1. Luka Garza and Trayce Jackson-Davis will be first team All Big Ten players. There is zero doubt that when the lists are released in nine days, that will be the case. In the last 48 hours, Garza and Jackson-Davis are 9-31 from the floor with 8 rebounds. Two completely different guys, one an inside outside threat, and the other a mid-post, hyper-athletic driver and finisher, both shut down by Hunter Dickinson. Everything else aside, the excellence of Hunter on defense as a freshman, to the point where there's a legitimate case that he's on the all-defensive Big Ten team, is just incredible.
2. Indiana's "offense," and I use that term extremely loosely, is "designed" to get shots at the rim and free throw attempts. IU could not get to the line (we had more attempts and makes than they did), and could not convert at the rim, where we outscored them. Indiana just does not do anything else well enough to win games when these things aren't going well for them--it's a miserable shooting team with no offensive flow, and the defense has seriously regressed from earlier in the year. Indiana actually did a pretty good job of driving the ball, but they entered the game at 210 in the country in 2 point percentage, and this wasn't an improvement. Just me, but setting up a roster and an "offense" to focus on things you do really badly (entered the game at 266 nationally from the line, albeit number 8 in percentage of free throw attempts per shot taken) doesn't seem like a winning strategy to me.
3. Speaking of not winning strategies, Isaiah Livers hit 3 straight 3s to open the second half, all when guys helped off of him. I get that Huter is a load on the low block, and we have a ton of options all over the court offensively. I do NOT understand why anyone Isaiah's man would ever help when he's behind the 3 point line. After 4 years of over 40+% 3 point shooting, and 45+% this year, you'd think that would sink in.
4. Franz Wagner was, again, everywhere on both ends. Rafftry called him the best "role player" in the conference, and while that seems a strange descriptor about a guy who is a borderline lottery pick after his sophomore year, it's absolutely accurate. What makes this team what it is stems from the fact that everyone, including the three guys who will play in the NBA are "role players" who don't force shots, stay connected defensively, and provide space for each other.
5. In addition, guys who aren't doing one thing especially well do not let it carry over to other parts of the game. Case in point today--Mike Smith, who reverted to some earlier in the year sloppiness with the ball (5 turnovers), yet atoned by scoring 14 points on 5 shots and 4 free throws (made them all). On free throw shooting, Austin Davis missed both ends of the flagrant 1 after the hook and hold, and we were 17-17 from everyone else. It's nice to be in a situation where, late game, 4 of your starters are 85+% free throw shooters (Eli Brooks is over 90%), and the fifth is a mere 77% from the charity stripe.
6. Back to Indiana for a moment--I get that Hunter is a unicorn, and that, as Al McGuire said, "the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores," but honestly, Indiana's 2020 recruiting class was ranked number 13 in the country by rivals, and to date, those guys are completely inept. Khristian Lander, the 5* coming in is, at least, a re-classifier up, which is usually a bad idea for a point guard, so maybe he'll blossom, though a guy who is shooting less then 14% from 2 and 29% from 3 has a long way to go. The others, well, we've learned not to give up on guys early, but that has been with John Beilein and Juwan Howard coaching. Based on Archie Miller's track record at Indiana, if he's kept on, his development record is not promising.
7. The bench struggled today--Chaundee Brown was 1-7 from the floor, and seemed to be lacking a bit from his customary crazy energy, and Austin Davis and Brandon Johns had bad games, with Brandon forcing a few shots, and Austin getting turn styled a few times early on the defensive end and failing to finish on offense. It's pretty impressive to have the entire bench group have off nights at the same time, and still play a road game where the outcome was never in doubt for the last almost 30 minutes of the game.
8. Today was a workmanlike performance (credit again to Bill Rafftry) after against two top 10 games, and less than a 40 hour turnaround. It's very nice to play good, but not great, basketball, and win going away. This is a lot of fun.
2. Indiana's "offense," and I use that term extremely loosely, is "designed" to get shots at the rim and free throw attempts. IU could not get to the line (we had more attempts and makes than they did), and could not convert at the rim, where we outscored them. Indiana just does not do anything else well enough to win games when these things aren't going well for them--it's a miserable shooting team with no offensive flow, and the defense has seriously regressed from earlier in the year. Indiana actually did a pretty good job of driving the ball, but they entered the game at 210 in the country in 2 point percentage, and this wasn't an improvement. Just me, but setting up a roster and an "offense" to focus on things you do really badly (entered the game at 266 nationally from the line, albeit number 8 in percentage of free throw attempts per shot taken) doesn't seem like a winning strategy to me.
3. Speaking of not winning strategies, Isaiah Livers hit 3 straight 3s to open the second half, all when guys helped off of him. I get that Huter is a load on the low block, and we have a ton of options all over the court offensively. I do NOT understand why anyone Isaiah's man would ever help when he's behind the 3 point line. After 4 years of over 40+% 3 point shooting, and 45+% this year, you'd think that would sink in.
4. Franz Wagner was, again, everywhere on both ends. Rafftry called him the best "role player" in the conference, and while that seems a strange descriptor about a guy who is a borderline lottery pick after his sophomore year, it's absolutely accurate. What makes this team what it is stems from the fact that everyone, including the three guys who will play in the NBA are "role players" who don't force shots, stay connected defensively, and provide space for each other.
5. In addition, guys who aren't doing one thing especially well do not let it carry over to other parts of the game. Case in point today--Mike Smith, who reverted to some earlier in the year sloppiness with the ball (5 turnovers), yet atoned by scoring 14 points on 5 shots and 4 free throws (made them all). On free throw shooting, Austin Davis missed both ends of the flagrant 1 after the hook and hold, and we were 17-17 from everyone else. It's nice to be in a situation where, late game, 4 of your starters are 85+% free throw shooters (Eli Brooks is over 90%), and the fifth is a mere 77% from the charity stripe.
6. Back to Indiana for a moment--I get that Hunter is a unicorn, and that, as Al McGuire said, "the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores," but honestly, Indiana's 2020 recruiting class was ranked number 13 in the country by rivals, and to date, those guys are completely inept. Khristian Lander, the 5* coming in is, at least, a re-classifier up, which is usually a bad idea for a point guard, so maybe he'll blossom, though a guy who is shooting less then 14% from 2 and 29% from 3 has a long way to go. The others, well, we've learned not to give up on guys early, but that has been with John Beilein and Juwan Howard coaching. Based on Archie Miller's track record at Indiana, if he's kept on, his development record is not promising.
7. The bench struggled today--Chaundee Brown was 1-7 from the floor, and seemed to be lacking a bit from his customary crazy energy, and Austin Davis and Brandon Johns had bad games, with Brandon forcing a few shots, and Austin getting turn styled a few times early on the defensive end and failing to finish on offense. It's pretty impressive to have the entire bench group have off nights at the same time, and still play a road game where the outcome was never in doubt for the last almost 30 minutes of the game.
8. Today was a workmanlike performance (credit again to Bill Rafftry) after against two top 10 games, and less than a 40 hour turnaround. It's very nice to play good, but not great, basketball, and win going away. This is a lot of fun.
