Indiana University Athletics
GRAHAM: Tony Hinkle Was Right. He Still Is.
1/20/2019 10:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
WEST LAFAYETTE – Hall of Fame coach Tony Hinkle, the late Butler great, observed that winning in a basketball game comes down to this:
Whichever team puts the round orange ball through the round orange rim more often.
As such, Purdue deservedly defeated Indiana, 70-55, Saturday afternoon.
Sure, there were sundry subtleties that affected how the game turned out. Purdue played a bit better, overall. It had three fewer turnovers on the day, for example.
But shooting, or more precisely Indiana's lack thereof, was the factor that mattered most.
IU shot .431 from the field, just .200 on 20 attempts from 3-point range, and an astonishingly awful .389 at the foul line.
If the Hoosiers made even a modest mark from 3-point range, say 30 percent, or the foul line, say 60 percent, that's 10 more points right there.
And what ended up a comfortable double-digit win for Purdue would have seemed a whole lot less comfortable.
"Obviously, shooting the ball (didn't go) really well today," IU coach Archie Miller understated post-game. "We have to get back to work."
Purdue's defense doubtless had much to do with Indiana's offensive issues, but nobody is guarding anybody at the foul line, where the Hoosiers went 7 of 18. And some of those misses were front-end bonus tries.
And the Purdue defense had the game-long luxury of taking away the paint because IU couldn't truly threaten from the perimeter. That made things much tougher for IU scoring leaders Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan.
It was no shock that a first trip to PU's Mackey Arena saw standout freshman Langford fail to score in double-figures for the first time in his college career.
Early foul trouble sidelined Langford just 2:54 into the game in what became a scoreless first half for him. And he finished a frustrating day with just four points on 2 of 10 shooting, much to the delight of the crowd.
But Langford's offensive game right now is primarily predicated on finding driving lanes. Purdue's sagging defenders (unafraid of IU jump shots) largely took that away. And when Langford drove effectively enough to draw a foul, he missed all four free throws he took.
Even with Langford struggling, however, the Hoosiers had a chance to stay competitive. After they had laid a collective egg at home Monday against Nebraska, they showed some spirit and toughness Saturday.
Purdue came out hot, hitting four of its first five shots while IU missed four of its first five, and the host Boilers built an 11-2 lead with the sold-out Mackey crowd roaring.
Indiana still fought back to take the lead three times before halftime.
Sophomore forward Justin Smith was instrumental in giving IU early life. He scored seven of the Hoosiers' first 10 points as the Hoosiers cut the deficit to 13-10.
"Justin was good," Miller said. "Played 37 minutes. He battled hard, defensively. He ends up getting 15 (points) and six (rebounds), all effort-related plays. No question he did a nice job in the game for us."
Lafayette native Rob Phinisee gave the Hoosiers their first edge at 18-17 by converting a traditional 3-point play at the 8:52 mark of the first half. And the Hoosiers' biggest edge came at 5:16, 24-21, on a nifty move by senior Juwan Morgan.
Landford re-entered after two Carsen Edwards free throws made it 24-23, but made a turnover and gave up a hoop to Nojel Eastern that put Purdue back ahead – for good this time.
Then clanked IU free throws and a missed Smith layup then helped Purdue finish the half on a 6-0 run for a 33-26 lead at intermission
"First half, (our) defense was pretty good," Miller said. "We did a good job of rebounding. I thought we challenged a lot of tough 3s. And we were able to hang in the game.
"Foul line really killed us. It really killed us early in the game and then continued at the end of the half. And then it hurt us in the second half as the margin continued to grow."
That and just shooting, in general. One team got hot. The other did not.
It was 35-28, Purdue, before Boilermaker guards Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline combined to bury three consecutive 3s. Suddenly, it was 41-28 and the Hoosiers never could fully recover.
"Give them credit," Miller said. "Carsen Edwards is a terrific player. He got going a little bit. Cline hit a couple. And when they make 3s, they are a different team.
"Our guys, for the most part, I figured, for the last eight or 10 minutes, continued to battle … and at the end of the day, we felt like we could be a lot better moving forward, but it's really deflating when you can't hit free throws. The foul line was really destructive to the margin of the game."
Morgan made 6 of 10 shots from the field, finishing with 14 points, six boards and five assists – but made just 1 of 5 free throws.
"Purdue made it very difficult on him just to catch the ball in the paint," Miller said of Morgan. "There were a lot of bodies in there. It wasn't like he had a lot of room to operate. But I thought he did his part, for the most part. He has to come up better at the foul line, which he'll do next game out."
The next game comes quickly, again on the road, Tuesday at Northwestern. IU (12-6 overall, 3-4 in Big Ten play) has lost four straight and has to find some answers.
Again, shooting wasn't the only difference Saturday. Purdue, which saw its lead peak at 19, seemed dominant at times. And there are reasons beyond shooting why Purdue (12-6, 5-2) entered Saturday ranked ninth nationally in offensive efficiency.
An AAU coaching pal of mine tweeted me this, after the game:
"It is a function of IU searching for shots after a play breaks down versus an offense that provides constant options. IU's offense, the players move according to the ball. PU's, the ball moves according to the players."
Maybe so. I'm no coach.
But I still think Hinkle's maxim applies. It did Saturday and does most days.
