Indiana dug an early hole and never found their way out.
Louisville started the game on a 16-0 run. The Hoosiers cut that margin to five at the 9:01 mark of the first half. But the Cardinals always seemed to have an answer. They stretched the lead back to 14 at halftime and as much as 17 early in the second half. IU got back to within 52-44 with 13:42, but Louisville responded again and never looked back.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana lost 87-78 with our latest edition of The Report Card.
The Hoosiers (7-2) will return to action Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET when they host Penn State in Bloomington.
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OFFENSE (D)
Indiana’s offense struggled mightily to contend with Louisville’s ball pressure and physicality on the perimeter, especially early. IU was on its heels and forced to initiate its offense well beyond the arc. And when they got to the rim, Louisville’s length was a factor. They started the game 0 of 8 from the field with four turnovers.
Particularly concerning, the Cardinals didn’t switch most perimeter screens — something that IU had been struggling with. But the Hoosiers were inefficient nevertheless. They went late into shot clocks and took a lot of contested shots.
IU did figure some things out against the Louisville defense as the game progressed. For example, the Hoosiers started slipping out to open space when the Cardinals sent two to the ball. But there were far more clunky positions than free flowing as the Cardinals effectively challenged everything IU was trying to do. Every pass, every drive, every shot.
The Hoosiers were shooting just 35.1% from the field and had just 56 points with 4:30 remaining in the game before some hot shooting to close out the contest. They were 5 of 26 from three before getting some to fall late.
There weren’t many positives, but IU did cut down on second half turnovers with just five, and they made their free throws.
DEFENSE (C-)
Indiana couldn’t afford to give any room to Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely for shots from beyond the arc. But they combined to make 8 of 16 from long range. They lost sight of the scouting report on McKneely on multiple occasions and went under screens.
The Hoosiers were a little snakebit by others who don’t often make threes for Louisville who made five more deep balls. For the game the Cardinals were 41.9% from three.
Louisville attacked at a blistering pace, especially off misses and turnovers. Indiana was often in rotation and scramble mode coming off their own empty possessions. The result — IU gave up season highs of 1.17 points per possession and a 58.3% effective field goal percentage to Louisville. And the Hoosiers fouled far too much yet again, and gave the Cardinals 28 attempts at the free throw line.
A bright spot on this end was IU limited Louisville on the offensive glass. The Cardinals had only seven offensive rebounds despite coming into the game as one of the nation’s better teams in that area.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- IU basketball: Indiana 78 Louisville 87 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
- Watch: IU basketball’s Darian and Tucker DeVries discuss loss to Louisville
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Tucker DeVries (B-) DeVries was IU’s top scoring option for most of the game, but he also had to do a delicate dance with foul trouble — a recurring issue. That limited his effectiveness on the defensive end and likely disrupted his offensive rhythm.
*Lamar Wilkerson (C) Wilkerson needed 15 shots to score 12 points. Indiana’s fortunes seem to rise and fall with his perimeter shooting. He made some tough finishes and passes at the rim. And it was clear Wilkerson was battling on both ends.
*Reed Bailey (C-) Bailey gave IU some positive production at times, but again wasn’t a major factor on the glass, and struggled at least once with a contest at the rim. He hasn’t seemed to carve-out a defined role where he consistently make a significant impact.
*Conor Enright (C) He was able to get in the head of Louisville star freshman guard Mikel Brown, who had an off night. Enright was solid in assists-to-turnovers and drew multiple offensive fouls. But he’ll need to make the open shots that are there because of all the attention directed at others.
*Tayton Conerway (D-) Conerway started the game completely on his heels, with two turnovers and two fouls in the first four minutes. His poor start helped set the tone. And things never got much better. He’s going to need to adjust to the speed and athleticism of the top high major teams.
Sam Alexis (D) Alexis was clearly bothered by Louisville’s length and athleticism. Nothing came easy for him in this one.
Trent Sisley (C) Sisley made a couple highly skilled moves to score his four points. And he competed. But this was next level athleticism and physicality that will still take some time to fully adjust to. He’ll get there.
Nick Dorn (B) Were his five threes in the last eight minutes of the game fool’s gold or is the junior wing starting to find his rhythm after a long-term injury. We suspect the latter. Dorn is starting to look like someone starting to make a case to start.
Jasai Miles (N/A) Saw very limited action.
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Aleksa Ristic and Andrej Acimovic did not play — coaches decision.
Jason Drake and Josh Harris were out with injuries.
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