In a tale of two halves, Indiana shook off a sluggish first half and turned on the jets in the second half to power past Eastern Illinois with a resounding 90-55 victory on Sunday at Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers came out flat in the opening 20 minutes, trailing 37-36 after a putrid first half performance. The Panthers were able to get anything they wanted in the first half, as everything seemed to come easy on the offensive end of the floor.
Eastern Illinois rode the hot hands of guards Nakyel Shelton and Zion Fruster throughout the Panthers' torrid first half. The backcourt tandem combined for 25 of EIU's 37 first half points, going 10-for-15 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Indiana struggled to take care of the ball, committing eight turnovers that led to 11 Eastern Illinois points.
"I thought we were still home in the bed sleep. It was awful. You got to give Eastern Illinois credit because they played hard and made shots," head coach Mike Woodson said on his team's first half performance after the game. "I though our defensive intensity was just lacking the first half."
After a poor and lifeless fist half performance, whatever was said in the locker room at halftime, it clearly struck a chord with the Hoosiers. While Woodson kept the specifics of the halftime talk under wraps, he made it abundantly clear that it was "enough to get a fire lit and get us going in the second half."
Indiana came out of the break with a completely different energy. The biggest change for the Hoosiers came on the defensive side of the ball, where Indiana's smothering ball pressure on the perimeter stifled Eastern Illinois' offense.
"We came out a little flat-footed," forward Malik Reneau said. "I felt like in the second half, we just stepped up; everybody did. We changed out mindset going into the second half."
The Hoosiers' relentless defense forced the Panthers into a 16.7% shooting effort in the second half as a team, including going just 2-for-10 from distance.
That ball pressure, specifically from the Hoosiers' guards, shut down the previously red-shot Shelton and Fruster. After combining for nearly 68% of the Panthers' first half points, EIU's starting backcourt pairing combined for just five points in the second period, shooting a dismal 2-of-12 from the field and 1-6 from 3-point range.
"That starting group struggled in the first half to defense. That was addressed at halftime, I though they came out and fixed it," Woodson said. "The second half, guys came out and got after it. I couldn't ask for a better second half."
The Hoosiers' lockdown defensively culminated in multiple, lengthy scoring droughts for the Panthers. Eastern Illinois has separate stretches of 7:12 and 4:41 without field goals in the second half. The Panthers closed the game going one for their last 15 from the field.
The shift and uptick in defensive intensity also paid dividends for Indiana's offense. No longer having to inbound the ball after made baskets, the Hoosiers were able to push the pace a bit and get out in transition. All told, Indiana outscored Eastern Illinois 54-18 in the second half, including 20 fast break points.
"I think our defense just took it up another notch in the second half to open up everything on the offensive end," Reneau said. "[The defense] opened up free runs down the middle, over-the-top passes, advance passes for threes and stuff like that."
Indiana's second half surge was sparked by the Hoosiers' veterans. Freshman forward Bryson Tucker mentioned players like forward Luke Goode and guards Trey Galloway and Myles Rice, as vocal leaders, rallying the team when they needed it most.
"We just game out with a whole different level of intensity," Tucker said. "We really locked it in."
Indiana's performance, a tale of two halves, was yet another reminder of the potential this team has. Even if the consistency remains a work in progress, the Hoosiers' second half performance showed the potential that this talented bunch has.
With tougher competition looming -- Indiana hosts South Carolina next Saturday -- the Hoosiers will need to channel that second half intensity for a full 40 minutes moving forward. For now, Indiana can breathe a sigh of relief after escaping what looked like it would be a nail-bitter in Assembly Hall on Saturday.
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