Aloha From Asheville: Maui Invitational in North Carolina Critical Challenge for Hoosiers
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Without any scrimmages or exhibition games because of the COIVD-19 pandemic, it's been difficult to determine how good this Indiana basketball team will be this season. But we're going to find out real quick this week.
Indiana begins play in the Maui Invitational on Monday, taking on a very good Providence team that is a serious contender for the Big East title this year. The Hoosiers are one of eight teams in the field, and there's no denying that it's the best holiday tournament in the country, with six of the eight teams in the KenPom.com top-50.
Should the Hoosiers win Monday — tipoff is at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and the Hoosiers are a 1-point favorite according to DraftKings.com — No. 19 Texas might be there next in the semifinals, and No. 16 North Carolina could be a finals opponent if IU can keep winning. The field is deep, too. Four other teams — Indiana, Providence, Stanford and Alabama — are all receiving votes, as well.
Just look at the kenpom.com rankings for the field. There will be no breathers in any of the three rounds, which will all take place in three days here inside a bubble here in this eclectic western North Carolina mountain town. Because of quarantine and travel restrictions to Hawaii, the event had to move.
Look at this field, according to the kenpom.com rankings:
- No. 8 — Texas
- No. 21 — North Carolina
- No. 24 — Indiana
- No. 35 — Stanford
- No. 46 — Providence
- No. 48 — Alabama
- No. 83 — Davidson
- No. 136 — UNLV
Everyone plays three games in three days. Indiana is in the bottom of the bracket along with Texas and Davidson. If Indiana wins, it gets the Texas-Davidson winner at 1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. If the Hoosiers lose, they get the other loser Tuesday night.
Here is Monday's schedule, with all four games being televised on ESPN2:
- Noon ET: Texas (1-0) vs. Davidson (1-0)
- 2:30 p.m. ET: Indiana (1-0) vs. Providence (1-0)
- 7 p.m. ET: North Carolina (1-0) vs. UNLV (0-1)
- 9:30 p.m. ET: Stanford (1-0) vs. Alabama (1-0)
The entire tournament is taking place inside a bubble and will be hosted at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. No fans are allowed, and strict isolation plans are in place for all eight teams. The Southern Conference tournament was played in this building in March.
"We're a tourism-based community, and we fit that vibe of what an early-season tournament would look like," Harrah's Cherokee Center general manager Chris Corl said earlier this year. "Our goal is to bring business to town. As long as we can cover costs, we'll do whatever it takes."
With such a solid field, Indiana coach Archie Miller said last Wednesday that playing three difficult games in three days is going to be challenging. Center Joey Brunk, who missed the season-opening 89-59 win against Tennessee Tech at Assembly Hall with a back injury, is day-to-day for this tournament.
There were no updates from Indiana or media availability prior to the tournament.
"Getting this (season-opener) out of the way now was good as we are getting ready to take on a Maui field that is really, really talented,'' Miller said last Wednesday. "We have our work cut out for us when we get down there. We've got a lot of work to do over Thanksgiving and the next few days before we take off, but we are excited to be a part of that field and that tournament.
"It is obviously the premiere event in college basketball at this time of year. Unfortunately, we are not in Maui, but I am sure the environment in Ashville will be good.”
With Brunk out last week, Indiana struggled to rebound the ball at times with a smaller lineup, ending the game with just a 36-33 advantage. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 26 points and 11 rebounds against Tennessee Tech, but starting forward Race Thompson had only three rebounds in 16 minutes and Jerome Hunter had only one off the bench.
It's a concern for Miller here in Asheville, right from the start. Providence has seven players who are 6-foot-8 or better and 6-foot-10, 260-pound center Nate Watson had 23 points and 10 rebounds in their 97-56 win over Fairfield last Wednesday.
"This team right now as you watch us, we are built differently. We are more perimeter- oriented, and I think we are deficient on the glass right now,'' Miller said. "Trayce can rebound the ball, Race can rebound the ball, but other than that, I don’t know that we have a ton of guys going after the ball and rebound it. That's the biggest concern going to Asheville.
"With that type of field, that's what we are going to be going up against with rebounding. Our efficiency and taking care of the ball, especially going against that competition down there, is important. We can’t give away easy baskets. Rebounding and taking care of it will matter, and I think the third thing that is going to make or break us here is eventually is our free-throw shooting and three-point shooting. We have to be a better three-point shooting team and free-throw shooting team. ''
Indiana was just 10-for-22 from the free throw line in the opener and 5-for-19 from three-point range. Both numbers will need to be better this week, starting on Monday in what will surely be a tight game.
"From the foul line, we spend a ton of time on that,'' Miller said. "And shooting the ball, we have good shooters getting wide open shots, so guys have got to make them. This is the beginning of the year, but we got to make those. That is going to make the difference in our team, if we want to be better. We are going to have to make some shots down there.
"I think in general we are smaller right now, especially with Joey out. When Joey returns that makes us deeper and bigger, but we are smaller and you can see we are switching more. I think that switching puts our guards on the glass a lot more and that hurts. That is where the switching hurts you. In general, right now my biggest concerns are our ability to rebound and take care of it, those two things, if we can do those two things we will be OK.''
The top half of the bracket is loaded too, with North Carolina getting most of the attention here. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams is an Asheville native. He's not sure what to expect from his team either, since he's trying to work in six highly regarded freshmen.
“This team probably needed an exhibition game and a scrimmage, or two exhibition games maybe more than any team I’ve ever had,” Williams said. “Not having those exhibitions or not having the scrimmages has put us behind. The fact that you have six freshmen in your top 10, that always puts us behind where we want to be. But I still have those big-time expectations of wanting to be a great team and expecting us to get better quickly.”
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- MILLER-COOLEY RELATIONSHIP: Indiana coach Archie Miller and Providence coach Ed Cooley have been friends for a long time. They'll meet on Monday in a game that both really need to win. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: Getting Joey Brunk back in the lineup will help a lot with Indiana's rebounding concerns. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA BASKETBALL SCHEDULE: Here is Indiana's complete college basketball schedule for the 2020-21 season. CLICK HERE
