Going on the road
Indiana's win over Penn State certainly adds a good win to its Tournament resume, but it does not void the vulnerabilities and inconsistencies that surface in most contests. Indiana showed what it can do at some version of its best form in the first half, but it proved scoring droughts, mental lapses, stretches with lackluster hustle and more struggles are still in the identity of this 2019-20 team.
Surrendering a massive lead
Indiana built a lead that swelled to as many as 19 points in the first half, and in six minutes of gameplay, the Hoosiers blew that lead. A 16-0 run carried over from the first half got Penn State back into contention.
How Indiana built that lead is detailed below, but the opposite became the case quickly in the second half after the Hoosiers stumbled into halftime despite carrying a 13-point lead.
Lamar Stevens got going for the Nittany Lions, hitting 20 total points before the midway point of the second half. As the 10-minute mark of the second half approached, Penn State was 10-of-12 from the floor (IU was 3-of-11), out-rebounded IU 8-3 and outscored IU 14-4 in the paint.
Regaining footing
Indiana used a 15-2 run to overcome the hole it had buried itself into. Race Thompson carried Indiana offensively through its toughest dry spell to begin the half, scoring six of Indiana's first 12 points of the half, but Justin Smith, defensively and on the boards, provided the life that kicked off the run.
Jerome Hunter hit a three, followed by two straight scores by Thompson, who checked in another career day, and Smith, Rob Phinisee and Trayce Jackson-Davis rounded out the run.
Indiana was placed in position to defend a lead in a similar way it needed to defend a lead at Minnesota, leading by seven with just over five minutes remaining.
Going back to the well
Indiana won the tip Sunday, and on its first offensive possession, it went directly to Trayce Jackson-Davis inside. Jackson-Davis was coming off a 27-point, 16-rebound game at Minnesota, and he scored on a hook shot to kick off scoring agains tPenn State.
Race Thompson, who had the best game of his career at Minnesota as well, and De'Ron Davis provided crucial sparks off the bench, highlighted by an acrobatic pass from Davis to Jackson-Davis on the most exciting play fo the first half and an offensive rebound from Thompson that saved a missed three by Durham and ended with a putback and-one.
The Hoosiers attacked the rim a lot, drawing two quick fouls on Lamar Stevens and outscoring Penn State in the paint, 18-12. The offense began to go off the rails a bit in the last five minutes, when Devonte Green hit three three-point shots, but Jackson-Davis didn't attempt a shot while the offense began to bog down.
Strong early defense
Nothing came easy for Penn State offensively Sunday. At halftime, the Nittany Lions were shooting 35 percent from the floor, 0-of-6 from three, 8-of-14 from the free throw line and committed nine turnovers.
Much of the early struggles for Penn State could be attributed to lethargic offense and bad passes in the backcourt, but Rob Phinisee took advantage , recording four steals and igniting 10 points in transition.
The Hoosiers contested most shots inside, and, aside from allowing six offensive rebounds, scored 15 points off Penn State turnovers.
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