Indiana was comfortable at their home away from home on Sunday evening.
Miami kept things interesting for a while at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The RedHawks trailed just 21-20 with around seven minutes remaining in the first half. But IU pulled away from there. They took a 17-point halftime lead and added to it after the break. After the sluggish start, the Hoosiers won it comfortably, 86-56.
Let’s take a deeper look at how the Hoosiers won with another edition of The Report Card.
IU (4-0) will host Little Rock on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. Eastern (BTN).
OFFENSE (B)
Indiana’s offense was stagnant for the first 13-plus minutes, as the ball seemed to stick on the perimeter as Miami tried to keep it out of the paint. But the Hoosiers scored 65 points over the last 26 minutes by getting out in transition and ultimately finding ways to get the ball inside.
Miami coach Travis Steele said he wanted to pack things in and force the Hoosiers to shoot 20 or more threes. He got that done with 21 attempts. Miami didn’t quite have the personnel to effectively implement their strategy for 40 minutes, but it seems clear IU will be made to prove they can make threes at high volume as the season progresses. 33 percent nights from behind-the-arc like they were on Sunday will put them right on the edge of winning and losing against better teams.
IU scored 1.21 points per possession, a winning number against this level of competition. But they assisted on less than half their field goals, again highlighting what was at times a lack of ball movement.
Length, athleticism and superior personnel were ultimately too much on this night, as IU was eventually able to dominate via their size. The Hoosiers scored 42 points in the paint, 17 off of second chances (via 14 offensive rebounds), and earned 24 free throw attempts.
The big question right now — is what we’ve seen so far a formula for success when the Hoosiers face North Carolina in just over a week?
DEFENSE (B)
Half of Miami’s field goal attempts came from 3-point range, as the RedHawks often struggled to get anything going at the rim save for a few dribble drives that got home. IU erased seven of Miami’s 34 2-point attempts with blocks, including five from Jordan Geronimo.
On many possessions it simply came down to Miami pulling the trigger on a long three, and praying.
“Their physicality wore us down,” Steele said. “On cuts, on drives, on rebounds and inside.”
The RedHawks’ saving grace early was 5-of-13 makes from three to open the game. But Indiana made those long attempts more uncomfortable as the game progressed. Miami made just 5-of-21 from deep the rest of the way, beginning right around the time IU started its big late first half run.
IU showed good discipline and fundamentals. They gave up just five free throw attempts for the entire game, good for a season low 7.4 percent opposing free throw rate.
The RedHawks were able to snare 14 offensive rebounds, a disappointing number considering IU’s size and athleticism advantages. Of course some of those came from long misses on threes, but Indiana is now outside the top-100 nationally for the young season, allowing offensive rebounds on 25.7 percent of attempts — against teams generally focused on getting back on defense.
Miami scored .79 points per possession, a bit higher than what IU gave up in its first two games against non-high major competition. They had just 10 assists on their 22 field goals, against 14 turnovers
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Mike Woodson updates Trey Galloway’s injury status following Miami (Ohio) game
- Bench options make solid contributions for IU men’s basketball against Miami (OH)
- Watch: Mike Woodson, Tamar Bates and Miller Kopp discuss win over Miami (Ohio)
- IU basketball: Indiana 86 Miami (Ohio) 56 — Three keys | Highlights | Final stats
- Long form highlights:
THE PLAYERS
Trayce Jackson-Davis (A) Jackson-Davis is now stacking monster efforts. After posting 17 points and 16 rebounds in just 25 minutes, TJD is now averaging 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 75.6 percent from the field. He also has a career high 2.3 assists per game, and a career low .8 turnovers per contest.
Race Thompson (B-) Thompson had the highlight of the game with a left-handed put back dunk he timed perfectly. But it was otherwise a fairly pedestrian evening that included two turnovers in 17 minutes. He’s now just 1-of-10 from three to start the season.
Xavier Johnson (B) Johnson got the scoring going with Indiana’s first four points on a pair of long twos. But that would be the extent of his field goals on the evening. He managed to get to the line and was productive with five rebounds and four assists against just one turnover. Did you know — he’s making 63.2 percent of his shots to open the season.
Miller Kopp (B) One of the more encouraging sights on Sunday was Kopp scoring twice off the bounce. If that can translate against high major competition it will be a major value add to his game. He continues to shoot the ball at a high rate this year, but he played his second straight game without a rebound.
Jalen Hood-Schifino (B) Give him credit, Hood-Schifino is not shying away from a shooting slump. After a 3-of-21 performance spanning three games, he stayed aggressive and made 5-of-8 to to close the game, yes, including a banked three. There is really no other part of Hood-Schifino’s game to criticize right now.
Malik Reneau (B+) It was another highly productive and efficient night for the freshman forward with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He did airball a three, and he’s just 1-of-4 from deep to open the season. But overall he is shooting 67 percent from the field to open his college career. There was at least one gamble on the defensive end the staff didn’t like.
Tamar Bates (B-) The sophomore guard saw his most extensive action of the season and he still seems to be trying to get comfortable. He’ll have to find a way to either start making more threes or get to his spots inside the arc with increased regularity to be a major factor when the schedule gets more challenging. The staff had him play point guard when Johnson and Hood-Schifino both drew two first half fouls.
Jordan Geronimo (B+) Five blocks in 19 minutes is impressive, even for Geronimo, and he added two steals in a dominant defensive effort. On the offensive end it seems clear he’s still a four, which makes minute precious for the third year player.
C.J. Gunn (B) He saw his most minutes of the season and proved on a larger scale that he can contribute this year. Gunn made plays on offense and defense including multiple good passes and a block, and he brings the versatility on both ends of the floor that will continue to give Mike Woodson an interesting option off the bench to consider.
Kaleb Banks saw some late action. The sample size continues to be small, but this is a freshman flashing potential for sure.
Logan Duncomb and Anthony Leal also saw brief action. Leal left the game with an apparent leg injury.
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Indiana had 12 scholarship players healthy and available on Sunday, and all 12 saw the floor. Trey Galloway was inactive with a minor knee injury.
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