The 3-point lines on both ends of the court have been one of the biggest problems for Indiana this season.
The Hoosiers have been one of the worst 3-point offenses in the country, and defending the arc on the other side has been a struggle in many games as well. The low point came during the loss at Illinois, when they went 0 for 9 from 3-point range and the Fighting Illini went 7 for 23.
IU improved against Iowa — both teams attempted 22 threes, but the Hoosiers made eight while the Hawkeyes drilled six. And IU’s defense has improved the last two games. The 3-point disparity against Illinois was bad, but the Fighting Illini are shooting 34.4 percent from beyond the arc on the season, so IU held them under their season average through better closeouts and more disciplined defending.
But 3-point offense and defense are still two of the bigger issues for this team.
The median number of 3-point attempts per game this season, across the country, is 21.8. Indiana has attempted 21 or more 3-pointers in only four games this season. Meanwhile, opponents clearly know of IU’s defensive weakness, and have taken at least 21 3-point attempts in 15 of 21 games. Even if the opponent isn’t drilling threes at an efficient volume, it can make up for that through volume.
During Friday’s media availability over Zoom, IU head coach Mike Woodson was asked about the 3-point offense, specifically. And he pointed to his team’s constant health issues — particularly sixth-year guard Xavier Johnson — as a big reason why it hasn’t been able to get more 3-point looks.
“If you haven’t had your point guard who is probably your best pick-and-roll guy, it’s kind of hard to run pick-and-rolls and get threes,” Woodson said. “The only way we get threes now is we post our guys, our guys get doubled, we kick it out or we get early transition and advance the ball up the floor.”
That’s not to say he’s pleased with the way the Hoosiers have shot the ball this season. He’s preached all year that they need to make the ones they take, and they haven’t been good enough at that. IU is 10th in the Big Ten and tied for 200th in the country with a 33.3 3-point percentage.
For Woodson, it’s less about how much Indiana prioritizes the 3-pointers within the offense, and more about the poor percentages around the team. He highlighted senior Trey Galloway (27.1 percent from 3-point range) and freshman Mackenzie Mgbako (32.2 percent) — IU’s two highest-volume outside shooters — in particular.
“When I look at the guys that are shooting them for us, everybody is down,” Woodson said. “Gallo is down from last year. Gallo shot it I thought extremely well for us last year. He’s not shooting it that well this year. Mack has had his struggles, and you can go on and on. Our bigs are shooting better threes than our perimeter guys, and it shouldn’t be that way.”
Indeed, Kel’el Ware (44 percent) and Malik Reneau (40.6 percent) have two of the better 3-point clips on the team. Gabe Cupps (40.9 percent) is up there, as well, along with Anthony Leal, though the senior has attempted just seven 3-pointers all year.
Woodson has regularly pointed out that he hasn’t always built teams like this, that his Knicks teams performed better from beyond the arc. That is true: New York finished in the top 10 in the NBA in 3-point percentage, made threes per game, and 3-point attempts per game in each of Woodson’s two seasons as head coach. And IU finished 36th in the nation in 3-point percentage last year.
But Indiana, under Woodson, has ranked near the bottom of the country in 3-point attempts per game in each of his three seasons in Bloomington. When paired with a defense that’s struggled to defend the 3-point line for most of the season, it creates a lot of challenges for IU. It reduces the margin of error in other facets of the game.
But with just over a month remaining in the regular season, the Hoosiers are what they are.
“If you’ve got guys that are making them, then you shoot them. We are shooting them some, but hell, you’ve still got to put the ball in the hole, guys,” Woodson said. “You can shoot them and shoot them and shoot them, and every coach in college basketball after a game that they lose, you hear them say, well, we didn’t make shots, we didn’t make threes. Well, what are you going to do? You’ve got to keep working at it, and hopefully they’ll start knocking them down, the ones that they do shoot. That’s kind of how I look at it.”
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
