ATLANTA — Indiana lost to Auburn at State Farm Arena on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 104-76.
Auburn led at halftime 52-34. The Hoosiers were led in the game by Malik Reneau with 15 points.
The three keys to the game, final stats and highlights are below.
See also: Woodson, Reneau and Cupps postgame.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Auburn closes first half on 42-12 run. As soon as Indiana went to the bench in the first half, things turned south in a hurry. And Mike Woodson’s decision to leave starting guard Trey Galloway on the bench with two first half fouls backfired as the Hoosiers struggled against Auburn’s pressure defense. After IU opened the game with a 22-10 lead, the Tigers closed the half on a 42-12 run. Auburn’s bench outscored Indiana’s 40-21.
2. Ware doesn’t have it. Auburn harassed and hounded IU star big man Kel’el Ware into an inefficient 13 points. He made just 2-of-8 shots from the field. In the first half, his frontcourt mate Malik Reneau wasn’t much better, making just 2-of-7 shots with two turnovers before the break. Indiana was outscored in the paint 32-30, and outrebounded 39-35.
3. Three-point and transition defense struggles. The Hoosiers were slow to get back on defense all afternoon, giving up 20 fast break points, and probably many more quick strikes by Auburn that didn’t quite fit the fast break requirements on the stat sheet. Many of the transition opportunities resulted in open threes, where the Tigers made 14-of-29 from beyond the arc. And to make matters worse, Indiana only forced three turnovers.
Indiana (7-2) will next host Kansas on Saturday.
HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL STATS
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