Indiana had one of its more disappointing outings on Sunday, falling to Rutgers at home 74-70.
The Scarlet Knights had arrived in Bloomington riding a five-game losing streak, while IU was coming off of a win at No. 4 Iowa.
It was a great chance to build on the momentum it had from earlier in the week, but IU failed to do so.
Indiana now sits 9-7 (4-5) and looks to have over a week off due to Michigan's two-week pause. It is unclear if the Big Ten will look to rearrange some of the schedule.
Here are the main takeaways from IU's loss to Rutgers.
Hoosiers fail to keep momentum: It was another difficult loss to swallow after a huge win for Indiana against Iowa. But, once again it is the same inconsistent play that plagues Indiana. IU is now 2-9 in games directly following an AP Top-25 win in Archie Miller's tenure.
Jackson-Davis struggles: IU fans are used to seeing the preseason All-American dominate every game, but on Sunday he struggled to make much of an impact. He had just 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting and four turnovers. For most of the game, Myles Johnson dominated the matchup and took Jackson-Davis out of the game, thus making IU's offense non-existent at times. The Hoosiers need to find more ways to be creative using TJD.
IU on-ball defense a problem: Indiana fixed some of its on-ball defense against Iowa but resorted to some of the previous issues against Rutgers. IU struggled to keep ball handlers in front of them and that resulted in a lot of defensive breakdowns when the RU guards were able to get in the middle of the paint. Rutgers finished with 1.12 points per possession plus finishing with 30 paint points on Sunday.
Khristian Lander's boost: The freshman guard had his best performance this season in 11 minutes, scoring six points - both 3's. He looked confident and definitely looked more adjusted to the speed and physical play of the college game. He helped spark a run when IU was struggling midway through the second half. If he can build on this outing and provide minutes like that consistently, then it will be a huge boost to IU's backcourt and bench production.
Brutal first segment in second half: Indiana was down just five to start the second half and then came out with three turnovers in its first four possessions and five in the first four minutes after halftime. The Rutgers lead grew to 10 at that time. The Hoosiers had really cut down on the turnovers over the last three games, averaging just 8.3 in that span, but had 12 total on Sunday, including nine in the second half. That first four minute segment ended up being the killer to IU on the afternoon.
IU at a crossroads: Look, IU is what it is at this point and that is at a crossroads. After a huge win last week, it fell to a team it should have beat in Rutgers. So, where does IU go from here? Who knows, but something needs to be adjusted whether it be a lineup change to spark some desperation, or some new players to raise their level of play. IU needs a jolt of energy that will last longer than one game - or one half.
----
• 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.