The team that can simply put the ball in the bucket better wins.
WEST LAFAYETTE – Hall of Fame coach Tony Hinkle, the late Butler great, observed that winning in a basketball game comes down to this:
Whichever team puts the round orange ball through the round orange rim more often.
As such, Purdue deservedly defeated Indiana, 70-55, Saturday afternoon.
Sure, there were sundry subtleties that affected how the game turned out. Purdue played a bit better, overall. It had three fewer turnovers on the day, for example.
But shooting, or more precisely Indiana's lack thereof, was the factor that mattered most.
IU shot .431 from the field, just .200 on 20 attempts from 3-point range, and an astonishingly awful .389 at the foul line.
If the Hoosiers made even a modest mark from 3-point range, say 30 percent, or the foul line, say 60 percent, that's 10 more points right there.
And what ended up a comfortable double-digit win for Purdue would have seemed a whole lot less comfortable.
"Obviously, shooting the ball (didn't go) really well today," IU coach Archie Miller understated post-game. "We have to get back to work."
Purdue's defense doubtless had much to do with Indiana's offensive issues, but nobody is guarding anybody at the foul line, where the Hoosiers went 7 of 18. And some of those misses were front-end bonus tries.
And the Purdue defense had the game-long luxury of taking away the paint because IU couldn't truly threaten from the perimeter. That made things much tougher for IU scoring leaders Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan.
It was no shock that a first trip to PU's Mackey Arena saw standout freshman Langford fail to score in double-figures for the first time in his college career.
Early foul trouble sidelined Langford just 2:54 into the game in what became a scoreless first half for him. And he finished a frustrating day with just four points on 2 of 10 shooting, much to the delight of the crowd.
But Langford's offensive game right now is primarily predicated on finding driving lanes. Purdue's sagging defenders (unafraid of IU jump shots) largely took that away. And when Langford drove effectively enough to draw a foul, he missed all four free throws he took.
Even with Langford struggling, however, the Hoosiers had a chance to stay competitive. After they had laid a collective egg at home Monday against Nebraska, they showed some spirit and toughness Saturday.
Purdue came out hot, hitting four of its first five shots while IU missed four of its first five, and the host Boilers built an 11-2 lead with the sold-out Mackey crowd roaring.
Indiana still fought back to take the lead three times before halftime.
Sophomore forward Justin Smith was instrumental in giving IU early life. He scored seven of the Hoosiers' first 10 points as the Hoosiers cut the deficit to 13-10.
"Justin was good," Miller said. "Played 37 minutes. He battled hard, defensively. He ends up getting 15 (points) and six (rebounds), all effort-related plays. No question he did a nice job in the game for us."
Lafayette native Rob Phinisee gave the Hoosiers their first edge at 18-17 by converting a traditional 3-point play at the 8:52 mark of the first half. And the Hoosiers' biggest edge came at 5:16, 24-21, on a nifty move by senior Juwan Morgan.
Landford re-entered after two Carsen Edwards free throws made it 24-23, but made a turnover and gave up a hoop to Nojel Eastern that put Purdue back ahead – for good this time.
Then clanked IU free throws and a missed Smith layup then helped Purdue finish the half on a 6-0 run for a 33-26 lead at intermission
"First half, (our) defense was pretty good," Miller said. "We did a good job of rebounding. I thought we challenged a lot of tough 3s. And we were able to hang in the game.
"Foul line really killed us. It really killed us early in the game and then continued at the end of the half. And then it hurt us in the second half as the margin continued to grow."
That and just shooting, in general. One team got hot. The other did not.
It was 35-28, Purdue, before Boilermaker guards Carsen Edwards and Ryan Cline combined to bury three consecutive 3s. Suddenly, it was 41-28 and the Hoosiers never could fully recover.
"Give them credit," Miller said. "Carsen Edwards is a terrific player. He got going a little bit. Cline hit a couple. And when they make 3s, they are a different team.
"Our guys, for the most part, I figured, for the last eight or 10 minutes, continued to battle … and at the end of the day, we felt like we could be a lot better moving forward, but it's really deflating when you can't hit free throws. The foul line was really destructive to the margin of the game."
Morgan made 6 of 10 shots from the field, finishing with 14 points, six boards and five assists – but made just 1 of 5 free throws.
"Purdue made it very difficult on him just to catch the ball in the paint," Miller said of Morgan. "There were a lot of bodies in there. It wasn't like he had a lot of room to operate. But I thought he did his part, for the most part. He has to come up better at the foul line, which he'll do next game out."
The next game comes quickly, again on the road, Tuesday at Northwestern. IU (12-6 overall, 3-4 in Big Ten play) has lost four straight and has to find some answers.
Again, shooting wasn't the only difference Saturday. Purdue, which saw its lead peak at 19, seemed dominant at times. And there are reasons beyond shooting why Purdue (12-6, 5-2) entered Saturday ranked ninth nationally in offensive efficiency.
An AAU coaching pal of mine tweeted me this, after the game:
"It is a function of IU searching for shots after a play breaks down versus an offense that provides constant options. IU's offense, the players move according to the ball. PU's, the ball moves according to the players."
Maybe so. I'm no coach.
But I still think Hinkle's maxim applies. It did Saturday and does most days.
The team that can simply put the ball in the bucket better wins.
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