Indiana defeated Minnesota on Sunday afternoon by a final sore of 73-60 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers led 39-29 at halftime and were led in the game by Xavier Johnson with 14 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Rob Phinisee each had 13.
IU (12-3, 3-2) will return to action on Thursday when they hit the road to face Iowa.
See also: Woodson, Phinisee and Johnson post-game
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Solid contributions from the point guards. Minnesota was content to allow IU point guards Xavier Johnson and Rob Phinisee to beat them, and both players responded to the challenge. Johnson had 14 points, 5 assists and 1 turnover, and Phinisee had 13 points, 4 assists and no turnovers. Both players were 4-of-10 from the field and combined to go 6-of-15 from three. It wasn’t an exceptionally efficient effort, but enough to provide a good counter to the Golden Gophers’ game plan.
2. Finding defensive answers. Indiana started each half slow on the defensive end as Minnesota spread the floor and looked to dribble drive. Each half IU altered its lineup to put better perimeter defenders on the floor and it worked. IU outscored Minnesota 25-11 in the last 11 minutes of the second half, and 25-10 in the last 12 minutes of the first half. The second half perimeter trio of Johnson, Phinisee and Trey Galloway closed the game. The Golden Gophers didn’t score from the field in the last three minutes of the game.
3. Assists to turnovers. Indiana matched a season low with six turnovers against 17 assists. It was Indiana’s third straight game with single-digit turnovers. Admittedly, IU has been facing teams not looking to force turnovers, but the ball security allowed the Hoosiers to score 1.22 per possession. With Minnesota not allowing Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson to beat them, IU’s big men also each chipped in with two assists.
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