NCAA Basketball: Indiana, Colorado and Iona playing abroad for 2021-22 preseason
Here is a look a the major news in NCAA Basketball over the first two days of the third weekend of August (13-14).
The Indiana Hoosiers are currently among several college basketball teams on exhibition trips throughout the world. IU is currently in the Bahamas is currently playing a two-game series against BC Mega, a professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. The Hoosiers took the first game on Friday night 77-66 behind junior Trayce Jackson-Davis‘ 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor. He added nine rebounds (five offensive), one block, and two assists in 32 minutes of action.
Indiana jumped out was excellent on the defensive end, forcing BC Mega into 27 turnovers — resulting in 33 points — and held the Serbian squad to just 5 of 20 (20%) shooting beyond the arc. The Hoosiers also held advantages in total rebounds (39-38), points in the paint (36-26), and second-chance points (18-6) despite being the much smaller team. They also held potential future lottery pick Nikola Jovic to just one point and forced into five turnovers.
“I have always believed this, and I learned this a long time ago from Coach (Bob) Knight that defense wins games,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “If we can put ourselves in position to defend every night, I know that we will be in every game. That gives us hope and a chance to win.
“I thought that we had some breakdowns defensively tonight, but that was a good team we played. I thought that our energy and our effort was amazing in terms of how we defended.”
While Jackson-Davis was the star, he wasn’t the only Hoosier to shine. Northwestern transfer Miller Kopp demonstrated his strength, knocking down 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, and finished with 14 points along with five boards. He also posted a team-best +/- of plus-17 in 24 minutes.
Consensus top-30 recruit Tamar Bates was stellar in his collegiate debut with 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting in 18 minutes off the bench. Additionally, Jordan Geronimo grabbed 10 boards in 19 minutes and Parker Stewart came up with five steals while Pitt transfer Xavier Johnson, Rob Phinisee, and Trey Galloway combined for nine of the team’s 13 assists.
However, it was not all good for IU. The Hoosiers veteran guards, other than Kopp, were just a combined 4 of 19 from the field including 1 of 7 from deep. Johnson (2-of-8 from the field) also struggled with fouls and Phinisee (1-for-6 FGs) committed three turnovers. Foul trouble (three players with at least 4 fouls; 23 overall) and foul shooting (12 of 20) are also things that the Hoosiers have to improve.
Indiana will meet BC Mega in a rematch on Sunday at 1 p.m.