The quest for a convincing basketball game continues.
Indiana fell behind by seven with 12:42 left in the first half before eventually grinding their way to a 41-38 halftime lead. The Hoosiers started the second half strong, outscoring the Mocs 20-10 out of halftime. But they went cold and let Chattanooga back within four on multiple occasions in the final few minutes before finally closing things out.
Let’s take a deeper look at how IU won 74-65 with our latest edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (9-3, 1-1) will have the week off before hosting Winthrop next Sunday.
COACHING (D)
Nothing seems to be meaningfully changing. With a week off, IU coach Mike Woodson had an opportunity to find answers with his enigmatic team.
But he acknowledged following the game that practice is not translating to the floor on gameday.
“We prepared all week for this team,” Woodson said. “Worked on a lot of things. I didn’t see a lot of good things from my work that we put in this week.”
11 games in — more than a third of the way through the season — it seems clear there’s an issue with what is being taught, how messages are being delivered, or accountability. Maybe all of the above. Because things are not meaningfully changing.
“We’re not there yet with. Nowhere near it. So I got a lot of work still ahead,” Woodson added.
This was probably a game when playing three guards together would have been beneficial on defense. And a five-sub lineup in the second half contributed to the lead slipping away.
OFFENSE (C)
Indiana scored 1.09 points per possession. That’s generally a winning number. The Hoosiers were good from two and didn’t turn it over. They’ve had their two lowest turnover rates each of the last two games.
There was good scoring balance. Indiana is not a team where you can take one player away and shut them down. Six different players scored at least eight points for the Hoosiers while nine of the 10 players who saw game action recorded at least one basket.
IU struggled from three (25%) and the free throw line (55%), which limited what could have been a better day. That’s a sign the execution was decent but the Hoosiers weren’t finishing.
There was a six minute second half scoring drought that put IU perilously close to disaster. And Woodson didn’t like the ball movement.
“We had 16 assists, but at the end of the day we could have had probably 26 assists, because I thought the next pass wasn’t there. Guys were still trying to do to themselves,” he said.
DEFENSE (C)
Chattanooga made 11 of their first 19 shots. But Indiana was much better defensively after that sluggish start. And the Mocs made 10 of their first 22 shots from three before missing their last six.
Early, the usual issues surfaced. Woodson said the Mocs’ offensive movement gave his team problems, with back cuts and fill/replacement actions leading to open shots at the rim, and open threes.
The .96 points per possession Chattanooga scored were a season high against a non-high major. The three-point arc and 18 assists on 24 makes point to the main issues.
Woodson said his starting lineup struggled, and against teams who play a small, quick lineup, that will likely continue. Indiana’s three big man starting lineup struggles to defend away from the basket.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Mackenzie Mgbako (C+) Mgbako struggled early on the defensive end but seemed to regain focus. He was efficient on offense, especially from three. He does continue to struggle with tunnel vision when he puts the ball on the floor. It was an up-and-down day.
*Malik Reneau (B-) While he struggled with fouls and turnovers, Reneau played with great energy and was very effective scoring in the paint. He was patient and crafty. A sequence when he ripped the ball away from a Chattanooga player and then dunked on them highlighted his effort.
*Oumar Ballo (B-) This was a game Ballo had a chance to dominate on the offensive end, but he was double-teamed and IU didn’t get him heavily involved. He did rebound and found his teammates. Often pulled away from the paint, Ballo had no blocks. And he missed two front ends of one-and-ones at the stripe in the second half.
*Myles Rice (D) The game was played at slow pace, and Rice is the player you look at to change that. But he didn’t push often, was inefficient offensively, didn’t create for his teammates, and wasn’t disruptive on defense.
*Trey Galloway (B-) Galloway was the best facilitator, and he didn’t turn it over. Indiana was better when he was on the floor. But two early fouls limited his role.
Kanaan Carlyle (C+) He looked confident early and made 4-of-6 shots to start the game. But Carlyle missed his last three, and all of those misses came during the stretch when IU saw its 13-point lead turn into just a 4-point edge. He didn’t look like the same player down the stretch.
Bryson Tucker (B-) Tucker came in and made shots, and he got to the foul line. There’s no doubting he enters games looking to score. Tucker is often able to capitalize on mismatches against smaller defenders. And on this day he was part of a pretty good bench effort.
Luke Goode (C+) Goode played with a high level of effort. It wasn’t his best shooting day. But he rebounded and had active hands.
Anthony Leal (C+) Woodson clearly trusts Leal’s ability as a defender. He was subbing him in for defense in the last two minutes. He’s a player who can be trusted to be in the right place and execute. Indiana just needs him to become more of an offensive threat.
Langdon Hatton saw the floor briefly.
Dallas James did not play, coach’s decision.
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Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton are out long-term with injuries.
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