A lackluster defensive performance from Indiana led to a 74-70 home loss to Rutgers.
This was an offensive matchup from the jump and Rutgers managed to shut down Indiana’s paint attack in the first half, but the Hoosiers responded by hitting four of their eight three-point attempts. Jerome Hunter was a huge part of this effort, hitting two threes and scoring nine points in the first.
Indiana allowed 38 points in the first half and offered very little resistance defensively despite stifling the nation’s best offense in their previous game. Rutgers was able to get open looks for much of the game and knocked them down at an efficient rate. The Scarlet Knights finished shooting 51 percent from the field and 36 percent from three.
Geo Baker had a breakout game after getting off to a slow start this season. He finished with 19 points and five assists. Myles Johnson was also a huge factor in this game, mainly on defense. He had eight rebounds, five blocks, three steals, and clamped down on Trayce Jackson-Davis defensively.
Rutgers gained a 14-point lead and seemed to be pulling away at the 12-minute mark of the second half. However, Indiana surged back with a quick 10-2 run to make the game close again and remain within striking distance the rest of the game. Ultimately, the Hoosiers could not contain Baker and Ron Harper Jr. on defense and fell just short of a victory.
Khristian Lander had a bit of a breakout game today. He played 11 minutes, hit two threes, and showed improvement on defense. Indiana made their run to get back into the game in part to Lander’s play.
Trayce Jackson-Davis had arguably his worst game of the season. The big man had just 13 points and seven rebounds to go with four turnovers. He was completely outplayed by Myles Johnson and had several defensive lapses which led to easy Rutgers points.
Armaan Franklin led the Hoosiers with 14 points and Race Thompson added 11.
Rob Harper chipped in 15 points and 12 rebounds for Rutgers.
This was a really disappointing outing for Indiana coming off a signature win versus a top-five team in Iowa. Archie Miller’s teams have consistently suffered losses like these coming after big wins. What seemed to be a potential turning point for the Hoosiers is now seen as added support to a theory of inconsistency for this Indiana team.
----
• 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.
