Indiana’s 3-Point Struggles Continue in Empire Classic, Opponents Are Well Aware

After a loss to UConn and a win over Louisville in the Empire Classic, opposing head coaches Dan Hurley and Kenny Payne had similar takeaways about Indiana, as the Hoosiers shot 4-for-24 from 3-point range in two games.

NEW YORK – If it wasn’t already obvious, opposing head coaches at the Empire Classic agreed on the top concern for Indiana this season. 

Fresh off a 77-57 win against the Hoosiers with a team that looks like it could win back-to-back national championships, UConn coach Dan Hurley discussed his focus when defending Indiana.

“Paint, paint, paint for them,” Hurley said. “The 3-point line is not something at this point for them that’s a strength. The strength is their fours and fives, and it’s [Xavier] Johnson and [Trey] Galloway cutting, slashing … It was just about taking away the paint and getting in gaps.”

Despite a distinctly different outcome, a 74-66 loss to Indiana, Louisville coach Kenny Payne made a similar comment.

“They didn’t shoot the ball great,” Payne said. “But they made adjustments.”

Indiana ended the weekend with a 1-1 record, but there was one constant across the two games at Madison Square Garden. The Hoosiers shot 3-for-13 from 3-point range against UConn, then 1-for-11 against Louisville.

Those numbers aren’t surprising. Indiana lost its top three 3-point shooters from last year's team that ranked fourth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, but coach Mike Woodson didn’t add any shooters through the transfer portal. Freshman Mackenzie Mgbako was supposed to help in this area, but he’s shooting 32% overall and 1-for-13 from 3-point range.

Woodson is relying on internal development, primarily from Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway and CJ Gunn, and those three are a combined 8-for-28, or 28.6%, through five games. That’s concerning, both from a percentage and volume standpoint.

Johnson has shot 38.9% from beyond the arc as a Hoosier and Galloway shot 46.2% last year, though both have attempted less than three per game. Gunn, a sophomore, came to Indiana with a reputation as a shooter and scorer in high school, but he’s 2-for-28 on 3-point attempts in college.

Indiana Hoosiers forward Mackenzie Mgbako (21) shoots the ball as Louisville Cardinals guard Tre White (22) defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

It was always going to take time for this Indiana team to figure things out with six new scholarship players, but that’s mainly regarding its chemistry on both ends and Woodson’s feel for lineups and rotations – not whether a player can consistently knock down open shots.

Indiana won’t magically turn into a high-volume 3-point shooting team. It simply doesn’t have the personnel. The Hoosiers are shooting 23.4% from three this season, which ranks 13th in the Big Ten and 351th out of 361 teams in Division I.

Even more concerning, Indiana finished last in the Big Ten in threes made per game during the previous four seasons. Indiana is last again in that category to start the year, and Florida A&M and Mississippi Valley State are the only teams in the country with fewer 3-point attempts per game than Indiana's 12.8.

This trend has continued into its third season under Woodson. Indiana has been a post-oriented team under Woodson, playing through talented bigs like Trayce Jackson-Davis, Malik Reneau and others. Woodson knows Indiana's strength is down low, though he didn’t make any meaningful offseason additions to improve Indiana's 3-point shooting.

This weakness could ultimately hurt other aspects of Indiana’s offense. Hurley said UConn entered the game planning to double-team Indiana forward Malik Reneau, but they didn’t do it well. Reneau finished the game with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting.

“Malik’s a hell of a player, man,” Hurley said. “That guy’s gonna be just a killer.’’

The more Reneau succeeds, the more opponents will commit to stopping him in the post. That’ll force Reneau – and potentially Kel’el Ware, too – to kick the ball outside to Indiana’s perimeter players who are currently unreliable from 3-point range.

There’s no easy or immediate fix. That makes 3-point shooting, yet again, the No. 1 concern for Indiana.

“Keep working,” Woodson answered in regards to Indiana’s 3-point shooting. “That’s all you can do. Keep working, and hopefully something triggers that they make threes. The bottom line and what I look at is we won.”

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