Author: Evan Orris

The Hoosiers may need to trade in their basketball shoes for running shoes before their matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes. It should be a fast-paced affair in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes rank No. 4 nationally and first in the Big Ten in scoring offense. Through 15 games, they average 86.7 points in those affairs. According to Kenpom.com, they also rank No. 3 in adjusted offensive efficiency with a 121.2 rating. The only teams in front of them are Purdue and Gonzaga. Iowa also has an adjusted tempo rating of 71.8, second fastest in the Big Ten behind only Nebraska. The…

The game plan of Minnesota was simple. Pack the paint to limit Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis, and force others to make plays. However, Rob Phinisee and Xavier Johnson made the Gophers second guess their defensive plan in the 73-60 Hoosiers’ win. On the first offensive possession, Minnesota made their plan known. There was about five feet of space between Johnson and the nearest defender. First, he attacked the paint for the pull-up jumper to open the scoring. Then he recognized that he was being left open to shoot and did not hesitate to pull the trigger and hit the…

After a disappointing effort in the loss to Penn St., head coach Mike Woodson was quick to point his finger at Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis. The junior forward and captain of the team responded to his coach and unlocked a new level of intensity that at times has been missing in an 67-51 win over No. 13 Ohio State. “I got the message and it was loud and clear,” Jackson-Davis said of Woodson’s postgame criticism after the Penn St. game. “Me and him have that relationship. He can call me out in front of whoever he wants, but I’m going…

When Mike Woodson became head coach of his alma mater, he said he wanted to play a fast-paced and well-spaced style and make a lot of three-pointers. So far, the Hoosiers have been shooting the ball better though not a lot, attempting on average about 19 three-pointers a game while converting at a 36.1 percent clip. But, the pace, pun intended, is not quite up to speed. Indiana ranks a middle-of-the road No. 155 nationally in adjusted tempo with a 69.2 rating, per the Kenpom.com. Adjusted tempo is an estimate of the tempo (possessions per 40 minutes) a team would…

As one problem seems solved, another one arises for the Hoosiers. Turnovers seem to be solved, at least for the time being, as IU only gave it away a season low six times in a 61-58 loss to Penn State. However, other issues became abundantly clear throughout the game. The Hoosiers were out-rebounded, shot poorly from beyond the three-point line, missed crucial free throws, and could not close out the game the way they wanted to. Coming off a 10-day layoff, they also did not start the game how they imagined. “I didn’t think we had any juice starting out,”…

At times, the Hoosiers have looked like Jekyll, and at other times, Hyde. When they are at their best, Indiana has been a team that looks like it can compete with anyone. But there have been some ugly spells too. Above all, turnovers have held the Hoosiers back from being the team they know they can be. Head coach Mike Woodson knows what he has to fix to get the team moving in the right direction.  And with nothing but Big Ten obstacles in the way, the time is now. “Well, not turning the ball over’s going to be one.…

The grit and grind of the physical Big Ten resumes on Sunday when the Hoosiers face the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Big Ten schedule offers plenty of opportunities for Indiana to pick up quadrant 1 and 2 wins. The quality of wins and losses are measured based on the location of the game and the opponent’s NET ranking. They are ranked as followed: Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75 Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135 Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240 Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353 The more major wins…

In his third year in the program, redshirt sophomore Race Thompson was thought of as a rotational big man. However, two seasons later Thompson has developed into a essential role for the Hoosiers and has taken the place as a secondary scorer. He proved that once again in a 79-61 win over Northern Kentucky on Wednesday night in Bloomington, In his second season on the floor and third at IU, the Plymouth, Minn. native averaged 3.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 13.6 minutes. Now, he averages 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while starting in all of…

Indiana currently ranks No. 11 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per the Kenpom ratings. They also rank No. 2 nationally in defensive field goal percentage at 35 percent. One of the key aspects of the stingy is Indiana’s ability to put pressure on the ball. And no one does that better for IU than Rob Phinisee. Known as one of the better on-ball defenders in the Big Ten, Hoosiers assistant coach Dane Fife was able to witness firsthand how Phinisee can impact a game. “I’ve always respected him (Rob) back when he used to whip us when I was Michigan…

Indiana still has not figured out how to play a full-40 minute game but managed to secure the 64-56 win over Notre Dame at the last Crossroads Classic. As we’ve seen before, the starting lineup got off to a very slow and sloppy start. They were stagnant in their half-court sets and turned the ball over seven times through the opening 10 minutes, with most of the mistakes coming from ill-advised entry passes into the post. The Irish did a solid job of packing the paint to force Xavier Johnson to settle for jump shots. The transfer from Pitt shot…