Photo courtesy of IU Athletics:

uring a shockingly successful first half of the Indiana basketball season, three-point shooting has been a key cog for the Hoosier offensive approach. IU has scorched the nets from beyond the arc early this season, hitting threes at almost a 48% rate – more than two full percentage points better than the next best team.

For Penn State – Indiana’s opponent this past Sunday – that statistic held additional significance, as the Nittany Lions entered their contest having allowed a higher percentage of points from beyond the arc than any other team in the country (credit to InsideTheHall).

As a result, it should have come as little surprise that the three-point shot would play a role in determining the outcome of the game. It would have been hard to predict though, that it would play as big of a role as it did. Indiana connected on 16 of their 24 attempts from deep, good for 67% and was one made three-pointer shy of the school record of 17 makes in a single game.

The Hoosiers made twice as many three-pointers as they did two-pointers, and were nearly twice as successful from beyond the arc (66% on threes/35% on twos) than they were inside it. All told, it was a magnificent, curious and odd offensive performance.

“It was a testament to how well we moved the ball,” Matt Roth said after the game. “We had a lot of inside-out stuff to get us started and those are always the best shots to get when you’re shooting threes; just coming from the inside or the middle. They went with a little zone on us and I thought we attacked it well and then we did well in transition as well at getting lost in the game.”

The barrage came in two salvos: Jordan Hulls led the charge early, draining deep shots early and often. He finished 7 of 9 from beyond the arc, helping him to a career-high 28 points.

Roth joined the fun near the end of the first half as he was fouled shooting a three-pointer and converted all three free throws. That apparently got him going, as he connected on five threes in the second half and finished with 22 points of his own. For Roth, the 22 points were the most he had scored since his freshman year against Ohio State, when he scored 29.

That two players served as equally deadly threats from long range.

“I was a little surprised, I guess,” said Hulls, when asked for his reaction to a Penn State defense that had trouble finding Indiana’s shooters even after they had started hitting shots. “But I was hitting in the first half and Matt (Roth) hit a few of his own in the second half, so everyone was just doing their part and finding the open man.”

Outside of the two sharpshooters, the Hoosiers had significant trouble finding a source of offensive firepower.

Cody Zeller was saddled by foul trouble for his second consecutive game, and despite a couple of spectacular plays – an earned And-1 while falling to the ground springs to mind – he wasn’t as effective as many may have expected, tallying only 10 points and four rebounds. Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo struggled as well, combining to shoot only 4-18 from the floor and score only 16 points. For those scoring at home, Zeller, Watford and Oladipo combined for 26 points (about 13 fewer than their combined average).

Luckily for IU, Hulls and Roth were good enough that it didn’t matter. Tom Crean was happy with the performance from his two snipers, but focused after the game on giving credit to the mindset they showed, rather than the proficiency with which they shot the ball.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is that if you don’t practice hard and don’t practice with toughness, you’re not going to beat Penn State,” Crean said of the contest. “We knew that we would have to play at a high level; that it would be a 50/50, rebounding and toughness game… the key for us is the commitment to improvement because I think our team can continue to get much better.”

“I don’t think we’re playing great,” he continued. “I don’t think that’s even in the cards.”

Obviously, living and dying by the three to the extent that Indiana did on Sunday isn’t a desirable game plan. Fans probably shouldn’t count on the Hoosiers consistently shooting nearly 70% from beyond the arc during the B1G season.

What fans should continue to expect is the dogged energy and determination that IU has shown throughout the beginning of the year, up through the contest with the Nittany Lions. Whether it’s taking what the defense gives them from beyond the arc, or forcing the issue on defense, the Hoosiers seem to have found a way to win games without a specific template.

For the short-term though, the unconventional win called to mind Crean’s quote after the win over Michigan the game before about his team ‘Winning 14 different games 14 different ways.’

Make that 15.