    Friday, July 11
    • IU Basketball
      • Latest IU Basketball News
      • 2025-26 IU Basketball Roster
      • DeVries’ new staff
      • Future Schedules
      • Scholarship Chart
      • Big Ten Coming and Going
      • IU Basketball 2024-25 Schedule
      • 2024-25 Big Ten Standings
      • 24-25 IU Basketball Stats
      • Rankings & Bracketology
      • IU Basketball Media Guide
    • IU Football
      • Latest IU Football News
      • Roster updates by position
      • 2025 scholarship tracker
      • 2025 Schedule
      • Current roster
      • Curt Cignetti’s staff
      • Future opponents through 2032
      • 2024 B1G Standings
      • 2024 IUFB Stats
      • IU Football 2024 Record Book
    • IU Recruiting
      • IU Basketball Recruiting News
      • IU Football Recruiting News
      • IUBB 2026-28 Prospects
      • Recruit Interviews
      • Recruit Highlights
      • IU Football Recruiting Commits
    • IU Women’s Basketball
      • IU Women’s Basketball News
      • 24-25 Schedule
      • Big Ten Standings
    • IU Men’s Soccer
      • 2024 Schedule
      • Indiana Men’s Soccer: Program History
    • More Hoosiers
      • Fan and Business NIL options
      • IU Baseball
        • Baseball Schedule
        • Statistics
        • Big Ten Standings
      • IU Swim & Dive
      • IU Olympic Results
    • Hoosier History
      • March Madness Classics
      • Basketball History
      • Football History
    The Daily Hoosier

    Indiana’s Defense is Both Effective and Improved

    Mike SchumannBy Mike SchumannFebruary 6, 2018 IU Basketball 1 Comment
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    When you hold a Big Ten opponent to under 50 points, it’s eye opening.  When you do it twice over the course of eight games it makes you think there might be something going on.  Perhaps a transformation is underway?  During Big Ten play the eye test has told us that Indiana is playing more aggressive and effective defense.  But these biased eyes have been known to see things that don’t exist.  So we wondered, after holding Rutgers to 43 points on Monday night, is it possible to demonstrate that the Hoosiers have in fact become a better defensive unit?  Here’s what we came up with:

    OPPONENTS POINTS PER GAME

    First we looked at the points per game average of each of Indiana’s Big Ten opponents during 2018 and compared that to their output against IU:

    It is beyond clear that the Hoosiers are having an impact on their opponent’s typical offensive production.  In 4 of the 11 Big Ten games played in 2018 Indiana has held their opponents to ten or more points below their average, and in 9 of 11 they’ve held their opponents below their average.

    KENPOM ADJUSTED DEFENSE EFFICIENCY

    First, because it isn’t necessarily intuitive, here is how KenPom defines adjusted defensive efficiency:

    AdjD – Adjusted defensive efficiency – An estimate of the defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) a team would have against the average D-I offense.

    While perhaps not dramatic, the improvement here is clear.  Basically, IU is giving up 2 less points per every 100 possessions, and you can see what impact that has on their national rankings.

    COMPARISON TO 2016-17

    Finally, let’s take a look at how Indiana compares to last year’s team across some of the more traditional defensive statistics:

    As you can see, the results are mixed here.  The blocked shots are really a push, and when you consider roster composition, it is actually somewhat surprising that this year’s team is keeping up.

    As we all know, that field goal percentage defense took a hit early on against the likes of Indiana State, Seton Hall, Duke and Fort Wayne.  If you look at IU’s field goal percentage defense since Fort Wayne they are at .426, which would be an improvement over last year.  Sure, that’s cherry picking the data, but we all know that this defensive improvement has very much been a work in progress as the season has progressed.

    We all know that defending the 3-point shot has been a big problem for the Hoosiers this year.  But since Fort Wayne, it really hasn’t.  IU’s 3-point FG defense since that Mastodon massacre is a respectable .335.  That would be good enough for 109th nationally which is a significant improvement.  The Hoosiers have been in the 300s (out of 347 teams) in 3-point defense all year.

    There are two stats here that aren’t getting a lot of attention but apparently should.  IU is committing more than two less fouls per game and it is forcing more than two more turnovers per game.  Each of those on their own is enough to make the difference between winning and losing in tight league games.

    SOMETHING ELSE – TURNOVERS COMMITTED

    Although not a defensive stat, since we were into the numbers we just had to peek at how the Hoosiers have improved year over year in turnovers committed.  No surprise here.

    We think most would agree that the 2017-18 Hoosiers have less depth and overall talent than last year’s roster.  But as we’ve illustrated throughout this analysis, the Hoosiers are making up for it in a variety of ways with what Archie Miller would refer to as “winning plays”.

    You can follow us on Twitter:  @daily_hoosier

    Find us on Facebook:  thedailyhoosier

    Main photo – Michael Marot/Brown County Democrat

     

    Related

    indiana hoosiers
    Mike Schumann

    Keep Reading

    The top-10 IU football seasons of all-time: No. 5 — 1910

    Serbian guard Aleksa Ristic signs with Indiana men’s basketball

    National analyst Jon Rothstein predicts IU basketball will finish No. 15 in Big Ten

    Latest Hoosier News
    • IU basketball recruiting: Top-25 PG Deron Rippey on Indiana visit, his game and recruitment
    • BTN releases “Indiana Classic” replay of IU football’s emotional 2007 win over Purdue
    • IU football 2025 opponent overview: Week 14 — Purdue
    • IU basketball recruiting Q&A: Latrell Allmond recaps Indiana visit, next steps
    • IU basketball recruiting: Hoosiers offer 2026 5-star forward Miikka Muurinen
    • Spring highlights: Class of 2027 in-state 4-stars Jason Gardner, Jr. and Isaiah Hill
    • The top-10 IU football seasons of all-time: No. 5 — 1910
    Sign Up



    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    © 2025 The Daily Hoosier, LLC.

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

    Ad Blocker Enabled!
    Ad Blocker Enabled!
    Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please support us by disabling your Ad Blocker.