The Hoosiers squared off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on
New Year’s Eve. And what a great end to
the year it was, with both the Indiana men’s basketball team (70-65 over
Nebraska) and the Indiana women’s basketball team (70-51 over #24 Michigan State)
picking up wins in conference play.
Against Nebraska, the Hoosiers were able to overcome an offensive lull
and poor play in general in the middle of the game to start conference play on
a high note with a road win. It wasn’t
always pretty, but a Big Ten road win is a Big Ten road win.
Despite some early turnovers and all-around bad ball
movement, the Hoosiers built up a lead, which was as large as 16 points in the
first half. This was in part fueled by
the aggressive play of IU’s post players, with Hanner Mosquera-Perea grabbing
some key boards early but also picking up fouls as well, only playing four
first-half minutes. The player who came in
for him, Emmitt Holt, picked up right where he left off, getting six points,
four rebounds, and a block in the first half.
A testament to the solid interior play of the Hoosiers was the
rebounding, where Indiana outrebounded the Huskers 26-14 and held Nebraska to a
single offensive rebound. As a
complement to this aggressiveness, freshman Robert Johnson hit several key shots
from deep on a night when the Hoosiers struggled to shoot.
With just under four minutes to play in the half, the
Hoosiers held a 38-22 lead and looked to go into halftime comfortably. The Huskers had other ideas, capitalizing on
poor shot selection and overall poor play by the Hoosiers to cut that lead in
half, going into the halftime with a score of 40-32. The start of the second half didn’t look any
better for Indiana, who saw two straight turnovers and two missed shots before
scoring its first points about two minutes in.
Within the first four minutes of the half, the Huskers had taken their
first lead since early in the game, and had built their biggest lead of the
half with about 15 minutes to play.
Enter Mosquera-Perea, who picked up right where he left off
in the first half. He ended the game
with his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Several times on the offensive end the
Hoosiers utilized his athleticism, running a pick-and-roll ending with
Mosquera-Perea dashing to the basket for the alley oop from Yogi Ferrell. Indiana was able to once again build up a
double-digit lead with about four minutes remaining, and once again allowed
that lead to disappear, with the game getting within three points with a minute
to go. But a combination of a stellar
play by the Hoosiers and stumbles by the Huskers allowed Indiana to spend the
final 30 seconds at the free throw line, where they hit just enough to keep the
game at two possessions. That stellar
play for the Hoosiers? With only 15
seconds remaining and the Hoosiers ahead by only four, James Blackmon Jr.
approached the line for his second free throw, which he missed. Nebraska’s do-it-all guard Terran Petteway
secured the rebound, only to have Ferrell knock it off his knee out of bounds
to secure another possession for the Hoosiers (which resulted in one more made
free throw to seal the game).
The Good:
- Aggressiveness from big men. This has already been addressed, but both Mosquera-Perea and Holt played the way the Hoosiers need them to in order to succeed. They rebounded well and defended well for the most part (save a few moments being out of position). While fouls were an issue for Mosquera-Perea early, it was a sign of his aggressiveness. This was a good outing for the big men, especially after the drubbing they got going against Georgetown and Joshua Smith.
- Indiana’s defense as a whole. With one critical exception, the Indiana defense played well, keeping the Huskers just under their season average of 68 points per game. They shifted fairly well between defenses, although they stayed in the 2-3 zone quite a bit. The Hoosiers rebounded about 82% of the missed Husker shots, something they needed to do against a poor offensive rebounding team. There were also several instances where the Hoosiers played very good defense for 30 seconds, only to give it up in the final five of the shot clock. Many would see this as an issue (and if it becomes habit it could be in close games), but this Nebraska team is one which likes to slow down play. In fact, only three Big Ten teams play at a slower pace (Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Michigan), and all four of these games are single-play (Michigan being the only one at home). This means that even an anemic Nebraska offense is more accustomed to playing this slow offense than the Hoosiers are at playing slow defense. For now, very good defense for 30 seconds is all the Hoosiers really need (at least until they play any of the other three slow teams).
- Yogi the leader. The last few games, Ferrell put the team on his back by way of scoring points on points on points. Against Nebraska, he led in other ways, including dishing out eight assists compared to only a single turnover. He was a calming influence for a young team, helping to make sure that his teammates did not lose their heads, and he made the stellar play to give IU another possession to extend the lead late in the game. In the past, Ferrell’s only real option for leadership was by taking control of the scoring (even as he did against Butler and Georgetown). Now, he’s got more players around him who can pick up the points, taking much of that pressure off of Ferrell and allowing him to do what his team needs him to do.
