Indiana Basketball: Takeaways from Hoosiers loss to UConn Huskies

Indiana Basketball suffered its first loss to the fifth ranked UConn Huskies in what is becoming a season of questions for Mike Woodson’s team.

After winning some close games with the likes of Army, Florida Gulf Coast, and Wright State, Indiana Basketball dropped a 20 point loss in Madison Square Garden to the reigning national champions, the UConn Huskies in the Saatva Empire Classic. Now a lot of experts expected Mike Woodson to keep this team slowly churning in that positive direction as we saw the last few years.

The issue this season is that a lot of what made the Hoosiers successful last year, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Hood-Shifinom and others, are not in the program anymore. Indiana still had a promising roster with new additions, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing despite the 3-1 record. Last night’s game was their biggest test yet, and showed where Indiana can work to improve.

1. Crashing the glass

The most consistent theme throughout the season so far which was especially on display against the Huskies is the lack of interior presence. The Hoosiers have not been able to dominate on either side of the ball rebounding wise. Against UConn, their 22 total were doubled by the Huskies 44. Giving up 15 second chance opportunities is no formula for staying ahead, and this is what ultimately helped UConn slowly pull away. You would hope that with the size Indiana brings, they would be able to make some presence known especially while they struggle offensively.

2. Shooting Woes

Inside the arc, the Hoosiers have had an expectedly productive presence. Even in their least efficient game yet, they were able to hit a modest 44% inside, and have been much more productive in their three games prior as well. The issue lies from three where they shot an abysmal 3-13 against UConn and their best performance being 4-11 against Army. Given their rotation, the three ball isn’t a top priority, but they should look more production from guys like CJ Gunn and Xavier Johnson.

3. Defense potential 

Despite all that, there is some decent play defensively that can play to their strengths. The Hoosiers have been able to hold their own inside the arc against opponents which continued against UConn to a respectable extent. They held the Huskies to just 18-34 inside and even limited their production outside to just 32%. This will give a lot of Big Ten teams a difficult time as many teams thrive on inside play offensively and can play to their strengths.

Indiana is in a bit of a limbo spot, but really it is nothing that is overly shocking. The program has been trending in a great direction, and a loss to UConn is nothing to be panicking over. Their previous opponents have so far been decent mid-major programs that look promising, and although you’d like to see the Hoosiers take these games a little easier, they are at the least, coming away with wins in those matchups.

They now matchup with a struggling Louisville program before heading home to face a respectable team in Harvard. The remainder of their non-conference schedule gives them room to face decent opponents and get a grasp of where they are as they improve some noted points.