How much longer do we have to do this?
IU started the game like they had better things to do. Nebraska opened with a 5-0 lead. Then it was 16-8, then 22-11, then 40-22. The Hoosiers were putting up very little resistance. The Cornhusker lead expanded to 53-31 when they executed an alley-oop to open the second half. And then, as if Superman was notified of the crime, IU went on a 25-6 run in less than eight minutes. But alas there was no Superman, and no happy ending in Bloomington.
Let’s take a deeper look at how IU lost 85-70 with another edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (14-12, 6-9) will next travel to Penn State for a Saturday afternoon contest.
OFFENSE (C)
Perhaps Indiana’s dump it into the statue offense is bogging everyone and everything down?
Indiana seems stuck in a rut of starting games with methodical, congested post-entry offense, and then later tries to dig out of holes with a more wide-open, well-spaced, up-tempo approach. The former left much to be desired, while the latter helped fuel a run.
After falling into a massive hole, IU found some energy. But there were two major scoring droughts that really cost them. In the first half Indiana cut what was an 18-point hole down to 11, but then didn’t score for the final 4:02. And in the second half, after IU had cut the lead to three, the Hoosiers went five and a half minutes with just one point. The margin swelled back to 16 with 6:19 left.
Fueling the droughts was the same stuff we’ve seen all year — poor three-point and free throw shooting. Indiana’s backcourt once again is not delivering nearly enough offense. These are things you should be well past expecting to change.
The Hoosiers scored .99 points per possession. They’ve won a couple games below a point per trip. But not when their defense plays like this.
DEFENSE (D)
From both an energy and scheme standpoint, this was a team ill-prepared to start a basketball game, and that falls almost entirely on the coaching staff.
Both Mike Woodson and Trey Galloway used the same phrase to describe a 51-point Nebraska first half that included nine 3-pointers by the Huskers: “We weren’t up to touch.”
That’s another way of saying Indiana was passive, lethargic, and let’s face it — they had the wrong gameplan. Nebraska is a far better team shooting the ball than driving. They had to be run off the the arc, but IU gave them room to shoot.
How bad was it? The 51 points marked Nebraska’s highest scoring first half in conference play since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12. That was against a team playing on their home floor, that should have been desperate for a win, and facing a Cornhusker team 0-for-the Big Ten road.
The real dagger performance came via Jamarques Lawrence, who entered the game shooting 26.7 percent from three and was almost certainly not a focal point in the defensive game plan for IU. He made 5-of-5 from long range.
Even with improved second half results, Nebraska still scored 1.2 points per possession for the game, and shot an effective field goal percentage of 60.3. They even made 56.7 percent from two. Those are numbers that scream blowout loss, and that’s what you watched.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Desolate Assembly Hall scenes as IU lost to Nebraska mark low point in deteriorating season
- Watch: Woodson, Mgbako and Galloway discuss home loss to Nebraska
- IU basketball: Nebraska 85 Indiana 70 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS
*Trey Galloway (C) Look, there’s no doubt Galloway struggled with a career-high six turnovers. And he didn’t connect from three. But he is far from the problem with this basketball team. Galloway has shined at times playing the point, and he found open shooters on several of IU’s 17 missed threes. It took the coaches a half to figure out he was the better answer guarding Keisei Tominaga, and Galloway held him to two points on 1-of-5 shooting after the break.
*Mackenzie Mgbako (B-) The freshman forward scored a career-high for the second straight game. He’s showing there’s a high ceiling he’s starting to tap into, even if he isn’t the most efficient player right now. He rebounded better in this game, didn’t turn the ball over, and stayed out of foul trouble. There’s clear progress.
*Malik Reneau (B-) The sophomore forward continues to get in foul trouble. That appears to be a combination of him trying too hard, trying to do too much, and playing an entire season out of position. He was much smarter with the ball this game, delivering six assists against just one turnover.
*Kel’el Ware (B-) Poor free throw shooting overshadowed what was otherwise a decent game. He’s just 7-of-18 from the line over the last two games. Ware is missing block-outs at times, appearing to instead rely on his length. He’s probably never going to be on the elite end of the motor spectrum.
*Gabe Cupps (F) There’s no joy in harshly criticizing a very young player seeing significant action too soon in his career. While he played very well defensively on Sunday against Boo Buie, Cupps struggled mightily in this one, and was 0-of-6 with no assists on the other end. There will be better days.
Anthony Leal (D) Leal’s casual approach on a breakaway layup late in the game highlighted perhaps not just his shortcomings on this night, but the entire team. Nebraska wanted this more.
C.J. Gunn (C) There’s no doubt, Gunn’s two three-pointers gave Indiana life. Gunn making threes is exactly what this team needs. But he missed his other eight shots, and was inconsistent on defense.
Anthony Walker, Payton Sparks and Kaleb Banks did not play, coach’s decision.
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Xavier Johnson (elbow) was out. Jakai Newton (knee) is out long-term.
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