Mike Woodson remains 0-for-Northwestern.
This was a game of runs. Northwestern went 8-0 to take a 23-13 first half lead. IU ended the first half 18-2 to take a 31-25 lead into the break. The Wildcats opened the second with a 24-11 start, only to see the Hoosiers meet that with a 10-0 response and a 52-49 lead with 9:25 left. But Northwestern hit the gas with a 21-4 run to clinch it.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana lost 79-70 with our latest edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (14-6, 5-4) will next host Maryland on Sunday at Noon ET in Bloomington.
COACHING (D)
Mike Woodson spoke from the heart. Why can’t his team play a full 40 minutes?
“I wish I knew. I’m still trying to figure it out,” Woodson said after his team was outscored 54-39 in the second half.
It seems we keep edging closer to the moment when Woodson gets fired while “still trying to figure it out.” And coming out of halftime adjustments, it was the coach on the other end who had answers on this night.
Woodson said during and after the game he wasn’t sure if Malik Reneau was ready to play. And Reneau was on the floor during some of IU’s worst stretches. Woodson did seem to try to keep Reneau and Oumar Ballo out of the same lineups to create better defensive matchups and better scoring potential on the offensive end.
And Woodson also showed more of a willingness to allow players to stay on the floor with two first half fouls.
OFFENSE (C)
The Hoosiers were able to generate 12 threes for Luke Goode and Mackenzie Mgbako through their offense. And that helped them stay in the game despite shooting just 40.5% from two. Indiana should win games when Goode and Mgbako combine to go 7-of-12 from three and Oumar Ballo has 15 points. And IU did a nice job running the offense through Ballo and identifying double teams.
But there were too many others on the floor who didn’t make an impact on the offensive end.
When Northwestern went nine minutes without a field goal to end the first half, Indiana’s offense didn’t do enough to create separation. They made just 5-of-14 during that same stretch.
Indiana scored 1.04 points per possession. They can win games in that range. But with Northwestern hot on the other end, they gave away too many possession with 17 turnovers. Their 40.6% turnover rate was the third-highest mark of the year. And the miscues gave the Wildcats 21 points on the other end, which put a struggling defense in an even more difficult position.
DEFENSE (D-)
IU appeared to have a pretty good defensive first half. But there was also a sense that the Hoosiers got away with mistakes as the Wildcats missed open shot after open shot.
They didn’t miss after the break.
Indiana’s second half at Northwestern was nearly as bad as their first vs. Illinois.
Northwestern missed eight straight threes late in the first half and early in the second. Beyond that, the Wildcats made 13-of-19 as the Hoosiers made one defensive mistake after another, leaving shooters wide open. Ty Berry and Jalen Leach were two shooters the Hoosiers couldn’t lose track of from three, and they made 10-of-17.
Those threes were the story of the game for IU. The Hoosiers allowed 1.18 points per possession for the game, their sixth-worst effort of the season. And Northwestern’s offensive efficiency for the season ranks outside the national top-90.
But 54 points, and 1.69 points per possession after the break was an avalanche that buried the Hoosiers. Northwestern shot 62.5% in the second half, including 9-of-14 from three, and had just four turnovers. In addition to Berry and Leach, Northwestern’s leading scorers Nick Martinelli and Brook Barnhizer were right on their averages, so IU did nothing to slow them down either.
Woodson said Northwestern was running floppy actions that he believes the Hoosiers were guarding well in the first half, but lost focus on in the second.
“Our communication from a defensive standpoint was lost the second half. Our switches, we weren’t together on switches, where we were connected the first half and they made us pay for it,” Woodson said.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Second-half defensive collapse leads to frustrating loss for IU men’s basketball
- Watch: Indiana’s Mike Woodson and Mackenzie Mgbako discuss loss at Northwestern
- IU basketball: Northwestern 79 Indiana 70 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Mackenzie Mgbako (C) It was good to see Mgbako snap out of his shooting funk. He did a good job attacking closeouts. But like most of his teammates, there were far too many turnovers and defensive lapses. And he seemed to be a target of Northwestern’s offensive gameplan.
*Myles Rice (C) How can Rice go an entire game with no assists? Rice had some good moments on both ends, but his inability to facilitate coupled with the turnovers and his part of the defensive collapse tell the larger story.
*Anthony Leal (D) This is a night Leal will want back. While he contributed in a number of ways both on and off the stat sheet like he always does, Leal airballed his only shot and committed five turnovers.
*Luke Goode (B) Goode had another strong game shooting the basketball. He’s now over 40% from three on the season. Like everyone, he had a part in the second half defensive collapse.
*Oumar Ballo (B) Ballo was exceptional passing the ball, especially recognizing where the double teams were coming from. The rest of his game, efficiency from the field and rebounding, were not to the level he’s capable of.
Kanaan Carlyle (D) Carlyle was barely noticeable in this one after what seemed could be a breakout effort at Ohio State. He was on the floor for some of IU’s worst defensive stretches of the game.
Trey Galloway (D) Playing with his shooting hand/wrist bandaged, Galloway had a stretch of really good passing while facilitating the offense. But he also had a stretch of leaving his feet resulting in turnovers, and he was just 1-of-5 from two.
Malik Reneau (D) It’s probably not fair to be too harsh towards Reneau if he truly wasn’t ready to play. He’s obviously much better than this performance.
Langdon Hatton, Bryson Tucker, Jakai Newton and Dallas James did not play, coach’s decision.
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Gabe Cupps is out with a long-term injury.
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