IUSportCom’s Jimmy Cavanaugh and Podcast Editor Tony Adragna discuss the play of the Hoosiers in their contest against Gardner-Webb.

Jimmy’s Take

Let’s be clear on two things – I’m not a ‘sunshine and daisies’ kind of guy, and Indiana playing this type of game isn’t going to cut it against a high-level opponent.

Now that those two points are out of the way, IU put forth a very solid defensive effort tonight and even though they didn’t shoot well from beyond the arc or the free-throw line, they still managed to record a 24-point win.

Unlike a few of the early games this year, the beauty of this contest was in the eye of the beholder. Indiana excelled in their defensive pressure, especially in the second half when they limited Gardner-Webb to less than 35 percent from the floor. However, for observers with a desire to get a little picky (read: me) the overall defensive presence wasn’t really impressive until the second half.

The Hoosiers’ defense in the first half was decent but not overly impressive, as Gardner-Webb shot 4/10 shots from three-point range early in the stanza, and missed a couple more open looks that one would expect a good team to knock down. Obviously this is a little nitpicky, but IU allowed the Bulldogs multiple open shots and it wouldn’t have been at all surprising to see them end up at 7-12 instead of 4-12 on three-pointers at the half.

Honestly though it’s hard to hate too much on the defense – Gardner-Webb was held to under 50 after all – and they deserve their share of credit for playing well over most of the night, especially so in the second half. Victor Oladipo was a terror on the defensive end, totaling 17 deflections (the highest number for a player in a single game since Tom Crean has been at Indiana) and had plenty of help as Indiana played great team defense and pulled down more than 40 rebounds for the first time all season, led by Cody Zeller and Derek Elston with nine apiece.

If there was an area that concerned me tonight, it was the offensive tempo. The Hurryin’ Hoosiers were anything but early on, totaling only 34 points in the first half of play. As a matter of fact, Indiana shot below 20 percent from beyond the arc and if it weren’t for the team’s outstanding defensive effort, this game could have likely been a lot closer than it was.

I understand that there can be off games when a team doesn’t shoot well (and this looked like one of those games) but the Hoosiers’ apparent lack of urgency on offense in the first half was a mite disturbing. They corrected it in the second half – with Elston, Sheehey and Oladipo leading the way – but for a team looking to put forth a complete effort, that’s definitely an area to work on.

All in all, I’m antsy to see Indiana face a challenge. Tom Crean even admitted in his press conference that he may have experimented too much with lineups in the first half and that he was a lot happier with how the Hoosiers played the rest of the game. The season is still young, but I’d like to get a better idea of where this team is, and there’s no way to do that when the head coach still feels comfortable enough to treat his lineups like a Rubix cube.

Jimmy’s Grades

Tony’s Take

While Indiana has enjoyed lopsided outcomes in their first five contests, this game against Gardner-Webb was won in a different fashion.

Coming into the night, Indiana had fantastic shooting percentages from everywhere on the floor, including beyond the arc.  Monday night, Indiana shot under 50 percent from the floor, and they were just three of eighteen from behind the three-point line.

In recent years, a woeful shooting performance from the Hoosiers may have translated into letting an inferior team stay in the game.  However, on Monday night that was far from the case.

The Hoosiers were able to run away with this one with their defensive efforts paired with their ability to rebound on the defensive and offensive end.

As Tom Crean noted, “There are going to be nights where we don’t shoot it as well, and tonight was one of those nights. It’s the least of my concerns when it comes to offense, because we have good shooters. It just didn’t go down tonight but this game was about the hustle game. “

Indiana had five steals and forced nineteen turnovers.  The player that fueled the defensive efforts was Victor Oladipo.  Oladipo finished the night with two steals, but he was able to force many more turnovers.  The energy he was able to provide and rub off on his teammates helped the Hoosiers only give up two points in the first eight minutes of the second half.

Although Indiana was struggling to find an offensive flow in their half-court offense, their defense was leading to easy buckets on the offensive end, and they were able to go on multiple scoring runs.

At one point in the game, Will Sheehey was able to put together a run by himself thanks to defensive efforts from the Hoosiers.  Sheehey scored ten straight points in the game because he was able to capitalize on turnovers and fast break opportunities after rebounds.  The ten points were a part of Sheehey’s game-high fifteen for Indiana.

The continued excellent play of Derek Elston also has to be noted.  Elston saw just fifteen minutes of action, but he was one rebound away from a double-double, as he scored ten points and grabbed nine rebounds.  The improved play of Elston this season gives the Hoosiers depth in an area many thought they would struggle this season.

As it was noted, Derek Elston was able to grab nine rebounds, with three of them coming on the offensive end.  The Hoosiers as a whole tallied fourteen offensive rebounds, which translated to fourteen second-chance points.

The Hoosiers have struggled rebounding the ball this season, but they outrebounded Gardner-Webb 42-30, while only giving up seven offensive rebounds.

It was encouraging to see Indiana prevail in areas they have struggled in this young season.  They were able to show that they can win a basketball game when their strengths are not working for them.  Their ability to adjust their style of play within the game is a sign of increased maturity, and that they are steadily moving toward becoming a very good basketball team.

Tony’s Grades