Basketball is a funny game. The Hoosiers have had another up and down season, with their best win being away at PSU (though at the Palestra in Philly), while losing games against Louisville and Gonzaga that weren't close, followed by back-to-back 25-point losses at Iowa and home against Illinois. Then they went to Ohio State last Friday, being down 2 injured players, and pulled out their best win of the season in OT. They have been without their best player, Malik Reneau, for the last 6 games. Despite that, they've played...better without him? There's rumors he may play tonight, but coming back from a knee injury, who knows how effective he would be. Their other injured player is 6th-man Bryson Tucker, who dislocated his pinkie but might also play tonight after missing the OSU game.
IU basketball under Mike Woodson has played out largely the same every season. They come in with a roster full of talent, and proceed to massively underperform it. Their Kenpom rating each year looks like this from preseason to end of season: 30 to 48, 12 to 30, 50 to 91, and so far this year, 42 to 59. To their credit, they somewhat improved their nonconference scheduling, at least from the bottom end, though it still didn't result in any meaningful wins. In addition, Woodson brought in 5 transfers, 4 of whom either don't shoot 3s or shoot them very poorly.
Woodson has continued his trend of deciding that it's not worth it to shoot so many 3s, which I guess is smart for them, because they are just as bad as we are at making them. The one area they have improved in this year is offensive rebounding, and they do a good job at scoring off second-chance opportunities. Much like our recent opponents, they seek out transition opportunities on offense (though they turn the ball over a ton in these situations), and when forced into half-court sets, they first look to either post-up a big man or run PnR with the big man going to the net. Fortunately, they are much less efficient than MD, MSU and Michigan have been. What they absolutely do not want to do is shoot 3s in any way - whether it's a guard driving and kicking out, or screening to open up a guy for a 3, or a big man passing it out of the post to an open shooter - or have their guards drive to the rim. They do it as little as possible, and when they are forced into it, they are very bad at scoring. They are also happy to take midrange shots, but they are average at scoring on those.
Defensively, they again are very similar to past years (don't force a ton of TOs, mediocre at rebounding), with the exception that they are better at avoiding fouls. They also seem to be much better this year at defending the 3, though have gotten worse at defending 2-point shots. They still remain good at blocking shots, though not at the elite level from the days of TJD and Race Thompson.
IU changed their starting lineup prior to the OSU game. swapping Anthony Leal into the lineup for Trey Galloway, so I'm going to guess they stick with it tonight as well.
Starters
PG, #1 6'3" Myles Rice. A transfer who came from Washington State, where he spent the year as their starting PG as a freshman. He put up good numbers last year, though he hasn't really improved on anything this year, but is slightly less involved in the offense than last year. He is a solid passer, but has struggled with turnovers. He's an excellent free throw shooter, and is halfway decent in midrange, but he sucks at shooting from everywhere else. He's solid on defense, averaging 1.2 steals per game. He's also had 3 games in conference where he's scored 19+ points, but has quieted down a bit the past 3 games, scoring only 4 points in the win against OSU, where he was limited in playing time due to foul trouble.
SG, #3 6'5" Anthony Leal. A 5th-year player, spent entirely at IU. He grew up in Bloomington, and has spent his career as a little-used reserve prior to the middle of last season, when he found himself in the rotation, and when he faced us, scored 0 points in 12 minutes while shooting 0-2 with 3 boards and 1 assist. He does not shoot much on offense, but he's made 8-13 shots this year including 4-8 from 3, despite shooting just 59% at the FT line. While not providing much on offense, he seems to be valued as a defender, and thus has found himself starting.
SF, #10 6'7" Luke Goode. A familiar face in a different uniform. Goode played his last 3 years for the Illini, known as a sharpshooter. He has continued that trend this year, shooting 38% from 3 on the season but 46% during conference play on 5 shots per game. He never turns the ball over and rarely gets assists, so if he gets it, you can bet it's going up. He's coming off of a career-high 23 point on 14 shot performance against OSU, including 4-7 from 3 and 5-5 at the line. Can't afford to let him get hot tonight.
PF, #21 6'9" Mackenzie Mgbako. Back for his second year, Mgbako has shown solid improvement from his freshman season and is now an average 3 point shooter to go shopping with good defensive rebounding and improved shot blocking. With Reneau out, he takes the most shots on the team. Last year he dropped 20 points on us with 4 rebounds and 1 block, so this will be another key matchup for us tonight. He has really struggled in their last 4 games though, so hopefully we can keep that going.
