BLOOMINGTON — The beginning of Kanaan Carlyle’s Indiana career had been bumpy, to say the least.
The Stanford transfer battled multiple injuries within the first six weeks of the season, and performed inconsistently when healthy. The latest injury, which remained unknown, kept him out for three games.
But Carlyle returned to action on Monday, and he turned in his best game as a Hoosier thus far. He set season-highs with 14 points and five assists, along with three rebounds, while shooting 5 for 8 from the field and 3 for 6 from 3-point range. The sophomore was key in the second half, with 11 of his points coming after halftime. His solid night helped IU defeat Minnesota, 82-67, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“(I was) just taking my time,” Carlyle said after the game. “My teammates and my coaches threw a lot at me, just telling me to be more aggressive offensively and defensively, so just went out there and do whatever I can to win.”
Carlyle came off the bench on Monday for the first time this season.
The guard started his first six games at IU, and he started 16 out of his 23 games at Stanford last year. Carlyle began his freshman year as a reserve for the Cardinal, but he entered the starting lineup for 16 of his last 17 games played last year. So while he’s had experience coming off the bench, he’s much more accustomed to starting.
But coming off his injury, and with Trey Galloway getting healthier and playing well in his absence, Carlyle reverted to that bench role. It didn’t affect him. He said he just wants to win and do his job.
“He just came in and did his job and somebody’s got to come off the bench,” IU head coach Mike Woodson said. “I can’t start everybody and I don’t know if that lineup will stay the same, but the bottom line is he did his job coming in to help us win our first Big Ten game, so we’re going to need everybody, regardless of who starts to play at a high level when they play.”
Galloway’s numbers, on the season, remain stronger than Carlyle’s, even though the fifth-year had a rough game against Minnesota (one point, 0-for-1 shooting, 1 for 4 on free throws, three assists, four turnovers). But even with that, there’s still a good chance that the veteran remains in IU’s starting lineup.
But if the Hoosiers can get the solid performance on both ends that Carlyle gave them on Monday, that will be a big boost to their long-term outlook. He can give IU another needed outside shooter.
Shooting concerns
Speaking of shooting, some of those concerns with IU resurfaced and continued on Monday.
The Hoosiers attempted only 14 3-pointers against Minnesota, their fewest in a game so far this season. Their four made threes tied their lowest number this year, along with the Gonzaga game. And despite the 28.6 3-point percentage on Monday, IU’s still had two games worse than that already.
Indiana’s 3-point numbers on the season tell a familiar story. The team is shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arc, which is 86th in the country. That’s a solid clip, especially with Carlyle still having room to improve.
But IU’s 17 attempts per game is tied for 352nd in the nation — only 11 teams average fewer 3-point attempts per game. No high major team attempts fewer 3-pointers per game than the Hoosiers, and only one team below them is ranked higher than No. 150 in KenPom. That group below them — and directly above them as well — in 3-point attempts includes some of the worst teams in the country
This aligns with the way Woodson’s teams have played throughout his tenure as IU head coach, and it’s not in tune with the modern game.
The concerns don’t stop at the 3-point line. Indiana has improved overall this year at free-throw shooting, one of its biggest weaknesses last season. The team shot just 66.4 percent at the charity stripe last year, which directly led to multiple key losses.
This year, the Hoosiers are up to 75.2 percent at the foul line, which ranks 80th in the country. But their free-throw shooting has trended in the wrong direction over the last three games, including Monday.
IU shot 75.9 percent on free throws against Sam Houston State. On Friday, against Miami (OH), the Hoosiers fell to 73.7 at the stripe. But on Monday, they shot a season-low 62.1 percent on free throws against Minnesota, going 18 for 29. This was Indiana’s third game this season out of its first 10 with a sub-70 free-throw percentage.
It’s entirely plausible that this is just a small slump, which happens over the course of a long season. But if this becomes a trend, and IU reverts to the poor free-throw shooting of last year, that would be a significant problem that would surely cost the team down the road.
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