Indiana University Athletics
GRAHAM: Road Tests Await With Hawkeyes, Huskers
2/17/2018 5:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - The northern two-thirds of Indiana can resemble an endless cornfield.
But Indiana's basketball men are embarking upon a two-game road swing to where there is quantifiably even more corn, Iowa and Nebraska, with cornhusking providing an athletic nickname for the latter.
The Hoosiers (15-12 overall and 8-7 in league play) visit Iowa for a 2 p.m. tipoff today, then head to Nebraska for Tuesday's 9 p.m. tilt. And they do so on the heels of a three-game winning streak that offered up a virtual cornucopia of encouraging signs.
Not the least of which was this:
KenPom stats reveal that Indiana, coming out of Wednesday's 78-68 win over Illinois, has the best defensive efficiency in the Big Ten during conference play. That seems a far cry from finishing 13th in the league for scoring defense last season.
IU leads the Big Ten in scoring defense (57.5) and field goal percentage defense (.363) for February games.
"Defensively, we've really hung our hat on work ethic and just trying to establish the base of what we do," first-year Indiana coach Archie Miller said Friday. "I think we have the majority of that in, and I think we have guys who understand that it's very, very important to the future, not only of the season but moving down the line. It's going to be a staple.
"We have our guys playing hard right now. I think most of these guys right now really are bought in and locked in on it, and that's probably the biggest thing as anything."
That defense will get tested by an Iowa team that has struggled with results of late but still scores 79.4 points per game. The Hawkeyes (12-16, 3-12) shoot a respectable 48 percent from the field (including 38 percent from 3-point range).
And while Nebraska (20-8, 11-4) is playing for a NCAA tournament berth and is 14-1 at home in its Pinnacle Bank Arena, Miller knows his Hoosiers had better focus on Iowa City first.
"Iowa, especially at home, is a very, very difficult team to guard," Miller said. "(It) can really score and play with great pace, and that's a big concern for us."
IU held the Hawkeyes to .385 shooting during the Hoosiers' 77-64 win Dec. 4 in Bloomington. Brady Ellingson (16 points) and Jack Nunge (12) were the only Hawks in double-figure scoring, and neither is among Iowa's top five scorers now. Indiana got a 15-point, 10-rebound effort from junior Juwan Morgan, and 13 apiece from De'Ron Davis (now out for the season) and Collin Hartman (hampered by injury of late.)
"It seems like a lifetime ago to be honest with you," Miller said of the first IU-Iowa meeting. "It's like two seasons ago. We had a different team at that point in time. De'Ron was still healthy. I vaguely remember coming off the Michigan game and having a quick turnaround to get ready to go, but we played really well that game, on offense in particular. I thought we had some pretty good moments.
"But we're a different team. They're a different team, too. They're much better offensively. They're playing a lot more zone right now than they did in the first game, so I think those are two things we're probably going to look at. But their motion is very good. Their break is really good. For us transition defense and just being able to guard in the half court is going to be a very, very tall task for us. I don't think either team can really rely on game one for a lot of ammunition to say this is what we have to do."
Four of Iowa's top five scorers are now sophomores, led by versatile 6-foot-9 frontliner Tyler Cook (15.2) and sharp-shooting point guard Jordan Bohannon (13.4, who hits 44 percent of his 3-point attempts and shoots .894 from the foul line). Luka Garza, a 6-11 freshman, is at 11.3 and 6-5 soph Isaiah Moss (10.0.)
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery can call on plenty more size, too, in 6-8 soph Cordell Pemsl (6.2), Nunge (6.0, a 2017 Indiana All-Star from Castle) and 6-7 junior Nicholas Baer (5.8).
The Hawkeyes haven't won since a 94-80 decision Jan. 30 over Minnesota, but in their last home game – Feb. 6 versus Michigan State – they took the Spartans right to the wire before falling, 96-93. The other losses this month were tough road assignments at Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.
Nebraska, by contrast, has won six straight and hasn't lost since a very competitive 64-59 setback Jan. 22 at Ohio State.
