An 11-point lead in the second half quickly turned to a loss for Indiana as the teams failed to put away Arkansas at home. Head coach Archie Miller said after the game that a loss like this should be a wake up call for his young team as they prepare for the season's Big Ten slate.
Despite leading by as much as 11 points in front of a home crowd inside of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Indiana once again allowed a quality opponent to claw its way back into a close game.
Arkansas entered the game as one of the least efficient three-point shooting teams in the country. That didn’t stop it from placing four guards on the floor and taking 31 shots from beyond the arc against Indiana’s pack line defense.
The Razorbacks scored more than half of its points on the shoulders of those long-range shots in a 71-64 victory. In the Hoosiers’ final nonconference game, they dropped to 11-2 on the season after leading for more than 28 minutes.
“We were in a similar situation a week ago, found a way to win the game in a similar manner, where your offense let you down,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. “So, it wasn't like something alarming happened today that didn't happen a week ago, or against UConn in the Garden.”
What on the surface is a narrow defeat, was a deflating effort in actuality. Freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis dominated the first half with 16 points while the Hoosiers scored most of its points in the paint.
He only missed two shots inside, and redshirt junior forward Joey Brunk was dominant on the glass with a team-high seven rebounds in the opening period.
Sophomore point guard Rob Phinisee nailed the final field goal of the half — a three-point shot with 25 seconds left to go — which gave the Hoosiers a five-point lead before walking into the locker room.
Thanks to 10 assists as a team, and another dominant offensive effort from Jackson-Davis, It felt as though Indiana would eventually run away with the game. Senior guard Devonte Green made plays only he could make at the start of the second half.
Green scored eight points in the first four minutes of the game’s second period. Though he was quickly benched in favor of Phinisee after launching a trio of three-point attempts that couldn’t find the bottom of the net.
It was all downhill from there, as the Hoosiers could only sit and watch as the Razorbacks let loose deep shots of their own to cut down a double-digit deficit.
Indiana couldn’t respond, and even Miller was unable to give a tangible solution to the problem.
“I guess if I had that answer, it would have stopped it a few times a couple games ago,” Miller said. “Just that killer instinct, that ability to keep your foot down and keep the pedal down and keep motoring through, especially to start the second half.”
After shooting 14 threes in the first half, Arkansas didn’t let up — it was the killer instinct Miller’s team lacked. The guard tandem of Sophomore Isaiah Joe and junior Mason Jones scored all but five of their team’s points in the second half. They shot a combined 15 of 37 from three-point range by the end of the game.
“Couple of miscommunications, for sure,” Indiana senior guard Devonte Green said. “Some of them were just contested, but they were already hot so they were hitting a lot.”
Rather than working the ball around the perimeter to get inside looks like the first half, the Hoosiers settled for numerous jump shots, and Jackson-Davis had just three field-goal attempts in the entirety of the second half.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said after the game that forwards Adrio Bailey and Reggie Chaney did a phenomenal job limited the freshman’s touches, forcing Indiana to beat them from the perimeter.
The Razorbacks originally had a point guard defending the team’s 6-foot-9 forward — a mismatch that led to such a strong start. But even with bigger bodies in the post, the freshman’s performance was still uncustomary.
“I think I just need to be more aggressive, post up harder, try to show them my numbers, I guess,” Jackson-Davis said. “Just little things like that.”
Without the team actively looking to feed the basketball into the paint, the offense became stagnant. Miller said there wasn’t much movement when Indiana couldn’t capitalize on transition offense.
Halfcourt sets left the Hoosiers reliant on execution. They waited for others to make a play. An active offense will make all the difference when the team is in search of points — points that prevent good teams from climbing back into the driver’s seat.
The Hoosiers will enter the heart of Big Ten play Saturday, Jan. 4 with an overwhelming need for consistency outside of Jackson-Davis. Like Arkansas, there will be plenty of nationally ranked defenses awaiting them.
“But we put it to bed,” Miller said. “We have an 11-2 record, getting ready to get into the Big Ten start here in January. We've got to get better. Find a way.”
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