Some concerning trends are emerging for Indiana men’s basketball in its bigger games this season.
The Hoosiers have displayed some self-destructive tendencies against Louisville, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Michigan State — the four best teams they’ve played thus far. For a veteran team with a lot of college basketball experience — even if not at IU — that’s an issue. Tuesday’s 81-60 loss to Michigan State at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. featured sloppy turnovers, an extended offensive slump, and abysmal rebounding.
Indiana (12-5, 3-3 Big Ten) committed six turnovers in the second half, which isn’t an abnormally high amount. But the giveaways all happened at particularly inopportune times.
All six of the turnovers happened in the final 11 minutes of the game, and they were a big factor in Michigan State (15-2, 5-1) pulling away. The Spartans scored points off of five of IU’s six turnovers in the second half. This was an issue against Nebraska, as well, in the Cornhuskers’ comeback victory at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Head coach Darian DeVries was surprised his team struggled with ball security again.
“I really thought we would (improve in that area). I mean, the guys get it, they understand it, they know what importance that is, in both areas of defensive rebounding and turnovers,” DeVries said after the game. “we said it from day one, those are the two biggest factors, in my opinion, in winning and losing basketball games. And tonight we got beat in both.”
Reed Bailey was the biggest culprit in the turnover department, with four giveaways. Tayton Conerway, Sam Alexis, and Lamar Wilkerson each committed two.
And as DeVries said, rebounding was another major problem — another recurring theme with these Hoosiers. They got obliterated on the boards, as Michigan State out-rebounded them 37-19. The Spartans reeled in 13 offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points off them.
Indiana’s size and rebounding has been the team’s biggest weakness all year. And it reared its ugly head yet again on Tuesday. But this one didn’t catch the Hoosiers by surprise.
“We knew there was going to be some issues there with some of the interior play. We’re going to have some matchup problems with some of the rebounding things,” DeVries said. “And obviously, we got crushed on the glass there, so that’s a big part.”
But the prolonged offensive droughts may be the most concerning trend in these higher-profile games.
IU is going through destructive stretches in games where opponent runs extend further than they should, and it’s costing the Hoosiers a chance in those contests. DeVries’ team allowed a jarring 19-0 run in the second half on Tuesday, extending to a 28-2 spurt over 8:26 of game time.
Tucker DeVries is enduring a difficult shooting slump, as he’s shot just 20.4 percent from 3-point range in IU’s last seven games. The Hoosiers were counting on him to be a more reliable source of scoring this season, and he’s just been inconsistent of late.
Indiana just didn’t have much offense outside of Wilkerson on Tuesday. But this isn’t a new problem.
IU gave up a 16-0 run to Louisville at the beginning of the game, which essentially decided the outcome. The Hoosiers had a brutal second half at Kentucky, turning a seven-point halftime lead into a double-digit loss. And they blew a 16-point lead to Nebraska on Saturday.
Basketball is a game of runs, but these sorts of extended spurts can decide games. The Hoosiers have to find a way to minimize the damage in these moments if they’re going to beat quality opponents this year.
“The turnovers has been more of the common theme. And there’s always a little something else,” DeVries said. “I thought the turnovers tonight was what flipped it again in the second half, once we went from that tie game to all of a sudden, they’re playing in transition and now you’ve got the crowd going and the energy. You just can’t allow those type of runs if you’re going to be a good team.”
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