Indiana looks like a team just playing out the string now.
The Hoosiers took a 12-11 over Northwestern with 10:56 left in the first half Sunday afternoon, but the Wildcats went on a 19-7 run from there to open up an 11-point advantage late in the first. IU pulled to within one on two separate occasions in the second half, including 43-42 with 12:52 left. But a 20-5 Northwestern run from that point, capped off by eight straight from Boo Buie, put the game out of reach.
Let’s take a deeper look at how IU lost 76-72 with another edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (14-11, 6-8) will next host Nebraska on Wednesday evening.
OFFENSE (D)
Don’t focus on the 72 points Indiana scored on this afternoon.
Against a mediocre Northwestern defense, Indiana was stagnant for most of the game. The ball didn’t move. Indiana appeared to make no effort to push the pace in transition, and in the half court the ball got stuck on a side and in the paint
IU was still sitting on just 12 points with less than nine minutes to go in the first half, and they still only had 47 with under six minutes left in the game before a 25-point outburst over the final 5:59. With just 26 points and eight turnovers in the first half, Indiana had just .83 points per possession at the break. Those early struggles came despite Northwestern sitting two starters with foul trouble for a meaningful part of the first half.
“We got a little bit passive in the first half compared to the second half,” freshman guard Gabe Cupps said. “We were much more aggressive (in the second half) and not on our heels as much. When you’re on your heels you make poor decisions that leads to turnovers.”
For the game IU scored 1.06 points per possession, but that was seriously inflated by the last six minutes. Despite a size advantage the Hoosiers grabbed just six offensive rebounds. And another dismal day at the free throw line (12-of-21) doomed them.
DEFENSE (C)
The combination of Northwestern’s Boo Buie having an off game and Ty Berry out with injury should have meant IU was destined to have a strong defensive effort.
But effort seemed to be precisely the issue. Indiana gave up 14 offensive rebounds, and that led to 12 second chance points. Northwestern came into the game just No. 289 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, but they capitalized on IU’s Kel’el Ware’s role as a shot-blocker, and sought second chances when he left his man to protect the rim. Indiana didn’t do a good job of cracking down on Ware’s man when he left to block shots.
Those offensive rebounds plus just three Northwestern turnovers meant the Wildcats had plenty of opportunities to score. So while they didn’t shoot particularly well (35.4 percent overall), they had more than enough chances to capitalize.
Northwestern scored 1.12 points per possession. That’s not an insurmountable number for a team with an efficient offense. But Indiana doesn’t have one of those, and they’ve lost every game this year when the points per possession they’ve allowed have been at least that high.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Indiana’s losing streak against Northwestern reaches historic level
- Watch: Woodson, Cupps and Ware discuss loss to Northwestern
- IU basketball: Northwestern 76 Indiana 72 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS
*Trey Galloway (C+) Galloway set a new career high with 12 assists, tied for the 10th most in a game in program history. He’s become really good at facilitating the offense, and had a good thing going with Kel’el Ware. Northwestern took him away as a scorer, and he wasn’t disruptive on the defensive end.
*Mackenzie Mgbako (C) Nine of his 20 points came in the final six minutes. Mgbako had just one point at halftime. Overall this was one of his more efficient games on the offensive end. But he wasn’t much of a factor on the glass or on defense.
*Malik Reneau (D) Reneau is really struggling with double teams. He is forcing the issue rather than identifying the soft spot in the defense when the help arrives. That led to four turnovers. Overall this was a carbon copy of his disappointing effort a week ago at Purdue, including fouling out.
*Kel’el Ware (B) Ware is one of seven players in D1 basketball to put up at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks in a game this season. But he struggled with turnovers as well, and there were times when he appeared to have good chances at 50/50 balls he didn’t come up with.
*Gabe Cupps (C+) This is one of the freshman guard’s better games. He looked like he had fresh legs on defense, and generally held up well against All-Big Ten guard Boo Buie. He made two threes and added a nifty hook. It still isn’t the scoring volume IU needs from its guards.
Anthony Walker (C) Walker’s role continues to be diminished. He had a nice cut to the rim for a dunk, but overall his role and impact are on the decline. And part of that is because he is limited offensively.
Anthony Leal (C) It’s been an up-and-down run in terms of Leal’s ability to make a major impact since he’s been seeing the floor over the last month. He wasn’t able to provide a spark in this one.
C.J. Gunn (C) Gunn wasn’t given major minutes after showing confidence at Purdue. Like the rest of his teammates coming off the bench, he wasn’t able to do much with his limited role.
Payton Sparks also appeared in the game.
Kaleb Banks did not play, coach’s decision.
————————
Xavier Johnson (elbow) was out. Jakai Newton (knee) is out long-term.
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.
