Despite a 64-50 victory over South Dakota State, Indiana wasn't able to put together a cohesive effort on either end of the floor. Uncharacteristically, the Hoosiers were unable to capitalize from the free throw line or offensive rebounds. Trayce Jackson-Davis was the biggest highlight of the afternoon, posting his second straight double-double as he continues to improve in his freshman season.
Through the first month of college basketball, Indiana has dominated its mid-major opponents with size inside and successful free throw shooting. However, in a low scoring 64-50 win over South Dakota State, the team fell short in both of those areas.
Previous success at the foul line and on the offensive glass has lead the Hoosiers to an undefeated start to their season. Before entering its seventh game of the year, the team led the nation in free throw attempts per game at nearly 31 per game.
Tonight, the team shot from the foul line just 18 times and converted half.
“I thought the free throw line was a bugaboo tonight,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said after the game. “I thought we had four pair or at least three pair. You can pretty much equate those to turnovers. When you got to the line and have you a pair and you miss two, that's an empty possession.”
Every attempted free throw attempt was attributed to an Indiana forward. None of Miller’s guard were successful in attacking the basket and getting the line. Senior guard Devonte Green was the only member of the Hooseirs’ depleted backcourt to reach double figures with the help of a trio of successful three point attempts. He finished the game with 11 points.
Without sophomore point guard Rob Phinisee in the lineup, the lack of rotation at the guard position was evident in today’s game. Miller said freshman Armaan Franklin has struggled to find confidence in his jump shot, something that comes and goes for young players.
Franklin finished with three points thanks to a wide open shot from beyond the arc, and junior guard Al Durham contributed just five after shooting 2-of-7 from the field.
“At the end of the day our lack of depth at guard is really going to get exposed as we start to play the talent level and the guards on the other team,” Miller said. “Hopefully we can get [Rob Phinisee] back at some point in time. That’s undecided right now, but Armaan and Al and Devonte, being our guard tandem right now have got to do a great job of being better on the ball.”
A positive takeaway from the game was freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis dominating the game with a team-high nine offensive rebounds. Junior forward Justin Smith added another five alongside his 18 points as the team finished with 16 offensive boards on the afternoon.
Despite the effort, Indiana could only muster six second chance points, a heavy contributor to the lack of offense. If not for South Dakota State shooting just 34% from the field, the game may have been a lot closer than just a 14-point spread.
To capitalize on second-chance opportunities, Smith said the team has to take its time, go up strong and not let the defense impact them around the rim.
“Our rebounding, obviously from an offensive perspective, Trayce and Justin did a great job,” Miller said. “Trayce in particular was very dominant on the glass, and we were able to make enough plays to hold a lead. But without question, there’s just a bit of a funny feeling that we’re not playing as well as we need to. We’re not as sharp as we need to and we got to take care of the ball a little bit better.”
Against lackluster opponents, Smith’s and Jackson-Davis’ athleticism has come alive, allowing the team to go unpunished for costly mistakes — like the 19 total turnovers against the Jackrabbits. The Hoosiers won’t be able to get away with that many turnovers as the season continues.
Indiana will begin to tip off against competent programs from Power 5 schools starting with Florida State on tuesday. The hill for the Hoosiers is only going to get steeper.
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.
