It was the tale of two halves Saturday in Bloomington.
Raining threes to open the game, IU was up 10 less than three minutes into the game, and 20 by the 8:55 mark of the first half. The Hoosiers went into halftime up 23, and it looked like they could cruise through the second half. That’s what they did. While the game never got close in the second, Chicago State actually outscored IU 29-26 after halftime.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana won 78-58 our latest edition of The Report Card.
The Hoosiers (9-3) will return to action Monday when they host Siena.
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OFFENSE (C)
How does a team go 14 of 26 from three in the first half, and 1 of 20 in the second? Were there dramatic defensive adjustments? The untrained eye said not much changed beyond the ball stopped going in the basket — so much that it seemed to eventually get into the player’s heads.
“I agree the shots we got in the second half were the same ones in the first half,” IU coach Darian DeVries said. “We were getting really good, clean looks by some of our best shooters.”
Indiana had a height advantage in this game and could have focused on scoring inside. But they took what the defense gave them and moved the ball for open shots. The Hoosiers weren’t going to prove anything in this game by dominating in the paint. They worked on what they’ll need to be good at when league play resumes.
Seven of Indiana’s turnovers came in the last eight minutes of the game, when the Hoosiers were up 24. That’s not necessarily excusing the late lack of focus, but IU did play the first 32 minutes with just six turnovers.
The Hoosiers scored 1.07 points per possession, their fifth-lowest average of the season, against one of the nation’s worst defenses.
DEFENSE (B-)
Indiana forced Chicago State into 29 shots that were not categorized as threes or layups. In other words, the Cougars took a lot of the longer variety of twos.
IU played a much cleaner game from a fouling standpoint, tying a season-low with just 10 fouls on the game. And their free throw rate against (FTA/FGA) was a season-low 9.1%. Time will tell against better competition if IU is making true progress in this area.
One area of concern, Indiana didn’t force turnovers. Chicago State only had nine on Saturday. IU’s two-lowest forced turnover rates of the season have come in the last two games. Perhaps there’s a correlation to trying to foul less?
The Hoosiers gave up 11 offensive rebounds, which wasn’t a terribly high number on 42 Chicago State misses, but it was still a lot for a team as undersized as the Cougars. DeVries said after the game he’s still not happy with his team’s physicality and toughness in that area.
In the end IU gave up .84 points per possession and a 39.4 effective field goal percentage — solid numbers even against a low-major.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- IU men’s basketball shows progress in limiting fouls against Chicago State
- Watch: IU basketball’s Darian DeVries, Nick Dorn, Reed Bailey talk win over Chicago St.
- IU basketball: Indiana 78 Chicago State 58 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Tucker DeVries (C) DeVries is in a shooting funk, making just 3 of 20 from long range over the last two games. If his numbers were better we’d all think he played better. He did have three turnovers, but avoided fouls in this one. He’s still not rebounding like a high major power forward.
*Lamar Wilkerson (B+) Solid performance by Wilkerson, especially his six assists to one turnover. His defensive energy was good and he didn’t reach for cheap fouls.
*Sam Alexis (C) Alexis didn’t have a high-impact game. He might have still been favoring his knee from the Kentucky game. At one point he seemed to aggravate that injury or suffer a new one.
*Conor Enright (B-) Enright doesn’t look like a confident shooter right now, but his seven assist, one turnover and two steal game provided plenty of positives for the Hoosiers.
*Tayton Conerway (C) Conerway doesn’t seem to handle heavy ball pressure well all the time. He can get sped up and that leads to turnovers. But he did a nice job chasing down rebounds and added five assists and two steals.
Reed Bailey (B+) Bailey pulled down a team and personal season high eight rebounds. He’s clearly making an effort to rebound out of his area. He also played 22 minutes without fouling as he worked to stay in front of the ball without using his arms, and stay vertical on contests at the rim. Consistency going forward will be the key.
Trent Sisley (C-) Sisley seemed to lose confidence — he missed his final three shots from beyond the arc and made just 1 of 6 from the free throw line. He also had three turnovers in an out-of-character unsteady performance.
Nick Dorn (B) Dorn gave IU a third player with double-digit three-point attempts as he managed 11 hoists from deep in just 19 minutes on the court. He made five and he’s up to 43.9% on the season from long range. He was the first player off the bench in this game, and DeVries said they’re trying to figure out how to get him more minutes.
Jasai Miles (C-) Miles was effective on the glass, but had three fouls and missed two threes in seven minutes.
Aleksa Ristic played two minutes at the end of the game.
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Andrej Acimovic did not play — coaches decision.
Jason Drake and Josh Harris were out with injuries.
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