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Indiana Defense and What it Means


theronjohn1
  • IU student Aaron Johnson takes a look at the Indiana defense from the matchup against Creighton and gives some personal opinion about the improvement on that side of the ball.

Sure, Indiana’s offense was great as usual, but I want to talk about how good I thought the defense played.

 

For a team that put up 51 points in the first half, the Hoosiers did a good job at causing problems on the defensive end in their 86-65 win over Creighton on Thursday night.

 

First of all, I would like to say there is still plenty of room for improvement on the IU defense (seems to be a trend with a lot of IU Athletics does it not?). That said, holding Creighton to 65 points was a good start to that change for the better.

 

The Hoosiers forced 10 turnovers in the first half, which was obviously the better half in basically every term available. Five more turnovers came in the second half, but by that point, the eventual winner was already clear.

 

The turnovers sparked the offense as well, resulting in 19 points off turnovers.

 

I saw these 15 turnovers as a big jump from the 23 the Hoosiers forced against Austin Peay. Those numbers cannot really show what I mean, but Creighton’s offense is and will continue to be much more potent in this season, I have no doubt, so I would like to put more value on the turnovers forced on Thursday.

 

To give some context, Creighton’s offense is the 63rd best in the country (better than five Big Ten teams) while Austin Peay comes traipsing in with an abysmal 279th offensive ranking (two spots behind Rutgers).

 

So if the transitive property holds true, Indiana will be able to force 15 turnovers in seven of the Big Ten games on the schedule.

 

A big part of the defensive proficiency in my opinion came at the hand of Thomas Bryant, who has already become a fan favorite based on the crowd reactions on Thursday.

 

Bryant’s energy and excitement on both sides of the floor got the fans excited in Assembly Hall and four blocks and a steal from the freshman showed me his potential to be a big factor on the defensive end.

 

Not only was Bryant a big factor; Troy Williams and his fresh buzz cut added a block and a steal.

 

The Hoosiers also held the Bluejays to 16 percent from deep, including a goose egg’s percentage in the second half. Nine 3-point shots from Creighton in the second half resulted in no points.

 

Talk about some stingy guard defense. Credit needs to be given to Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, Robert Johnson, Nick Zeisloft and James Blackmon Jr. for their performances as well.

 

After Indiana’s win, its adjusted defensive efficiency ranking moved up to 60th according to kenpom.com. I think this is a fantastic sign for Hoosier fans.

 

Granted, the IU defense is not anywhere close to competing with Kentucky’s defense, but it’s progress. And what else could a fan really hope for?

 

The 65-point effort from Creighton tells me a few things.

 

Should the offensive well ever run dry for Indiana (I speak for Hoosier fans when I say “let’s hope not”), I think the defense can be there to spark something, or at least stall until the offense can get going.

 

Finally, the defense could be a good indicator of how far Indiana could really go. I could predict, if the defense continues to improve, an Elite Eight or even Final Four caliber team could emerge out of Bloomington.

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