Thursday, January 2
Bloomington, Ind.
8:30 p.m.
Indiana University
vs
Rutgers
Indiana’s New Year’s Focus is Clear – Beat Rutgers
1/2/2025 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Now it's all about the Big Ten, all about playing at an elite level, all about, if the Indiana Hoosiers meet their goal, winning a conference title.
With victories in six of its last seven games, IU is 10-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. Let others worry about perceived struggles. The Hoosiers remain focused on possibilities, starting Thursday night against Rutgers (8-5, 1-1) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"You've got to focus on the next game," guard Myles Rice says. "We can look at all the stats, and the numbers can tell you anything.
"At the end of the day, if you win the game that's in front of you and you keep winning, that solves 99.9% of the problems. For us, it's taking it day-by-day. We're not getting caught up in the metrics. We've got Rutgers next. They are a really good team. Get back into Big Ten play and just focus for them."
Or, as coach Mike Woodson puts it, "Every game is important moving forward. You can't look back. We've got Rutgers coming in. That's my only focus."
As far as the Big Ten race, Michigan State, Michigan, and UCLA are all 2-0 in conference action. The Hoosiers are one of 12 teams with .500 league records.
The Big Ten has six ranked teams led by No. 9 Oregon (12-1). Also ranked are No. 15/18 UCLA (11-2), No. 18/15 Michigan State (11-2), No. 20/22 Purdue (9-4), No. 22/20 Illinois (9-3), and No. 24 Maryland (11-2).
Offensive and defensive lapses have prevented IU from playing to its potential, but Rice is encouraged.
"On the offensive end, we are as talented and have as much firepower as anybody in the country," he says. "But it doesn't take just one side of the floor. It takes the other side, as well.
"We have to play better defense. We have to contain the ball more from the perimeter guys. And down low, we've got to make it harder for those guys to catch the ball so that way we are not playing from the back side or giving them easy looks.
"It's not just one thing or one person doing one thing. We all have to do our jobs better, and that's on the defensive side, for sure, and we've also got to rebound better."
Rice insists the Hoosiers are progressing.
"Gradually, we've been getting better and better. We've had a lot of close games. Teams are coming in here to win. Game-by-game, we're making strides and improving."
Improvement doesn't include 3-point shooting. IU was just 1-for-20 beyond the arc in Sunday's win against Winthrop and is shooting 18.7% on 3-pointers in the last three games. It ranks 16th in the 18-team Big Ten by shooting 30.6% on 3-pointers. Ohio State leads at 39.6. Rutgers is at 33.6.
"We're shooting them," Woodson says. "If they were bad threes, then I would really complain, but they're good threes. I feel good about the guys that are shooting them. Eventually, they are going to make them. That's how I think."
By comparison, the Hoosiers are shooting 65.4% on two-pointers in the last three games, which reflects their size advantage over Winthrop, Chattanooga, and Nebraska.
IU center Oumar Ballo, who averages 12.4 points and 9.2 rebounds, didn't play against Winthrop. He might not play against Rutgers. A big key is whether reserve Langdon Hatton can duplicate his performance against Winthrop (11 rebounds, seven points).
That effort impressed Winthrop coach Mark Prosser.
"I thought Hatton gave an unbelievable lift off of the bench," Prosser said. "He made a huge impact on the game on the offensive glass.
"It's always difficult to play without a terrific player (like Ballo), but (Hatton) made up for the production that you would get (from Ballo)."
The Scarlet Knights are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 7-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. They have the Big Ten scoring leader in freshman Dylan Harper (23.3 points) who also averages 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Freshman Ace Bailey averages 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. They are projected as top 5 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Rutgers leads the series 9-8, but IU has a 4-2 advantage at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Now it's all about the Big Ten, all about playing at an elite level, all about, if the Indiana Hoosiers meet their goal, winning a conference title.
With victories in six of its last seven games, IU is 10-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten. Let others worry about perceived struggles. The Hoosiers remain focused on possibilities, starting Thursday night against Rutgers (8-5, 1-1) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"You've got to focus on the next game," guard Myles Rice says. "We can look at all the stats, and the numbers can tell you anything.
"At the end of the day, if you win the game that's in front of you and you keep winning, that solves 99.9% of the problems. For us, it's taking it day-by-day. We're not getting caught up in the metrics. We've got Rutgers next. They are a really good team. Get back into Big Ten play and just focus for them."
Or, as coach Mike Woodson puts it, "Every game is important moving forward. You can't look back. We've got Rutgers coming in. That's my only focus."
As far as the Big Ten race, Michigan State, Michigan, and UCLA are all 2-0 in conference action. The Hoosiers are one of 12 teams with .500 league records.
The Big Ten has six ranked teams led by No. 9 Oregon (12-1). Also ranked are No. 15/18 UCLA (11-2), No. 18/15 Michigan State (11-2), No. 20/22 Purdue (9-4), No. 22/20 Illinois (9-3), and No. 24 Maryland (11-2).
Offensive and defensive lapses have prevented IU from playing to its potential, but Rice is encouraged.
"On the offensive end, we are as talented and have as much firepower as anybody in the country," he says. "But it doesn't take just one side of the floor. It takes the other side, as well.
"We have to play better defense. We have to contain the ball more from the perimeter guys. And down low, we've got to make it harder for those guys to catch the ball so that way we are not playing from the back side or giving them easy looks.
"It's not just one thing or one person doing one thing. We all have to do our jobs better, and that's on the defensive side, for sure, and we've also got to rebound better."
Rice insists the Hoosiers are progressing.
"Gradually, we've been getting better and better. We've had a lot of close games. Teams are coming in here to win. Game-by-game, we're making strides and improving."
Improvement doesn't include 3-point shooting. IU was just 1-for-20 beyond the arc in Sunday's win against Winthrop and is shooting 18.7% on 3-pointers in the last three games. It ranks 16th in the 18-team Big Ten by shooting 30.6% on 3-pointers. Ohio State leads at 39.6. Rutgers is at 33.6.
"We're shooting them," Woodson says. "If they were bad threes, then I would really complain, but they're good threes. I feel good about the guys that are shooting them. Eventually, they are going to make them. That's how I think."
By comparison, the Hoosiers are shooting 65.4% on two-pointers in the last three games, which reflects their size advantage over Winthrop, Chattanooga, and Nebraska.
IU center Oumar Ballo, who averages 12.4 points and 9.2 rebounds, didn't play against Winthrop. He might not play against Rutgers. A big key is whether reserve Langdon Hatton can duplicate his performance against Winthrop (11 rebounds, seven points).
That effort impressed Winthrop coach Mark Prosser.
"I thought Hatton gave an unbelievable lift off of the bench," Prosser said. "He made a huge impact on the game on the offensive glass.
"It's always difficult to play without a terrific player (like Ballo), but (Hatton) made up for the production that you would get (from Ballo)."
The Scarlet Knights are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 7-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. They have the Big Ten scoring leader in freshman Dylan Harper (23.3 points) who also averages 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Freshman Ace Bailey averages 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. They are projected as top 5 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Rutgers leads the series 9-8, but IU has a 4-2 advantage at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Players Mentioned
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