The Daily Hoosier
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Trending
    • Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season
    • IU women’s basketball is top-10 in ESPN’s preseason rankings
    • More IU basketball recruiting housekeeping notes as field continues to narrow
    • Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker
    • The Daily Hoosier Report: The Latest in IU News and Recruiting Notes (9/28)
    • Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December
    • Watch: IU football coach Tom Allen with final Thursday thoughts on Maryland
    • IU football refocusing for Maryland following rough performance against Akron
    • Sign Up
    • About/Support
    • Jobs
    • Tickets
      • IUBB Tickets (Stubhub)
      • IUFB Tickets (Stubhub)
    • Shop
      • Official IU Store
      • IU Adidas Store
      • Amazon: Support TDH
      • IU Memorabilia
      • IU Press (Books)
      • The Daily Hoosier T-Shirt
    • Radio/Podcasts
    • Pro IU
      • IUBB NBA
      • IUFB NFL
      • IUBASE MLB
    • Forum
      • Disqus Forum
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    The Daily HoosierThe Daily Hoosier
    Friday, September 29
    • IU Basketball
      • Latest IU Basketball News
      • IU Basketball 2023-24 Schedule
      • IU Basketball 23-24 Roster/Staff
      • Offseason Roster Activity Tracker
      • Scholarship Chart
      • Future Schedules
      • 2022-23 Big Ten Standings
      • 2022-23 IU Basketball Stats
      • Rankings & Bracketology
      • IU Basketball Media Guide
    • IU Football
      • Latest IU Football News
      • IU Football: The 2023 Schedule
      • Roster
      • 2023 IUFB Stats
      • 2023 B1G Standings
      • Future Opponents through 2031
      • IUFB 2023 Media Guide
    • IU Recruiting
      • IU Basketball Recruiting News
      • IU Football Recruiting News
      • IUBB 2024-2026 Prospects
      • Recruit Interviews
      • Recruit Highlights
      • CBB Team Rankings
      • IU Football Recruiting Commits
    • IU Women’s Basketball
      • IU Women’s Basketball News
      • 22-23 Schedule
      • Big Ten Standings
    • IU Men’s Soccer
      • 2022 schedule
      • 2022 NCAA Tournament Bracket
      • Indiana Men’s Soccer: Program History
    • More Hoosiers
      • Fan and Business NIL options
      • IU Baseball
        • Baseball Schedule (links to iuhoosiers.com)
        • 2021 Stats (links to iuhoosiers.com)
        • Big Ten Standings
      • IU Swim & Dive
      • IU Olympic Results
    • Hoosier History
      • March Madness Classics
      • Basketball History
      • Football History
      • IUFB Best Seasons
      • IUFB All-Time Top 10 Players
    The Daily Hoosier

    Three Takeaways: Efficient Night on Both Ends Leads Hoosiers to 1-0 Start

    Donald KaneBy Donald KaneNovember 5, 2019 IU Basketball 2 Comments
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Indiana was dominant in their regular season opening 98-65 victory against Western Illinois on Tuesday night.

    Below are our three main takeaways from the game.

    See also:  Stats and highlights | Post game interviews

    Durham, Smith and Phinisee Show Progress

    In the first half, Justin Smith had 12 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, Al Durham had 15 points on 6-6 from the field including 3-3 from beyond the arc, and Rob Phinisee had 8 points on 3-6 shooting. They combined to score 35 of Indiana’s 46 points at the break.

    Given that Smith, Durham, and Phinisee averaged 8.2 points, 8.3 points, and 6.8 points per game last season, respectively, their performances in the first 20 minutes of action was no small feat.

    Indiana is going to need new scorers to step in and replace Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford, and this group seems particularly well suited to assume that role.

    The scoring continued for the trio in the second half. Smith, Durham, and Phinisee finished the game with 24 points, 21 points, and 14 points, respectively.  Durham actually finished a perfect 7-7 from the field (including 3-3 from long range) and 4-4 from the line.

    The 24 points for Smith tied a career high, and he did it without forcing perimeter shots.  Head coach Archie Miller was pleased with how Smith approached the game.

    “I look at his numbers and his line, and I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t even notice that he scored 24 points,” Miller said.  “I think at the end of the day, I was just watching how he approached things there in a certain point of time. Defensively he’s very, very active and made plays for us. So as we keep going here’s, he’s an important cog in our wheel. He’s got to stay with it and just keep getting better.”

    Indiana took good shots offensively

    If there were season opening jitters, Indiana didn’t show it on this night.

    The Hoosiers shot the ball at a very good clip, finishing the game at 58.5 percent from the field, including 45.5 percent from the three-point line.  A key in that latter number may have been the fact that IU only shot 11 three-pointers for the game.

    Big men Trayce Jackson-Davis and Joey Brunk combined to go 9-12 from the field, while true freshman Armaan Franklin facilitated the offense to perfection with eight assists and no turnovers.

    A fast paced offense seemed to create good shots along with defense to offense transition opportunities.

    Miller has made transition offense a point of emphasis and he spoke about how front court depth played a role after the game.

    “If you don’t have front depth you can’t run, It doesn’t matter what you say, Miller said.  “But right now we have a stable of guys that I feel like if they’re in there they can put pressure on the rim. If you put pressure on the rim and your guards are doing a good job of advancing the ball and pushing it, I think that’s what your seeing right now is a team that’s trying to continue to push the pace. We’re getting a lot up the floor, which is a good sign, and that’s got to be a part of what we’re doing. We can’t play sort of trudging through the mud, we got to get going.”

    Indiana scored 31 fast break points and 20 points off turnovers.

    Indiana shows its depth

    The Hoosiers were down a man with senior co-captain Devonte Green sidelined with a nagging hamstring injury.

    Green is expected to be one of the leading scorers on the team, and when he returns, IU appears to have 11 guys that can legitimately play this year.

    “I think everyone can tell that there’s not a guy that doesn’t belong out there,” Miller said. “So hopefully it continues to give us confidence and that what we’re doing is working and we can keep getting better.”

    No one played more than 27 minutes, and nine Hoosiers ran between 14 and 27 minutes on the floor.  Four players scored in double figures, with seven players attempting at least five shots.  Six different players had at least four rebounds.

    Miller noted after the game that Phinisee and Jerome Hunter were on minutes restrictions.


    You can follow us on Twitter:  @daily_hoosier

    Find us on Facebook:  thedailyhoosier

    The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

    Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no additional cost to you.

    Share this:

    • Tweet

    Related

    indiana hoosiers
    Donald Kane

    Keep Reading

    Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season

    Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker

    Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December

    Latest Hoosier News
    • Six questions about IU men’s basketball, six weeks from the start of the season
    • IU women’s basketball is top-10 in ESPN’s preseason rankings
    • More IU basketball recruiting housekeeping notes as field continues to narrow
    • Watch: IU basketball media day Q&As with Kel’el Ware and Anthony Walker
    • The Daily Hoosier Report: The Latest in IU News and Recruiting Notes (9/28)
    • Tip time and television revealed for IU basketball vs. Auburn in December
    • Watch: IU football coach Tom Allen with final Thursday thoughts on Maryland
    Sign Up



    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    © 2023 The Daily Hoosier, LLC.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.