Indiana Basketball Was 'Flat' vs Lindenwood as Jekyll and Hyde Identity Forms

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After sinking a pair of free throws to push his team's lead to 41-31 over Lindenwood on Thursday night, Indiana basketball senior forward Sam Alexis backpedaled to his spot on defense, turned to junior guard Nick Dorn and yelled, "Let's go."

Just over 10 seconds later, Alexis skied for defensive rebound, drew a foul and made two more foul shots before the process repeated. He clapped his hands, shouted words of encouragement and pulled down another rebound.

Among the nine scholarship Hoosiers who saw the floor Thursday, Alexis was an anomaly: He played with energy, and he largely cleaned up the glass.

Indiana (5-0) overcame a lethargic play style and glaring rebounding woes to secure a 73-53 win over Lindenwood (2-4) on Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers, who entered the game as 34.5-point favorites, were outrebounded 48-44. Alexis cited a lack of seriousness by players during rebounding drills. Fifth-year senior forward Tucker DeVries, who scored a team-high 25 points, added another reason.

"We just got to play harder, to be honest," DeVries said postgame. "It's been an emphasis in practice and we'll get it fixed."

Alexis, who led the team with 10 rebounds, said Indiana needs to bring energy every day, and it starts with the bench. The Hoosiers' rebounding struggles don't stem from effort but hitting bodies and squeezing the ball in his eyes.

DeVries, however, felt it was "pretty obvious we were a little flat." In the first half, he thought Indiana was collectively dead. The Hoosiers entered halftime with a 34-18 lead, but they committed seven turnovers and shot only 37.5% from the field.

Lindenwood started the second half on a 10-0 run, trimming its deficit to 34-28 with just under 17 minutes remaining in the game. Indiana responded with a 21-6 run, during which Alexis brought his teammates, and the sparsely populated crowd, to life.

But the Hoosiers' lack of consistent energy is problematic. Indiana coach Darian DeVries emphasizes having a loud gym — he wants his team to create its own spark, to play fast and to never waver through 40 minutes.

DeVries admitted he was a little bit surprised by the Hoosiers' flatness Thursday.

After an uncharacteristically sluggish performance in a 69-61 win over Incarnate Word on Nov. 16, DeVries felt the Hoosiers proved this week at practice they'd learned from their mistakes, most of which stemmed from letting a lack of shot-making influence their energy level.

But as Indiana shot only 37.7% from the field and 32.1% from 3-point range, DeVries saw the same issue rear its ugly head.

"They were playing hard tonight. Just wasn't the same juice," DeVries said. "Again, part of it may be when the offense isn't flowing, they got to learn how to fight through that. These are all things early in the year that as you're getting going, you learn how to win games in a lot of different ways, and that's an important thing to have and quality to have."

The Hoosiers averaged 99.7 points per game in their first three contests, twice eclipsing the 100-point line while making double-digit 3-pointers in each outing. Over the past two games, Indiana is averaging 71 points per game and is just 14-of-52 shooting from distance, a 26.9% clip.

Indiana has developed a Jekyll and Hyde identity. Jekyll makes 3-pointers and has energy, and Hyde lets misses impact his intensity. The former, Tucker DeVries said, is "really good." The latter? Not so much.

"You see the difference in the two teams of us, of when we are bringing that energy, and that's something we got to really focus on and make sure we're bringing that every time," Tucker DeVries said. "We talk about it all the time. We're not a very good team when we are not playing with a bunch of enthusiasm and excitement.

"We got to get to that every point, 40 minutes a game, and then I think we're really good when we are doing that."

Darian DeVries knew nights would come where his team wouldn't make 3-pointers, and he was curious to see how his players responded. The Hoosiers took a step forward in handling their shooting shortcomings Thursday night.

Against Incarnate Word, DeVries felt Indiana let its offensive struggles impact its defensive intensity. Through 23 minutes Thursday night, the Hoosiers mirrored their defensive performance. They limited Lindenwood to 18 points on 17.9% shooting in the first half. Then, like against the Cardinals, Indiana allowed an early surge to begin the second half.

But the Hoosiers flipped the script.

Lindenwood went 3-for-4 shooting to start the second half. Over the final 16-and-a-half minutes, the Lions were 7 of 23. Subsequently, Indiana's lead ballooned from six to 24 points, and the Hoosiers ultimately finished with their fourth 20-plus-point victory in five games.

"I did think our defense, again, is what changed the game around in the second half," Darian DeVries said. "So, we were able to get the lead, push back out, and a lot of that was because of defensive intensity just picked up."

Indiana's high-flying start to DeVries' tenure formed an early identity around offensive firepower. But for the Hoosiers to be Jekyll more often, they may need to build their house on a defense-oriented foundation, one that's unaffected by the result of offensive possessions.

Thursday capped the softer portion of the Hoosiers' non-conference schedule, which featured four non-high major opponents. Now comes the test.

Indiana hosts undefeated Big 12 foe Kansas State on Nov. 25, and after a noon tipoff Nov. 29 against Bethune-Cookman, the Hoosiers play four consecutive high-major opponents in Minnesota, Louisville, Penn State and Kentucky.

The early non-conference season brought five wins, a wealth of invigorating flashes and a few hard lessons — perhaps the most important being the blueprint to finding success when shots aren't falling.

The Hoosiers took a step forward in handling shooting slumps Thursday night — the issue, however, is the step was slow and heavy-footed.

"I think it's learning as a group when the offense isn't going, to really embrace the defensive side," Darian DeVries said, "and let that be our identity and let that be where your enthusiasm comes from."