No. 10/8 Indiana Dropped a 63-48 Contest at Rutgers

Saturday, December 3

Piscataway, N.J.

4:00 PM

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No. 10/8 Indiana Dropped a 63-48 Contest at Rutgers

12/3/2022 6:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio

IUHoosiers.com

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Big Ten reality hit hard.

Indiana couldn't hit back. Not hard enough, not on Saturday against a Rutgers program with a knack for home upsets.

The No. 10 Hoosiers (7-1) were the latest example. They lost 63-48 in their Big Ten opener. The Scarlet Knights (6-2) moved to 10-3 at Jersey Mikes Arena against ranked teams in the last couple of seasons. They have beaten IU six straight times.

"They were more aggressive and showed it from the very beginning," coach Mike Woodson told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio show. "They were tougher than us."

This was a physical game, a punishing game, a game that demanded elite focus and toughness.

Indiana couldn't find it, certainly not on the boards. It was out-rebounded 47-33, including 17-9 on the offensive glass.

"We could never come up with key rebounds," Woodson told Fischer. "We have to fix that.

"We got out-rebounded by 14. As big and strong a team as we are, we have to be better than that."

Wasted good three-point looks (with the exception of Miller Kopp), blown layup opportunities and missed block-outs were the unwanted norm no amount of player substation could stop. The Hoosiers shot 30 percent from the field (their worst of the season), committed 14 turnovers and scored 29 fewer points than in any previous game.

"They got up in us a little bit," Woodson told Fischer. "We threw the ball away. It was not our night from an offensive standpoint."

Back spasms sidelined freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino. Junior Trey Galloway replaced him in the starting lineup.

"We missed Jalen a little bit," Woodson told Fischer. "He's another guy who can handle the ball, but my thing is, next guy up. We just didn't get it."

IU's tough-minded win at Xavier last month seemed early preparation for this road test, but it ran into this Big Ten reality:

Rutgers refused to concede the paint.

The Scarlet Knights swarmed All-America forward Trayce Jackson-Davis non-stop. The Hoosiers had 14 inside-the-paint points, 36 fewer than they had against North Carolina three nights earlier. They were 5-for-14 on layups.

That forced IU into a perimeter approach that never worked. It waas 6-for-25 from three-point range, 1-for-16 for everybody not named Kopp, who finished with 21 points and five three-pointers.

Jackson-Davis had 13 points and 10 rebounds, but fouled out for the first time as a Hoosier.

"Miller was solid from beginning to end," Woodson said. "I didn't get much out of anybody else. I've got to change that."

Kopp was the early Hoosier hero. He hit his first three three-pointers to forge a 10-10 tie in an otherwise rough offensive opening for both teams. In the first five minutes, they were a combined 3-for-14 shooting with nine turnovers and nine total points.

IU was helped when Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi, a double-double threat, missed most of the first half with foul trouble.

Still, the Scarlet Knights, thanks to a 10-2 offensive rebounding edge, took a pair of four-point leads.

IU forced Rutgers into a stretch of 1-for-12 shooting, but Scarlet Knights offensive rebounding and shaky Hoosier offense prevented Indiana from taking the lead after closing within 17-16. Rutgers pushed ahead 23-16.

At that point, Kopp was 4-for-4 on three-pointers. Every other Hoosier was 1-for-16.

Tamar Bates hit a jumper to provide brief IU offensive momentum, but Rutgers, despite shooting just 32 percent from the field, finished with a 31-24 halftime lead.

The Hoosiers' most experienced players -- Jackson-Davis, Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson -- were a combined 1-for-9 from the field for five points and seven turnovers. They shot 29 percent with eight turnovers.

Still, they were within range.

Early in the second half, IU rocked Rutgers with a 9-0 run for a 35-33 lead. The last five points came on Kopp's fourth three-pointer, and a Johnson steal and jumper.

The Scarlet Knights rocked back with a 17-0 run, 10 points by freshman Derek Simpson. IU, in the midst of a five-minute scoreless drought on 0-for-10 shooting, faced a 15-point deficit with nine minutes left.

Kopp ended the run with his fifth three-pointer. Jackson-Davis added a layup. The deficit was 10, at 52-42, with six minutes left.

It was too much to overcome.

IU hosts Minnesota on Wednesday night before games against No. 4 Arizona and No. 9 Kansas after that.

"You suffer your first loss, and it's tough," Woodson told Fischer. "We have to regroup. Games are coming back at us. I've got to get them ready to go."