NEW YORK – Heading into Sunday's Empire Classic opener versus the No. 5 UConn Huskies, questions surrounding Indiana's backcourt play revolved around the availability of sixth-year senior guard Xavier Johnson.
The answer following a 20-point loss at the hands of the defending champions? Limited, but not by injury.
Johnson's left ankle that provided a scare in the waning moments of IU's win on Thursday night seemed to be fine. Instead, it was rather his own foul trouble that saw his fingerprints on the outcome diminished – playing just 14 minutes at the sound of the final buzzer.
If anything, the absence of his presence on the floor was more telling for an Indiana team that was overmatched inside the World's Most Famous Arena. IU's backcourt was left suddenly reeling, never finding the sought-after answers to cause a change in fortune.
"X is a big part of what we do, and he's got to become better about running our team and be smart about not picking up fouls," Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said on Sunday evening.
Indiana was within reach for most of the night, a feeling Indiana's players shared according to fellow senior guard Trey Galloway. For as many times as the game was on the edge, within a three to five possession window either way, Johnson's foul situation ran too much of a risk to put him on the floor in the game's closing moments.
Woodson had already tried it once in the evening with Reneau, but to no avail, fouling out with seven minutes to go. Johnson too, who Woodson broke the emergency glass and put back on the floor in the mid-point of the first half with two fouls. He would almost instantly be slapped with a third foul and sit the remainder of the first 20 minutes. Doing so again wouldn't have been worth the possible risk.
When it finally made sense to run him back on the floor in the second half, however, the 7-10 point windows were too far in the rearview mirror. So, Johnson, like Woodson, finished the game on the bench as the final minutes ticked away in a 77-57 defeat.
"X is a senior and you expect him to finish the damn game on the floor, not sitting next to me," Woodson said.
"He knows how much we need him to be on the floor to lead our team," Trey Galloway said postgame.
Yet, for all that's made of the struggles Johnson had in staying on the floor, those who did make up the rest of the 40 minutes from the Hoosier backcourt had their fair share of struggles, too.
UConn's Tristen Newton was an exceptionally tough cover, recording a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds fresh off his All-Final Four appearance a year ago. Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer poured in 18 points of his own on just 5-of-8 shooting. Indiana's guards – Johnson, CJ Gunn, Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps – combined +/- equated to -52. Whatever solutions Indiana attempted to devise ultimately went awry, as did the result.
While Woodson acknowledged that keeping Johnson on the floor would've assisted in the efforts to minimize the damage from UConn's guards, and the contributions from Galloway were helpful in spurts, the sum of their efforts wasn't worthy of a victory.
"We expect the other guards to come in and pick us up, sustain what we're trying to do," Woodson said. "Their guards outplayed our guards."
"They won the national championship last year for a reason," Galloway said. "Their offense and their flow, the way that they move the ball is really good. You can tell that they work on it a lot and are all connected as one."
The most noticeable difference between the two teams on Sunday came on the glass, where the Hoosiers were doubled up by the Huskies. Typically not an issue that can be associated with the guards at first glance, Indiana's reluctance and inability to find success when gang rebounding contributes to extra possessions and puts more pressure on the defensive unit. Although not labeled a turnover, UConn stole an extra 15 possessions off the offensive glass alone Sunday afternoon, which was converted to 16 second chance points.
After Indiana's escape from Wright State on Thursday night, Woodson semi-joked that his backcourt would need to be more involved in the rebounding efforts and that the Hoosiers couldn't count on the frontcourt to retrieve every miss. The semi-joking aspect came in Woodson saying that at age 65, he too could get a singular rebound. The sentiment, however, was very real.
Now highlighted by Newton's game-high 11 rebound effort for the Huskies, Indiana requires more desire to track down the ball after a miss.
"It's all effort, that's all it is," Woodson said. "It takes a little bit of effort to stick your nose in there where toughness is."
Now facing a quick turnaround, the Hoosiers must balance attempting to fix issues from Sunday's game while preparing for another opponent. The environment is tournament-esque – games in rapid succession that force the flushing of negatives and the emphasizing of positives all in quick order.
But following a revealing loss to the national champions, the latter comes with precious little to hang a hat on for Indiana's backcourt.
Playing games like these now will pay dividends in the future. Having film on Tristen Newton and how to adjust to players of his caliber is an ultimate benefit, and it's not the end of the world to be on the receiving end of a performance like this one after just four games. But for Woodson, this Indiana backcourt and collective unit, Indiana got a tone check on Sunday.
"We've gotta get tougher," Woodson said. "We're not tough enough. Not yet."
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