Coach Tim Miles' Cornhuskers know how to defend. Nebraska opponents have more turnovers (352) than assists (351).
"Moving into the next one, haven't thought a whole lot about Nebraska but they're having a terrific season," Miller said. "They have a very versatile team, and I think playing there right now is probably one of the harder places to play in the league."
Nebraska 6-6 junior James Palmer, Jr., leads the Huskers in scoring with a 17.9 average and had 26 in Tuesday's 70-66 win over Maryland. Isaac Copeland, a 6-9 junior, averages 12.9 points and 6.2 boards, and 6-8 soph Isaiah Roby (7.9) has come on strongly of late. Glynn Watson (10.9) and Anton Gill (8.23) comprise an experienced, capable backcourt.
"We have our work cut out for this on this two-game stand," Miller said, aware of first things first, "but we have to try to get ourselves ready to go against Iowa.
"(When) getting out on the road, obviously, getting off to a good start is always important. I think we've really focused in on that. It was a big talking point at Rutgers (a 65-43 win Feb. 5). I thought coming off the Ohio State road game we weren't ready to go at the beginning, and it really cost us a lot of uphill battles the rest of that game … we've been getting off to better starts for the most part lately."
Miller attributes part of that to the insertions of forward Freddie McSwain Jr. and guard Devonte Green into the starting lineup. And he was also gratified by the Hoosiers' bench production against Illinois.
And Miller feels his Hoosiers, overall, are perhaps playing their best basketball at the right time of year to do so. He knows they'll need to continue that on this two-game road swing and in the regular-season finale at home, next Friday's Senior Night matchup with Ohio State.
"I think we have a good understanding of what we're trying to accomplish," he said. "We haven't changed a ton, we just kind of kept working at it and gotten better.
"That's probably one of the most significant improvements and probably one of the biggest traits to this team – its coachability, its ability to play through mistakes throughout the course of the season, coming back off of losses and continuing to work at it, not getting down on themselves.
"And I think here of late, we're probably playing our best ball, which is a good sign."
Nothing corny about that.
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - The northern two-thirds of Indiana can resemble an endless cornfield.
But Indiana's basketball men are embarking upon a two-game road swing to where there is quantifiably even more corn, Iowa and Nebraska, with cornhusking providing an athletic nickname for the latter.
The Hoosiers (15-12 overall and 8-7 in league play) visit Iowa for a 2 p.m. tipoff today, then head to Nebraska for Tuesday's 9 p.m. tilt. And they do so on the heels of a three-game winning streak that offered up a virtual cornucopia of encouraging signs.
Not the least of which was this:
KenPom stats reveal that Indiana, coming out of Wednesday's 78-68 win over Illinois, has the best defensive efficiency in the Big Ten during conference play. That seems a far cry from finishing 13th in the league for scoring defense last season.
IU leads the Big Ten in scoring defense (57.5) and field goal percentage defense (.363) for February games.
"Defensively, we've really hung our hat on work ethic and just trying to establish the base of what we do," first-year Indiana coach Archie Miller said Friday. "I think we have the majority of that in, and I think we have guys who understand that it's very, very important to the future, not only of the season but moving down the line. It's going to be a staple.
"We have our guys playing hard right now. I think most of these guys right now really are bought in and locked in on it, and that's probably the biggest thing as anything."
That defense will get tested by an Iowa team that has struggled with results of late but still scores 79.4 points per game. The Hawkeyes (12-16, 3-12) shoot a respectable 48 percent from the field (including 38 percent from 3-point range).
And while Nebraska (20-8, 11-4) is playing for a NCAA tournament berth and is 14-1 at home in its Pinnacle Bank Arena, Miller knows his Hoosiers had better focus on Iowa City first.
"Iowa, especially at home, is a very, very difficult team to guard," Miller said. "(It) can really score and play with great pace, and that's a big concern for us."
