1/16/2020 basketball Edit

Indiana's shooting woes betray defensive improvements

Taylor Lehman • TheHoosier

Staff

As Indiana's defense continues to make improvements against Big Ten opponents, its offense remains stagnant in one of the worst shooting seasons in program history.

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There is a significant and recognizable turn that Indiana’s defense has taken in recent games. Since the overtime win against Nebraska in mid-December, many of the vices that would often lead to pessimism about how the defense would handle Big Ten opponents have not afflicted the Hoosiers as direly in conference games as originally expected.

Indiana’s worst defensive performances since the overtime win have allowed 75 and 71 points, at Maryland and in a second-half meltdown against Arkansas. Three-point percentages have tailed off for Indiana opponents since the Hoosiers clamped down on three-pointers against Notre Dame, and the defensive physicality noted by opposing coaches at Florida State, Notre Dame and Connecticut is showing itself in games like the Ohio State win and the Rutgers loss.

The defense isn’t a finished product – not nearly so – but Indiana’s offense is failing those defensive improvements, and it was no different in the Hoosiers’ loss to Rutgers on Wednesday night.

“More than anything, if you’re going to win on the road, you’ve got to be able to stick a couple shots,” Miller said. “I mean, you’ve got to make a couple shots.”

Indiana didn’t make “a couple shots” at Rutgers. The Hoosiers finished the day 19-of-60 from the field and 2-of-19 from three. Indiana only made it to the free throw line 12 times, hitting 10, and a Jerome Hunter score represented the only bench points scored form a group featuring Devonte Green and Armaan Franklin.

Perhaps the most alarming shooting statistic was that on shots that weren’t considered layups, Indiana was 4-of-36.

Outside shots weren’t falling for Indiana, and they haven’t been. After the Hoosiers shot the roof off of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in their win over Florida State, they’ve only eclipsed 30-percent three-point shooting twice (at Wisconsin and at home against Ohio State).

It’s become a trend during the Archie Miller Era, for his teams to lack three-point shooting. Given the roster he inherited from Tom Crean’s final seasons, it was easy to deflect concern, but in Miller’s third season, Indiana is shooting under 30 percent (301st in the nation) and earn just 20.1 percent of their offense from threes (349th out of 353 teams).

Those shooting woes have become historic, as Indiana is currently shooting the worst single-season three-point percentage in program history. That number follows two seasons in which the Hoosiers set record-low marks from behind the arc as well.

RELATED: Final Buzzer: Rutgers

Coming just a couple weeks after Miller said the notion that his team couldn’t hit threes is “complete B.S.,” it’s tough to see a path toward prosperity for Indiana from three, especially with Devonte Green scoring a total of one point between Indiana’s games against Northwestern and Rutgers.

But the defense has done its best to plug holes where it can. Indiana had no business being in position to win the game Wednesday night, but with five minutes remaining, Indiana found itself within seven. Inching anywhere near taking the lead, though, would have required the Hoosiers to clear the canyon that was and is their offense.

And with no answers on the offensive end of the floor, Indiana wasted a physical performance from its defense, the same physical performance that it rewarded against Ohio State.