C, #11 7’0” Oumar Ballo. A 5th-year transfer from Arizona, Ballo is enjoying the best season of his career so far. He's pretty lethal around the rim and also has a solid midrange game, but he's not a threat from 3. He averages a double-double on the year, with 14.5 points and 10.4 boards per game, along with a couple assists, a couple blocks and the occasional steal. He also draws a ton of fouls, but only shoots 59% from the line. Gonna really need Big Matt to step it up.
Reserves
PG, #32 6’5” Trey Galloway. Another 5th-year all-IU local boy. Galloway has started for the last two and a half seasons, though recent struggles have put him on the bench to start the game. His 3-point shooting, a big strength two seasons ago, has not recovered in the season and a half since, and with increased turnovers this year, he’s not bringing a ton to the team right now aside from his passing. Throughout his career, he’s always been good for about 7-8 points against us, though last year he did have 12 assists against 2 turnovers in their loss to us.
SG, #9, 6’3” Kanaan Carlyle. A transfer from Stanford, Carlyle has…not been good. He began the year in the starting lineup, but lost his spot after 6 games and now comes off the bench. He’s had a handful of decent games this season, including 13 points against OSU, but in general his shooting has been horrific, he doesn’t get many assists or rebounds, and isn’t a great defender either. He doesn’t turn the ball over, so there’s that, but he shoots 35% from 2 and 23% from 3.
C, #12, 6’10” Langdon Hatton. A transfer from Bellarmine, Hatton is another local Indiana boy coming home for his final season. He doesn’t get much playing time, only about 7 minutes per game. Seems to be a decent rebounder and shot blocker, but is prone to picking up a lot of fouls quickly.
Injured players
PF, #5 6’9” Malik Reneau. IU’s best player before his knee injury, he’s apparently going to play tonight for the first time in 3 weeks. Last year we really limited him, as he needed 9 shots to score 9 points and only had 5 rebounds while fouling out in just 24 minutes. He was averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds per game, but who knows how effective he will be tonight. He’s an excellent passer for a big man and a great rebounder as well, plus he gets a decent number of steals.
SF, #8 6’7” Bryson Tucker. Tucker is a 5-star freshman who immediately played his way into IU’s rotation, and is also available tonight. He’s definitely hit the freshman wall a bit in recent weeks, and has struggled to make an impact on the game. His shooting numbers are awful, though that hasn’t stopped him from trying, but he’s a solid rebounder and doesn’t turn it over. Also not a threat from deep, having gone 1-16 to start his career.
Let's hope we keep recent history going and take down the Hoosiers once again. Go 'Cats!
IU basketball under Mike Woodson has played out largely the same every season. They come in with a roster full of talent, and proceed to massively underperform it. Their Kenpom rating each year looks like this from preseason to end of season: 30 to 48, 12 to 30, 50 to 91, and so far this year, 42 to 59. To their credit, they somewhat improved their nonconference scheduling, at least from the bottom end, though it still didn't result in any meaningful wins. In addition, Woodson brought in 5 transfers, 4 of whom either don't shoot 3s or shoot them very poorly.
Woodson has continued his trend of deciding that it's not worth it to shoot so many 3s, which I guess is smart for them, because they are just as bad as we are at making them. The one area they have improved in this year is offensive rebounding, and they do a good job at scoring off second-chance opportunities. Much like our recent opponents, they seek out transition opportunities on offense (though they turn the ball over a ton in these situations), and when forced into half-court sets, they first look to either post-up a big man or run PnR with the big man going to the net. Fortunately, they are much less efficient than MD, MSU and Michigan have been. What they absolutely do not want to do is shoot 3s in any way - whether it's a guard driving and kicking out, or screening to open up a guy for a 3, or a big man passing it out of the post to an open shooter - or have their guards drive to the rim. They do it as little as possible, and when they are forced into it, they are very bad at scoring. They are also happy to take midrange shots, but they are average at scoring on those.
Defensively, they again are very similar to past years (don't force a ton of TOs, mediocre at rebounding), with the exception that they are better at avoiding fouls. They also seem to be much better this year at defending the 3, though have gotten worse at defending 2-point shots. They still remain good at blocking shots, though not at the elite level from the days of TJD and Race Thompson.
IU changed their starting lineup prior to the OSU game. swapping Anthony Leal into the lineup for Trey Galloway, so I'm going to guess they stick with it tonight as well.
