Defense leads the way in Indiana's 64-50 win over South Dakota State

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Archie Miller has been saying for a month that his Indiana basketball team can be pretty good if it plays well on the defensive end for 40 minutes every night.

That was on full display Saturday at Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall, when the Hoosiers held South Dakota State to just 33.9 percent shooting in a 64-50 win. The Jackrabbits starters only scored 20 points all night and none of them made more than two shots.

The Hoosiers completed their seven-game November schedule with a perfect 7-0 record.

"We were better tonight defensively, in particular we didn't get it spread out, and we were a little better defensively in transition at times,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "They tried to get good looks, but I thought we did a nice job of taking away the easy ones. We didn't get to spread out. We didn't give as much of a pick-and-roll game up.

We still got to do a better job guarding the ball. And for a big team we don't play big around the rim. There's not enough shot blocking, there's not enough hard plays at the basket, but that's getting ready to really change as we get ready to keep moving forward here on, especially on Tuesday with the amount of size, talent, and athleticism that's going to come our way (with Florida State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge). But we were better defensively. From a percentage standpoint, we were clearly better there.''

True freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis again led the way for the Hoosiers, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. The 6-foot-9 forward from Greenwood has been Indiana's most consistent player thus far, and his rebounding acumen is rare for a someone so young.

"Well, he's just a natural. He's got great hands and length. He's a spring off the boards in terms of being able to go get the ball,'' Miller said. "He's getting balls that other guys can't get.

"That's obviously a gift that he brings to the table. He continues to do that for you us, which is important. Rebounding the ball is a huge deal for this team. Nine offensive rebounds is something else. But 19 and 14 is obviously a big deal.''

Junior forward Justin Smith had a big night, too, scoring 18 points and getting 8 rebounds. Senior guard Devonte Green was the only other Hoosiers in double figures. He had 11.

Sophomore point guard Rob Phinisee didn't play again as he continues to battle a multitude of injuries, most notably a lower abdominal issue. His absence puts a great strain on Indiana's guard rotation, with only Green, junior Al Durham and true freshman Armaan Franklin available.

It hasn't been an issue yet, but it could be going forward now that December is here. All six foes this month — Florida State, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Arkansas — are from major conferences.

"I continue to be concerned about our defense, and I think at the end of the day, our lack of depth at guard is really going to get exposed as we start to play the talent level and the guards on the other team,'' Miller said. "Hopefully we can get Robert back at some point in time. That's undecided right now. But Armaan and Al and Devonte, being our guard tandem right now, they have got to continue to do a great job of being better on the ball.''

Turnovers are still an issue for Indiana as well. The Hoosiers had 19 on Saturday. Miller prefers that number to be at 12 or better.

"We were trying to force it inside, especially with a team that was defending us by crowding the paint,'' Smith said. "There's a lot of different hands in there, so when we were throwing it inside, it was hard to get around the defenders. We just have to be more sure with our passes and not try and make the home-run play. But we'll probably shore that up and I'm sure we'll work on that going forward.''

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