My Two Cents: Late-Game Offensive Struggles Remain Concern For Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — We've seen this before, with losses at Wisconsin and Penn State, and we saw it a bit at Iowa and in the home loss to Michigan.
Indiana hasn't lost very often this season, but one theme that's been consistent in the defeats is that Indiana's offense tends to disappear in the second half. It happened again in Saturday's 74-57 loss to No. 18 Illinois, where the Hoosiers had a four-point lead with 13 minutes to go but completely melted down the stretch.
Everything that possibly could go wrong, did go wrong. They struggled to even run good offense, and made just 2-of-15 shots in its set offense down the stretch. No one — starters or bench guys — played well.
During the final 13 minutes, Trayce Jackson-Davis, who had only six points all day, missed both of his shots. Parker Stewart, who made two threes in the first half, missed both tries late. Everyone who stepped on the floor missed shots.
And it led directly to a loss that now leaves them three games behind Illinois in the Big Ten race. Indiana is now 16-6 overall, and 7-5 in the Big Ten.
Here's what happened down the stretch for Indiana:
The Final 13 Minutes
Indiana had a 46-42 lead with 13 minutes to go, but then the offense collapsed from there. The Hoosiers scored only 11 points the rest of the way. They got two dunks in transition, and made only two shots in their set offense in 15 tries. They also had four turnovers.
Here are the gory details of their final 22 possessions:
- 12:54 — Parker Stewart, missed 3-pointer
- 12:15 — Trayce Jackson-Davis, missed jumper
- 11:13 – Trayce Jackson-Davis missed layup
- 10:13 — Parker Stewart, missed 3-pointer
- 9:44 — Jordan Geronimo, missed 3-pointer
- 9:31 — Turnover by Xavier Johnson
- 9:07 — MADE Xavier Johnson, 3-pointer
- 8:26 — Trey Galloway, missed jumper
- 7:56 — Tamar Bates, missed layup
- 7:24 — Turnover by Jordan Geronimo
- 6:53 — MADE Jordan Geronimo, dunk
- 6:12 — Race Thompson, missed jumper
- 5:30 — Xavier Johnson, missed 3-pointer
- 5:27 — Trayce Jackson-Davis, blocked layup
- 4:44 — Tamar Bates, missed 3-pointer
- 4:15 — Turnover by Khristian Lander
- 3:39 — MADE Trey Galloway 2 free throws
- 3:05 — MADE Khristian Lander jumper
- 2:21 — Khristian Lander, missed jumper
- 1:42 — Turnover by Khristian Lander
- 1:08 — MADE Race Thompson dunk
- 0:43 — Trey Galloway, missed layup
This has happened before, of course, when the Hoosiers had second-half struggles against Wisconsin and Penn State.
Woodson wasn't happy with Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson getting the Hoosiers into their offense. He wasn't happy with any of the starters, many of whom were benched in the final four-plus minutes.
"I didn't think they were playing well. That's why they went to the bench,'' Woodson said. "I don't think we got into anything. And I may have mentioned that to X when I came in the (locker room). I don't think he ever got us in everything.
"I can't tell you one play we called tonight unless I was calling it. You know, I thought he had kind of turned the corner in that area. But our offense, we struggled tonight because we never got into anything.''
Indiana shot just 35.7 percent from the field for the game, and 29.6 percent in the second half. They were 3-for-13 from three, and just 1-for-6 from deep in the second half.
The turnaround time is short for Indiana, with a road game at Northwestern on Tuesday night. The Hoosiers, now 16-6 on the season and 7-5 in the Big Ten, haven't lost back-to-back games all year. In games following losses, Indiana is 5-0, with an average victory margin on 17.0 points.
This is a big week for the Hoosiers, who look like an NCAA Tournament team most of the time, but not always. They're on the road Tuesday, and then play at Michigan State on Saturday. They simply cannot afford to lose both of those games.
And on the road, where the Hoosiers have won two straight — at Nebraska and Maryland — it's going to be all about scoring points for 40 minutes. Northwestern is dangerous, despite its record, because they play everyone tough and they are red-hot from three right now.
And Michigan State is Michigan State. The Spartans haven't been playing well lately, but they're still always difficult to beat in East Lansing.
They haven't lost in back-to-back games all year, and that's saying something. They bounce back nicely, and have done that. They don't let losses linger, and that's a good thing.
But this is a test now, a big one. This team, a work in progress in Mike Woodson's first year, continues to get better and better, but there are flaws, too.
Take the good with the bad, but hope the bad goes away quickly, especially with this offense.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- INDIANA VS. ILLINOIS PHOTO GALLERY: Look at more than 15 photos from Indiana's matchup against Illinois at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers won the first half but fell apart in the second and were beat 74-57 by the Fighting Illini. CLICK HERE
- WHAT WOODSON SAID: Here's what Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after the Hoosiers' loss to Illinois. CLICK HERE
- WHAT THOMPSON SAID: Here's what Indiana forward Race Thompson said after Saturday's game. We have the video and the transcript. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS VS. ILLINI LIVE BLOG: Indiana is two games behind Illinois in the Big Ten race, but they get a chance to cut into that lead on Saturday when the two teams get together at Assembly Hall. Here's our live blog. CLICK HERE.
