Film study: Indiana’s early first half 12-0 run against Illinois changed the game

Mike Woodson has probably never gotten more value from a timeout.

We don’t know what he said in the huddle when his team fell behind 4-0 at Illinois on Thursday, after he burned a timeout less than two minutes into the game.

But Indiana responded convincingly, with a 12-0 run that set the tone for the rest of the game.

Let’s take a look at some of the key moments of that stretch with another edition of film study.

TERRENCE SHANNON PINBALL

Indiana has been running a lot of sets with Trayce Jackson-Davis on the perimeter, and here they have him with the ball at the top of the key.

Trey Galloway started on the State Farm logo, and ran all the way down to the baseline, and then took his man Terrence Shannon through screens by Jalen Hood-Schifino (shown), Jordan Geronimo, and then Jackson-Davis.

When Galloway took the hand-off from Jackson-Davis at the slot, Shannon was still on the Lou Henson signature. Galloway used a great hesitation move to cross up Dain Dainja and Shannon, who both reacted to the misdirection. He was able to get to the rim uncontested for IU’s first score.

By having Jackson-Davis out high, Illinois’ best shot blocker Dainja was unable to recover and impact the shot.

This play also utilized something we saw against Wisconsin, with the drive in the direction of a side cleared out with only Miller Kopp remaining. Kopp’s man chose to stick to the shooting threat.

EXTENDED, AGGRESIVE DEFENSE

IU pitched a four minute shutout during the 12-0 run. As they did all night, the Hoosiers extended their pressure on the ball to 30 feet away from the basket. They were aggressive in passing lanes, didn’t over help, and relied on back side rim protection from Jackson-Davis and Geronimo.

Illinois’ seven possessions during the run reflect IU’s ability to run Illinois off the 3-point line and into contested twos.

Missed pull-up midrange two
Missed pull-up midrange two
Blocked shot
Unforced turnover
Steal by Miller Kopp
Offensive foul
Missed layup

Here you can see Galloway guarding the ball aggressively 30 feet away from the basket.

SOMETIMES TALENT TAKES OVER

Indiana’s second basket came on a broken play, as Jalen Hood-Schifino tried to run his man through a horns action but Sencire Harris successfully got over the second screen by Jackson-Davis and nearly caused a turnover.

But Hood-Schifino was able to maintain his dribble and drew the attention of four Illinois defenders. An alert Geronimo notices the Illinois ball-watching and cuts to the rim, and Hood-Schifino delivered an impossible no look bounce pass between two defenders. Geronimo made a good catch and finished with a reverse layup.

SECONDARY BREAK THREE-POINTER

The key to this possession is the shot clock. As you can see, there are still 25 seconds left and Galloway has collapsed all five defenders into the paint area after he took a Jackson-Davis block and drove aggressively the other way. Indiana has been aggressive of late looking to initiate early in the shot clock, especially off blocks and turnovers.

Before Illinois could get their defense set, Galloway escaped the lane and found a wide open Geronimo, who made his fourth 3-pointer of the season.

Also contributing to the play was Jackson-Davis running the floor. He beat Dainja down the court, and Harris tried to step in front of the IU big man to allow Dainja time to recover. But Harris was knocked to the floor, putting Illinois further into scramble mode.

SEALING THE DEAL

Coming out of a timeout, Illinois subbed out Dainja, which meant Coleman Hawkins was guarding Jackson-Davis. That created the perfect opportunity for this set.

Jackson-Davis and Kopp started on opposite blocks. Jackson-Davis set a screen for Kopp and then manhandled Hawkins, who he pushed out from the block to the Big Ten logo. Jackson-Davis probably could not have had the same success uprooting the 270-pound Dainja.

With everyone on both teams lifted 12 feet from the baseline, Jackson-Davis was able to seal off Hawkins. Hood-Schifino delivered a perfect lob and Jackson-Davis scored his first two of a 35-point night.

HE CAN PASS TOO

Illinois didn’t help much on Jackson-Davis, but here Matthew Mayer did drop off Trey Galloway in an apparent attempt to keep Jackson-Davis from getting to his left hand.

But that’s a tough spot to help from, because it leaves Galloway open, and a relatively easy pass for Jackson-Davis.

The key is how Galloway relocated to provide the uncontested passing angle, which is what he is doing in this shot. He started around the letter “C” in Center and caught the pass in front of the official. Jackson-Davis delivered an in rhythm pass, and Galloway stepped into a three to cap off the 12-0 run. Illinois would never get closer than a seven point deficit.