© Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Indiana's Woes Continue in Blowout Loss at Penn State
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Indiana has played 56 basketball games with Penn State through the years, but none of the first 55 was anything like Wednesday night's embarrassing 85-66 blowout by the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions did whatever they wanted from start to finish at the Bryce Jordan Center, tying a school record with 18 three-pointers. Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk each made seven threes, many of them on uncontested, wide-open looks thanks to defensive lapses by Indiana. The 19-point margin was the largest ever for Penn State. The previous record was 15.
Indiana fell to 10-6 on the season and just 1-4 in the Big Ten, worst in the league outside of Minnesota. That's three straight losses since the start of the new year for a team that looks completely lost right now, especially on the defensive end.
And this, if you need reminding, is an Indiana team that was picked to win the league by players and coaches alike. Once they fell behind, there was no coming back.
And that's becoming a disturbing trend.
"We talked about it coming into the game that we've got to be mentally sharp as well as play hard,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "I just think when they get smacked around a little bit, we kind of shrink and we go the other way. And we can't do that."
The Hoosiers had no answer for Penn State's perimeter game, and it was an issue right from the start. Lundy, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, had four threes in the first 13 minutes of the game and Funk, a graduate transfer from Bucknell, hit three himself in the final five minutes of the half.
Indiana actually led 15-13 after just over 10 minutes, but then Penn State pulled away quickly. They went on an 8-0 run, and then closed out the half on a 16-8 run to take a 37-26 lead to the locker room. They were 9-for-17 shooting in the first half.
Indiana went on a 8-0 run early in the second half to cut the lead to five at 39-34, but that was as close as they would get. Penn State hit nine more threes in the second half and led by as much as 23 points.
Penn State (12-5, 3-3 in Big Ten) did a great job of moving the ball and beating Indiana's rotations. Indiana's two best defensive players — seniors Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson — didn't play because of foot and knee injuries respectively, and without them, they aren't very good defensively.
"Our two veterans are sitting there on the side and they’re not coming through the door any time soon,'' Woodson said. "Our guys are a little down and they should be. We got smacked in the face tonight. We're just not competing right now, and that's on me."
Indiana had four players in double figures, led by senior Trayce Jackson-Davis, who had 14 points on just 4-of-10 shooting. Jalen Hood-Schifino and Tamar Bates had 11 and Trey Galloway had 10. They shot just 44.1 percent as a team and made only 4-of-14 threes. They also made only 10-of-18 free throws, a mere 55.6 percent.
It was a mess from start to finish. They'e now given up 80 points or more in three straight league games, something that hasn't happen in more than two decades. And their 1-4 start is the worst since the Tom Crean rebuild in 2010.
“There were a couple times we did things that we never talked about during scout or practice. You just shake your head and ask, ‘why did we do that?” Woodson said.
Clearly this is a team in disarray right now, and it won't be getting any easier. The Hoosiers come home to play Wisconsin on Saturday, then play at Illinois next Thursday and at home on Sunday, Jan. 22, against Michigan State.
The biggest issue? Trey Galloway knows.
"At the end of the day, we're not playing hard enough,'' he said. ""I think our identity is playing hard, and I think we're not doing that right now. Momentum comes from stops. We couldn't find enough stops tonight.
"They were making shots. Our game plan was we knew they were going to shoot it. We gave them more 'dare' shots than usual. We can't dare them to shoot it."
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- WHAT TREY GALLOWAY SAID: Indiana junior guard Trey Galloway met with the media via Zoom following Indiana's 85-66 loss to Penn State on Wednesday night. Here's the full transcript of his interview, plus the full video. CLICK HERE
- WHAT MIKE WOODSON SAID: Indiana coach Mike Woodson met with the media via Zoom on Wednesday night after the Hoosiers lost 85-66 to Penn State, dropping to 1-4 in the Big Ten and 10-6 overall.Here is the full transcript of his postgame press conference. CLICK HERE
- WATCH GERONIMO'S BLOCK: Indiana junior forward Jordan Geronimo leapt above the rim to reject Kebba Njie's dunk attempt. CLICK HERE
- WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO'S JUMPER: Indiana freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino's hot shooting streak continued on Wednesday with an early jump shot in transition. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS DEAL: Indiana went on and 8-0 run early in the second half, including this spin move from Trayce Jackson-Davis. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Indiana will try to snap out of its two-game losing streak on Wednesday night at Penn State. Welcome to our live blog, where you can follow along to all the news and views from the game, plus highlights and opinion. CLICK HERE
