Todd’s Take: Kanaan Carlyle Makes A Welcome Return To The Indiana Rotation

Kanaan Carlyle’s presence was immediately felt by Indiana in its 82-67 victory over Minnesota.

Indiana Hoosiers guard Kanaan Carlyle (9) celebrates after making a three-point basket during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If ever there was a game Indiana’s men’s basketball team needed to win, it was a home game to start the Big Ten season against a Minnesota team that is still trying to find itself.

A loss against the Golden Gophers Monday would have had Indiana fans howling – and rightfully so. The constantly rebuilding Gophers – the transfer portal and NIL era have not been kind to the maroon-and-gold – are in a state of flux and were playing their first true road game of the season. The Gophers have already lost four games and Minnesota is an odds-on favorite to be one of the three Big Ten teams to miss the 15-team Big Ten Tournament in March.

So while a victory over Minnesota won’t help Indiana’s resume much, a loss would have deep-sixed it. So it was a must-win.

Early in Monday’s contest at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, it seemed the Gophers and Hoosiers were engaged in a contest of first-to-100 wins, not really a sustainable route to success.

Both teams made their first 11 of 15 shots as defense was a concept that seemed lost on both teams. Yes, the offenses were decent, but the defenses were that bad. The game was going to go to the team that was able to figure out to get stops.

That’s where Indiana is at an advantage with its depth. It could call on Kanaan Carlyle off the bench.

After missing the last three games with an undisclosed lower body injury, Carlyle returned to the rotation on Monday – and not a moment too soon.

It’s no accident that Minnesota went into the deep freeze offensively shortly after Carlyle entered the game for the first time with 14:07 left in the first half. At the time, both teams were still in the ascendent offensively, but it didn’t last.

Starting with just under 12 minutes left in the first half, Carlyle was part of an Indiana five that turned the screws on the Gophers.

Carlyle was at the center of the stand. Along with Trey Galloway, Bryson Tucker, Luke Goode and Oumar Ballo, Minnesota could not score.

Minnesota would miss seven shots in a row, the stopping power in what became a 16-1 run that gave Indiana the margin it needed to eventually earn an 82-67 victory.

“My teammates and my coaches threw a lot at me, just telling me to be more aggressive offensively and defensively, so just went out there and do whatever I can to win,” Carlyle said.

Carlyle was opportunistic with a steal in the first half, but his influence was felt less in statistical bona fides than it was in just having a defensive attitude on the floor.

“Every day we take pride in our defense. Woody (Indiana coach Mike Woodson) preaches defense, so I knew when I came here my job us going to be to be that two-way player, so I take pride in that individually and my teammates all encourage me and they be up there with me, so it's easy for me to bring that energy when you got teammates behind you who bring the same energy,” Carlyle said.

It’s something that comes and goes for the Hoosiers. Overall, Indiana’s defensive stats are relatively decent, including a field goal defense of 40% entering Monday’s game, good for 61st nationally.

However, it’s not consistent. Carlyle seems to smooth out those inconsistencies when he’s on the floor.

Carlyle got the chance to watch what Indiana does and doesn’t do well defensively and now has the opportunity to mold that into his own plan of attack.

“I feel like when we're playing fast, when we're all sharing the rock and we all play together, it works magic. When we're all scoring the ball, when we all up playing defense and bring high energy, I don't think there's no team in the country that can beat us,” Carlyle said.

“When we do get comfortable, that's when stuff starts to fall off and that's when teams start to make their runs back, so we just got to make sure we put a good 40 minutes together where we play hard all 40 and not in spurts,” Carlyle added.

If all Carlyle does for the Hoosiers is to make them better on the defensive end, that’s worth it alone, but Carlyle was also valuable on the offensive end as he had his most productive game in an Indiana uniform from a scoring standpoint.

Carlyle had 14 points, two better than his previous Indiana best in a game against South Carolina on Nov. 16. He was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, the only long range threat the Hoosiers had. Carlyle added five assists and three rebounds.

This is the player both the coaching staff and fans thought they were getting when Carlyle transferred from Stanford.

It will be interesting to see if Carlyle can use Monday’s game as a beachhead to better things. Indiana could really benefit from consistency from one of its guards.

So far, the Hoosiers have been getting good games from a guard or two per game, but it’s been inconsistent across the board for most of the backcourt. Witness the combined three points Myles Rice and Trey Galloway scored against the Gophers one game after they combined for 30 points.

So if Carlyle can help deliver consistent production, so much the better for Indiana. And he doesn’t really care what role he has in doing it.

“I'm perfectly fine with coming off the bench. I want to win games, whether it's being the sixth man, eighth man, tenth man starting two guard, I don't care,” Carlyle said. “As long as we win, I'm here to do my job, to play defense and provide what I can on offense. That's it.”

Related stories on Indiana basketball ...

• GAME STORY: Bryson Tucker gives Indiana a lift in its 82-67 win over Minnesota. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT WOODSON SAID: Comments from Indiana men's basketball coach Mike Woodson after Indiana's win over Minnesota. CLICK HERE.

• LIVE BLOG: Recall the game as it happened with Hoosiers on SI's live blog. CLICK HERE.

• AP TOP 25 POLL: Indiana begins Big Ten play this week without a place in the Top 25. CLICK HERE