IU held the Hawkeyes to .385 shooting during the Hoosiers' 77-64 win Dec. 4 in Bloomington. Brady Ellingson (16 points) and Jack Nunge (12) were the only Hawks in double-figure scoring, and neither is among Iowa's top five scorers now. Indiana got a 15-point, 10-rebound effort from junior Juwan Morgan, and 13 apiece from De'Ron Davis (now out for the season) and Collin Hartman (hampered by injury of late.)
"It seems like a lifetime ago to be honest with you," Miller said of the first IU-Iowa meeting. "It's like two seasons ago. We had a different team at that point in time. De'Ron was still healthy. I vaguely remember coming off the Michigan game and having a quick turnaround to get ready to go, but we played really well that game, on offense in particular. I thought we had some pretty good moments.
"But we're a different team. They're a different team, too. They're much better offensively. They're playing a lot more zone right now than they did in the first game, so I think those are two things we're probably going to look at. But their motion is very good. Their break is really good. For us transition defense and just being able to guard in the half court is going to be a very, very tall task for us. I don't think either team can really rely on game one for a lot of ammunition to say this is what we have to do."
Four of Iowa's top five scorers are now sophomores, led by versatile 6-foot-9 frontliner Tyler Cook (15.2) and sharp-shooting point guard Jordan Bohannon (13.4, who hits 44 percent of his 3-point attempts and shoots .894 from the foul line). Luka Garza, a 6-11 freshman, is at 11.3 and 6-5 soph Isaiah Moss (10.0.)
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery can call on plenty more size, too, in 6-8 soph Cordell Pemsl (6.2), Nunge (6.0, a 2017 Indiana All-Star from Castle) and 6-7 junior Nicholas Baer (5.8).
The Hawkeyes haven't won since a 94-80 decision Jan. 30 over Minnesota, but in their last home game – Feb. 6 versus Michigan State – they took the Spartans right to the wire before falling, 96-93. The other losses this month were tough road assignments at Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.
Nebraska, by contrast, has won six straight and hasn't lost since a very competitive 64-59 setback Jan. 22 at Ohio State.
Coach Tim Miles' Cornhuskers know how to defend. Nebraska opponents have more turnovers (352) than assists (351).
"Moving into the next one, haven't thought a whole lot about Nebraska but they're having a terrific season," Miller said. "They have a very versatile team, and I think playing there right now is probably one of the harder places to play in the league."
Nebraska 6-6 junior James Palmer, Jr., leads the Huskers in scoring with a 17.9 average and had 26 in Tuesday's 70-66 win over Maryland. Isaac Copeland, a 6-9 junior, averages 12.9 points and 6.2 boards, and 6-8 soph Isaiah Roby (7.9) has come on strongly of late. Glynn Watson (10.9) and Anton Gill (8.23) comprise an experienced, capable backcourt.
"We have our work cut out for this on this two-game stand," Miller said, aware of first things first, "but we have to try to get ourselves ready to go against Iowa.
"(When) getting out on the road, obviously, getting off to a good start is always important. I think we've really focused in on that. It was a big talking point at Rutgers (a 65-43 win Feb. 5). I thought coming off the Ohio State road game we weren't ready to go at the beginning, and it really cost us a lot of uphill battles the rest of that game … we've been getting off to better starts for the most part lately."
Miller attributes part of that to the insertions of forward Freddie McSwain Jr. and guard Devonte Green into the starting lineup. And he was also gratified by the Hoosiers' bench production against Illinois.
And Miller feels his Hoosiers, overall, are perhaps playing their best basketball at the right time of year to do so. He knows they'll need to continue that on this two-game road swing and in the regular-season finale at home, next Friday's Senior Night matchup with Ohio State.
"I think we have a good understanding of what we're trying to accomplish," he said. "We haven't changed a ton, we just kind of kept working at it and gotten better.
"That's probably one of the most significant improvements and probably one of the biggest traits to this team – its coachability, its ability to play through mistakes throughout the course of the season, coming back off of losses and continuing to work at it, not getting down on themselves.
"And I think here of late, we're probably playing our best ball, which is a good sign."
Nothing corny about that.
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