Starters
PG, #1 6'3" Myles Rice. A transfer who came from Washington State, where he spent the year as their starting PG as a freshman. He put up good numbers last year, though he hasn't really improved on anything this year, but is slightly less involved in the offense than last year. He is a solid passer, but has struggled with turnovers. He's an excellent free throw shooter, and is halfway decent in midrange, but he sucks at shooting from everywhere else. He's solid on defense, averaging 1.2 steals per game. He's also had 3 games in conference where he's scored 19+ points, but has quieted down a bit the past 3 games, scoring only 4 points in the win against OSU, where he was limited in playing time due to foul trouble.
SG, #3 6'5" Anthony Leal. A 5th-year player, spent entirely at IU. He grew up in Bloomington, and has spent his career as a little-used reserve prior to the middle of last season, when he found himself in the rotation, and when he faced us, scored 0 points in 12 minutes while shooting 0-2 with 3 boards and 1 assist. He does not shoot much on offense, but he's made 8-13 shots this year including 4-8 from 3, despite shooting just 59% at the FT line. While not providing much on offense, he seems to be valued as a defender, and thus has found himself starting.
SF, #10 6'7" Luke Goode. A familiar face in a different uniform. Goode played his last 3 years for the Illini, known as a sharpshooter. He has continued that trend this year, shooting 38% from 3 on the season but 46% during conference play on 5 shots per game. He never turns the ball over and rarely gets assists, so if he gets it, you can bet it's going up. He's coming off of a career-high 23 point on 14 shot performance against OSU, including 4-7 from 3 and 5-5 at the line. Can't afford to let him get hot tonight.
PF, #21 6'9" Mackenzie Mgbako. Back for his second year, Mgbako has shown solid improvement from his freshman season and is now an average 3 point shooter to go shopping with good defensive rebounding and improved shot blocking. With Reneau out, he takes the most shots on the team. Last year he dropped 20 points on us with 4 rebounds and 1 block, so this will be another key matchup for us tonight. He has really struggled in their last 4 games though, so hopefully we can keep that going.
C, #11 7’0” Oumar Ballo. A 5th-year transfer from Arizona, Ballo is enjoying the best season of his career so far. He's pretty lethal around the rim and also has a solid midrange game, but he's not a threat from 3. He averages a double-double on the year, with 14.5 points and 10.4 boards per game, along with a couple assists, a couple blocks and the occasional steal. He also draws a ton of fouls, but only shoots 59% from the line. Gonna really need Big Matt to step it up.
Reserves
PG, #32 6’5” Trey Galloway. Another 5th-year all-IU local boy. Galloway has started for the last two and a half seasons, though recent struggles have put him on the bench to start the game. His 3-point shooting, a big strength two seasons ago, has not recovered in the season and a half since, and with increased turnovers this year, he’s not bringing a ton to the team right now aside from his passing. Throughout his career, he’s always been good for about 7-8 points against us, though last year he did have 12 assists against 2 turnovers in their loss to us.
SG, #9, 6’3” Kanaan Carlyle. A transfer from Stanford, Carlyle has…not been good. He began the year in the starting lineup, but lost his spot after 6 games and now comes off the bench. He’s had a handful of decent games this season, including 13 points against OSU, but in general his shooting has been horrific, he doesn’t get many assists or rebounds, and isn’t a great defender either. He doesn’t turn the ball over, so there’s that, but he shoots 35% from 2 and 23% from 3.
C, #12, 6’10” Langdon Hatton. A transfer from Bellarmine, Hatton is another local Indiana boy coming home for his final season. He doesn’t get much playing time, only about 7 minutes per game. Seems to be a decent rebounder and shot blocker, but is prone to picking up a lot of fouls quickly.
Injured players
PF, #5 6’9” Malik Reneau. IU’s best player before his knee injury, he’s apparently going to play tonight for the first time in 3 weeks. Last year we really limited him, as he needed 9 shots to score 9 points and only had 5 rebounds while fouling out in just 24 minutes. He was averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds per game, but who knows how effective he will be tonight. He’s an excellent passer for a big man and a great rebounder as well, plus he gets a decent number of steals.
SF, #8 6’7” Bryson Tucker. Tucker is a 5-star freshman who immediately played his way into IU’s rotation, and is also available tonight. He’s definitely hit the freshman wall a bit in recent weeks, and has struggled to make an impact on the game. His shooting numbers are awful, though that hasn’t stopped him from trying, but he’s a solid rebounder and doesn’t turn it over. Also not a threat from deep, having gone 1-16 to start his career.
Let's hope we keep recent history going and take down the Hoosiers once again. Go 'Cats!
