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Anaysis: So what do we know about IU Basketball after two games?


IndyHutch
  • Indiana is 2-0 and has looked impressive at times against less than stellar opponents. But just how much do we really know at this point about how good the No. 14 Hoosiers could be this season? Here are a couple of thoughts about IU following the first two games.

So what do we know about Indiana Basketball following victories over Eastern Illinois on Friday, and most recently Monday’s 102-76 win over Austin Peay?

 

1. THIS TEAM CAN SHOOT
We know that Indiana still has the potential to be deadly from distance and for that matter from just about anywhere on the court. Monday night, the Hoosiers made 16 of 27 3-pointers and three players knocked down four or more. In the second half, Indiana hit nearly 81 percent of its shots total, making 21 of 26. And these weren’t just all layups or post moves to the basket. Indiana hit eight 3-pointers in the second half. Indiana had a stretch where it made 15 shots in a row from 15:31 to play in the game when Max Bielfeldt stole a pass at midcourt and went for a layup the other way until James Blackmon Jr. missed a driving shot to the basket with 3:17 to play. In that 12 minute and 14 second stretch, Indiana hit seven 3-pointers.

 

2. THE FRESHMEN HAVE POTENTIAL BUT …
Thomas Bryant has already done enough things around the basket to make you feel like he’s going to be a contributor if he doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him. We saw that Friday night when got the technical for hanging on the rim and we saw it again on Monday when his teammates had to calm him down one time. But in between, he just has the look of a big man on both ends of the floor. The bigger question marks, however, are just how much can you expect to get out of O.G. Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. Both players seem to be kind of feeling their way in the early going and I’m sure most of that is trying to learn the adjustment from playing high school to college basketball. Anunoby has done more good things at this point than Morgan but the sample size with both of them is still too small to really get a good read. For example, against Austin Peay, Anunoby only played 9 minutes and Morgan was in for 7. Those will be two players to keep an eye on over the next month or so heading into Big Ten play.

 

3. I BELIEVE THE DEFENSE IS IMPROVED BUT …
They still give up way too many easy drives and don’t seem to get out quickly enough on shooters. This is probably over simplifying it but at times these guys almost seem to be willing to concede something on the defensive end so that they can get back on the offensive end to score. They need to find ways to get more offensive off of their defense. Monday, IU scored 33 points off of 23 turnovers. At first that sounds OK but there were times when IU really failed to capitalize on some of those miscues. Another problem Monday was that Austin Peay managed 40 points in the paint. That’s a lot of points inside against a team that wasn’t particularly big. I think the next few games against Creighton, Maui opponents and then Duke will give us a much better idea of how much this defense has improved.

 

4. HOW ABOUT TROY WILLIAMS THE PASSER?
There is always going to be the acrobatic Troy Williams and adding clips to his highlight reel. He had another one on a flush where he went coast-to-coast with 13:25 to play in the game on Monday. There is also always going to be the Troy Williams who tries to do too much and plays out of control. But the surprising Troy Williams for me to this point has been TW the Passer. He made a couple of really nice passes Monday on his way to a career-high five assists. He had one pass in particular where Collin Hartman cut backdoor from the left corner down the baseline and Williams hit him with a bounce pass in stride for a jam. It may have been one of my favorite Troy Williams plays in his time at Indiana.

 

5. A SET STARTING FIVE?
It’s too early to know for certain but I would think there’s at least 10 players in the mix at this point for significant minutes. I’m not sure that you’re going to see the same starting lineup every game like was the case with some of Tom Crean’s better teams in the past. I think you’ll see four guys start every game (Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr., Thomas Bryant and Troy Williams) and then, depending on matchups, either Max Bielfeldt, Robert Johnson or Collin Hartman in particular. The other guys in the mix for significant minutes at this point include Nick Zeisloft, O.G. Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. I’m not sure if Jordan Fuchs when he comes out from football will play a significant role or not.

 

The important thing after two games is that IU has looked impressive enough at times to make you think that this has a chance to be a special year for the Hoosiers.

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