Indiana needed its “A” game against No. 2 Kansas, and they had it for 30 minutes. Now all they have is this accurate assessment from head coach Mike Woodson — “It’s a game that we can definitely build on.”
The Hoosiers never trailed in the first half, pulling out to as much as a 34-22 lead before the break. They led by as much as 13 in the second half, and IU still led 58-50 with 9:36 left in the game. But the Jayhawks just kept coming, and they were eventually too much.
Let’s take a deeper look at how the Hoosiers lost 75-71 with another edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (7-3, 2-0) will next face Morehead State in Bloomington on Tuesday.
OFFENSE (B)
Indiana had a lot of success early in the game pushing the tempo. Trey Galloway was especially effective getting out wide on the break and getting downhill to the rim. 11 of their 14 fast break points came in the first half, as Kansas slowed their runouts as the game wore on.
Malik Reneau, Trey Galloway and Mackenzie Mgbako all hitting multiple threes is the foundation for future success.
But Kansas stifled IU inside, limiting Reneau and Kel’el Ware to a combined 8-of-25 day from the field, and they also had five turnovers. Confined to the half court and with limited post production, as a team Indiana shot just 33.3 percent in the second half.
“You could tell they were more urgent in their defense,” Galloway said of Kansas in the second half. “They were kind of really more focused and in a stance kind of doing more things to disrupt us, maybe trapping the handoffs, doing certain things to take us out of our rhythm.”
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to point out IU should have gone after Kevin McCuller, Jr. on this end with the four fouls he played through. He ended up burning Indiana late.
Against a very good defensive team, Indiana was balanced offensively, with post touches, dribble drives, and threes. But they really needed a more efficient effort from their big men, and their 14 turnovers were a bit too much.
DEFENSE (B)
Indiana was solid defensively, until they weren’t. Sure, perhaps it was a matter of some Kansas shots falling late that they just simply missed earlier in the game. But Indiana was aggressive and impactful for good stretch of the game. Through the first 25 minutes, the Jayhawks made just 13-of-41 (31.2 percent) shots. But they made 13-of-20 (65 percent) over the last 15 minutes.
A 2:20 stretch late in the second half decided the game, as Kansas made four straight shots — two Hunter Dickinson jump hooks, a Dajuan Harris drive, and a Kevin McCullar three — to build a five point lead.
“For the most part I thought we played a solid game, but they made the plays coming down the stretch,” Woodson said. “The two threes they made were huge. Then the two buckets Dickinson hit in the paint was kind of the difference in the game coming down the stretch.”
While the free throws were fairly even in the game, Kansas’ Kevin McCuller seemed to get a very favorable whistle. He took 16 free throws, and drew a lot of fouls that were no calls for everyone else in the game.
Indiana outrebounded Kanas by one, but the Jayhawks’ 18 assists on 26 makes suggest their ball movement broke down the Hoosiers at times. In the end IU gave up .975 points per possession. They’ve won three games while giving up more — but not against a team this good.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Loss to Kansas leaves IU men’s basketball stuck between moral victory and sobering reality
- Watch: Bill Self and the Kansas players discuss win over Indiana
- Watch: Mike Woodson and Trey Galloway discuss loss to Kansas
- IU basketball: Kansas 75 Indiana 71 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
- Xavier Johnson to miss fourth straight game against Kansas
- Extended highlights:
THE PLAYERS
*Trey Galloway (A-) The senior guard was special in this one with a career high 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting. He was great attacking and probing off of dribble hand-offs and ball screens, and for a while he couldn’t miss from two. That seemed to help Galloway regain his confidence from three. There were mistakes, but you can tolerate the turnovers with this level of aggression on both ends.
*Malik Reneau (B) Kansas put Dickinson on Reneau to bother his shots in the paint — and that worked to some extent. Reneau was just 3-of-9 from two. His two threes were encouraging. Fouls were once again a problem, although a couple of the calls were bogus.
*Kel’el Ware (B-) It’s hard to be too critical considering how efficient Ware has been this season. And he was very strong on the glass and forced Dickinson into a relatively inefficient day. But Ware has struggled to score in all three IU losses, and Woodson suggested he wasn’t battling hard to prevent Dickinson’s critical late post touches.
*Mackenzie Mgbako (B+) Mgbako fell victim to a couple phantom fouls too, and that may have been the difference in the game. IU was +12 with him on the floor, and he was that good. But his role was limited because of foul trouble. Mgbako showed more versatility, scoring with his off hand and attacking close outs.
*Gabe Cupps (C+) It’s very clear Kansas was trying to isolate and attack Cupps when they had the ball. And they had a fair amount of success doing that. That will be a recurring theme until Xavier Johnson returns. He had just one turnover in 37 minutes in a very intense game.
Anthony Walker (B) Walker was a positive when he was on the floor. He did a nice job attacking off the bounce and drawing fouls. But teams are laying off him on the perimeter.
Kaleb Banks (C) Banks was aggressive, but almost to a fault, with three first half fouls, and drives to the rim he was unable to finish.
C.J. Gunn (C) The sophomore guard hasn’t been able to create any momentum after a strong game at Michigan.
Anthony Leal and Payton Sparks did not play.
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Xavier Johnson was out with a lower leg/foot injury. Jakai Newton (knee) is out long-term.
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