Finishing Move: Hoosiers Work Through Challenges to Move to 2-0

You don't play February basketball in November.

It's a challenge for every basketball team at every level early in the season. With off-season roster comings and goings, and players figuring out their roles for the year, challenges are a part of early-season basketball.

The key for every team, however, is to find a way to play through the inconsistency, find a way to work together, and, ultimately, win.

Indiana didn't play perfect basketball vs. Portland State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Far from it. But the Hoosiers pulled off an 85-74 win behind 18 points from guard Al Durham and 16 more from forward Justin Smith, and they kept the Vikings at arm's length throughout the second half by controlling the glass and not allowing Portland State to build momentum.

IU also overcame the Vikings' pressure defense without turning the ball over. The Hoosiers committed just 10 miscues in the victory.

"Happy with the win, obviously," said head coach Archie Miller. "Portland State, very difficult style of play, especially early in the season. A ton of different looks they give you.

"But two things coming into the game was taking care of the ball and rebounding. Against that team, if you turn it over, give them second shots, they're able to cause some problems. We held serve, went 51-24 on the glass, really only turned the ball over 10 times. That's a big reason why we won the game."

The Hoosiers were solid offensively. They shot 30-of-60 from the floor and handed out 11 assists, and they scored 18 points in transition. The bench contributed 26 points, and freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis added 13 points and 10 rebounds in his first college double-double.
IU went just 3-of-14 from 3-point range, but the Hoosiers' offense wasn't an issue.

Miller, however, wasn't thrilled with his team's defensive effort. IU's longest run of the game was just six points, and that came early in the game. Stringing together stops will be critical, but it's all part of the shake-out portion of the schedule.

"This team has to grow up a little bit faster on the defensive end," Miller said. "Hopefully, we can start to make some stops defensively to start to look the part that we're going to have to."

That kind of development will take time, as will learning to play together. The Hoosiers have been banged up some during the preseason, and their communication is a work in progress. Guard Devonte Green has yet to play this season. He's still a little while away from returning to the court, but the fact redshirt freshman Jerome Hunter stepped up with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting off the bench is encouraging, as was a 10-point, 9-rebound performance from redshirt sophomore Race Thompson.

"I felt really good out there today," Thompson said. "Everybody has my back. Just playing the game… that's what we do. We play basketball. It's exciting out there. Just on to the next one."

Ultimately, the takeaway from the Hoosiers' win over Portland State is they earned experience grabbing a lead, holding onto it, responding when a team makes a push, and finishing the game. Indiana took the lead at the 16:45 mark of the first half, led 43-33 at the break, let that 10-point lead slip to six midway through the second half, then immediately ran off five straight points to rebuild the advantage. IU's lead never again dropped below nine, and the Hoosiers led by as many as 18 in the final minute.

Indiana's guards showed poise vs. the Vikings' pressure, including Durham, who has been handling the ball more this season and was rock solid.

"Some guys are self-made," Miller said. "(Durham) takes great pride in his own development. In general, where he's at right now, proud of him. He's doing a great job for our team by giving us a guy that stabilizes us at times."

That's November basketball. A team needs its veterans to be rudders when a team is a bit out of sync, and the teams with a future manage to figure things out on the fly. In both of those categories, the Hoosiers found reasons to be optimistic.
And, of course, they walked off with a win.

"For this team, we're 2-0," Miller said. "In talking to our team after the game, 2-0 is the objective. However you want to look at it, individually or as a team, you have to be really happy you get another win. Hard to get."

Finishing Move: Hoosiers Work Through Challenges to Move to 2-0

Players Mentioned

Aljami Durham

Devonte Green

Jerome Hunter

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Justin Smith

Race Thompson

Indiana University Athletics