- Offensive balance. Indiana had eight different players score at least five points, led by Johnson with 14, Troy Williams with 13, and Mosquera-Perea with 12. Compared to the Georgetown game where three players were responsible for over 80% of the team’s points, this game had more of the offensive balance the Hoosiers have shown much of the season. It’s this balance which makes Indiana so dangerous, as any player can go off on any given night and almost every rotation player (with the exceptions of Mosquera-Perea and Holt) must be honored everywhere on the court. While it is great to watch three players score 20 or more points, it’s even more exciting to see a whole bunch of guys get into the action.
- Toughness/grit. This point is somewhat debatable, as the Hoosiers gave up double-digit leads twice in the game and looked anything but tough over several stretches. But the difference between this season’s Indiana squad and last year’s (other than shooting abilities) is toughness down the stretch, the general ability to close out tight games with a win. And as I said after Georgetown, this could be the difference-maker in the Big Ten season, as KenPom now predicts nine of the remaining 17 games to be decide by five or fewer points, with only two (a win over Rutgers and a loss to Wisconsin) being decided by more than 10 points.
The Not-so-good:
- Shooting. The Hoosiers had their worst shooting performance of the season, and the only one where they hit fewer than 30% of their shots from the perimeter. Johnson was the best shooter, going 3-6 from deep, followed by Blackmon going 2-5 (both of which were from the right wing, where he is shooting around 70% on the season). Ferrell and Nick Zeisloft each hit one, but took five and six attempts respectively in order to do it. Free throw shooting was also a concern, particularly down the stretch, as the Hoosiers hit only 53% of their freebies. Zeisloft was the only Indiana player perfect from the line (2-2), while Blackmon Jr. 2-3. Three different Hoosiers were 1-2 (Williams, Johnson, and Collin Hartman), and Mosquera-Perea was an anemic 2-5 and Robinson was 0-1. That means that Indiana left eight points at the free throw line in a game that was separated by a single possession with a minute remaining. The free throw shooting should be concerning for the Hoosiers going forward, as trouble there is completely preventable. The team should not, however, lose sleep on the off-night shooting from the perimeter, as 13 other contests have seen the team shoot the ball better and a low performance was bound to happen sooner or later.
- Blackmon Jr.’s shot selection. Blackmon Jr. ended the game a paltry 2-9 from the field, both of them being three-pointers. Now, I in no way want to discourage him from shooting the ball; that would actually likely be counterproductive to his development. What he needs to do, however, is do a bit better job at picking his shots. He was 0-4 from two-point range, some of which stems from the fact that pretty much any time he truly drives he goes up with the shot, even if it is contested and unwise. He also had a three-pointer blocked which led to an easy bucket in transition for Nebraska. Blackmon Jr. is better than this, and it is time for him to learn when to shoot and when to dish, something he is fully capable of doing within the remainder of the season.
- Perimeter defense. The Hoosiers have had a rough season on the defensive end, and many people try to place much of the blame on the lack of a true physical big man. But the first issue facing Indiana on defense comes at the perimeter, where opponents are able to drive at will, which would leave even the best of interior defenders vulnerable. And this isn’t just one defender responsible, as every guard has had trouble, including the best defender in Ferrell. To give guys like Mosquera-Perea and Holt, and even Williams and Hartman, half a chance to excel on the defensive end, the Hoosier guards must improve their lateral speed to better guard against the drive, because that is a weakness that any opponent, whether they play quickly or slowly, whether they have skilled big men or not, will take advantage of.
Final Word:
The Hoosiers did what they needed to do to earn a road win
in the Big Ten, which will likely be few and far between around the
league. It wasn’t always pretty, and
there were several instances where Indiana found itself in a lull. But the team settled down and went back to
playing their game every time, something which hadn’t happened in the past. It was also an opportunity for the Indiana
big men to be aggressive and gain confidence, which will be critical for the
Hoosiers to have any kind of Big Ten success.
My guess is that they will follow up this poor shooting performance with
a quality one, especially considering guys like Blackmon Jr., Zeisloft, and
Ferrell are not going to be satisfied with their shooting and will have already
hit the gym to get up shots. This
Indiana team, with its shooting abilities and new-found grit could be one which
finds itself in the NCAA Tourney. Or it
could be one which limps through the Big Ten season on the way to another
lackluster finish. With the chaos in the
Big Ten this season, I don’t think anyone could accurately predict anything
beyond Wisconsin leading the conference and Rutgers finding itself in the
bottom.
**Noteworthy News**
With eight assists, Yogi Ferrell moves to 342 assists in his
career, good for 14th all-time at Indiana. He needs 356 to move into 13th
with Chris Reynolds and Isiah Thomas.
With one made three pointer, Ferrell has 140 in his career,
needing only 10 more to move into 10th place at IU with Rod
Wilmont. It also extends his record of
consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 45.
Up Next:
The Hoosiers visit the Spartans of Michigan State on January
5th at 7pm on the Big Ten Network.
The Spartans are 9-5 and are just coming off of a double-overtime home loss
to Maryland. I should have a preview of
the game posted within the next few days.
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