What Coach Mike Woodson Said After Indiana's 83-66 Win Over North Alabama
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana handled North Alabama easily on Thursday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, securing an 83-66 win.
The victory improved Indiana's record to 9-3 on the season, along with a 2-0 start in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers now have an extended break before resuming play on Dec. 29 against Kennesaw State.
Here's everything Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after the win.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson instructs his team during the second half of the Hoosiers' game with Morehead State on Tuesday,
Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
Q. A lot of things that went well. What were your thoughts on the three-point shooting, the different guys who made them for you?
Woodson: "It's good to see the ball go in the hole. When you take them, you're supposed to make them. I thought tonight we did a good job in getting the ball moved around. We had 25 assists. That means the ball was moving a little bit and guys made some shots."
Q. You talk about the ball movement. What allowed the guards to really be able to facilitate a shooting night like this?
Woodson: "Well, again, we've had good looks all year. The ball has moved some all year. Just got to stick the ball in the hole when you have the shots. I thought tonight guys were comfortable, they shot it. When they had the shoot they took it and they made it. But we had bodies moving. We set some screens. That helps, too. You got some good looks."
Q. Are you seeing anything different from Trey? Been playing with an edge.
Woodson: "Well, I mean, again, when Gabe got the two fouls, Trey is basically our only ball handler big-time on the floor. I thought he did a great job in getting us into our sets and getting the ball where it needed to go. CJ, helped out a little bit, as well. Then we were able to get Gabe back in after we rested him a little bit. I went with him before the half even with the two fouls and told him to be smart about not picking up his third."
Q. How much of a weapon can that three-point shot be for Malik and how much can you maybe feel when it goes down that he finds a little bit of extra rhythm or a little bit of extra comfort offensively?
Woodson: "Well, it helps. I mean, he hadn't taken a whole lot of them this year. The fact that he shot them all tonight in rhythm, that helps. That's with anybody that's shooting the three ball. I mean, if you sit there, we've had this year quite a few where we set on the three-point line wide open, we just didn't knock 'em down. I thought tonight everybody who made them were in rhythm and felt pretty good. Was kind of nice to see the ball go through the hole."
Q. Mike, because of the way the game played out, you were able to get some extended minutes for Kaleb, CJ, and Payton. How do you feel they took advantage of it? What do they need to work on?
Woodson: "Well, again, they haven't played a whole lot of minutes. You can see some of the fatigue set in, even with Payton, the minutes that he played. With that group, I've got to do extra work because they're not getting big-time minutes. So when they're called upon, I expect them to play and produce. We've got to do extra work with that group, which we have been doing. But we've got to continue that because you never know. Somebody goes down, you're going to have to depend on them for a stretch of minutes that can help you win a basketball game. We'll keep working with those guys. I was pleased with their play tonight. They did some good things for us. Hopefully we can just grow from that and after the break come back ready and get ready for Kennesaw."
Q. On Tuesday night you had to come back late in the second half. Tonight different story. Is there something to be said for getting a win that felt comfortable throughout the night?
Woodson: "Yeah, I mean, a win's a win to me because I'm always gauging based on how we play. We didn't play particularly well in our last ballgame, the first half. The second half, when we went on our run, we started playing Indiana basketball. Tonight I thought we came out ready. We consistently played well throughout the course of the game. The results was a win. Merry Christmas to everyone. Enjoy your holidays."
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- GAME STORY: In an 83-66 win over North Alabama, Indiana dished out a season-high 25 assists and made 12-of-24 3-point attempts, the most of the Mike Woodson era. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Relive all the play-by-play from the game live from press row in Jack Ankony's blog. He shares updates, highlights and thoughts on Thursday's game between Indiana and North Alabama. CLICK HERE
- POINT SPREAD: Indiana keeps winning games against the mid-major opponents on their schedule, but just barely. They get another shot on Thursday night against North Alabama. Here's the latest on the point spread, with a good history against the number for both teams. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA 2023-24 SCHEDULE: Here is the complete Indiana basketball schedule for the 2023-24, with dates, opponents, gametimes, TV information and more, plus links to stories from the games already played so far CLICK HERE
