BLOOMINGTON — Indiana got the first scare of its new era, needing all 40 minutes to push back upset-minded Incarnate Word in a 69-61 win.
Here’s what I liked and disliked, and what the Hoosiers‘ win means.
Here’s what I liked in IU basketball’s win vs Incarnate Word
- Sam Alexis’ scrap. Incarnate Word’s unfamiliar defensive approach clearly affected the flow and rhythm for Indiana early on. The Hoosiers’ shooting and pace both suffered as a result. Enter Sam Alexis, the off-the-bench big who’s likely to play starter’s minutes this winter. The Hoosiers (4-0) don’t have a better rebounder in the post (eight Sunday), and they probably don’t have a better around-the-rim finisher. On an evening when dirty points scored through tenacity and hard work were required, Alexis delivered his share, scoring 13 of his 16 in an otherwise stunted first half.
- First-half defense. There will be nights when the shots Indiana prefers don’t fall, such is the nature of a team so reliant on 3s. They will be the ones the Hoosiers have to defend their way through, and they did that consistently Sunday. The quality of opposition certainly contributed, but IU still put together a stretch of roughly eight minutes at one point in the first half where Incarnate Word scored just two points. Indiana can’t afford the kind of power outage from behind the arc it delivered Sunday — 5 for 24 (20.8%). But it’s fine to learn how to play through those kinds of problems early in the season.
- Cleaning the glass. A problem pretty consistently through this season’s first three games wasn’t Sunday. The Hoosiers finished plus-13 on the glass, closing defensive possessions and stealing a few at the other end of the floor. This won’t be the toughest team to run off the boards, but Indiana couldn’t afford to be weak here, given problems elsewhere.
Here’s what I disliked in IU basketball’s win vs Incarnate Word
- Flailing offense. Incarnate Word spit out a 1-3-1 zone from the start, with some extended pressure and just enough activity to throw Indiana out of its rhythm. The Cardinals didn’t commit fully to it, switching to man when IU found some rhythm. But they stuck with it enough to prevent Indiana finding its customary offensive comfort, to the tune of a 3 of 13 first half from behind the arc. It would not improve after halftime — IU only hit two 3s the entire second half.
- Setting the blueprint. It’s never helpful to give opponents this much food for thought so early in the season. But anyone analyzing film of Indiana’s performance will wonder whether it’s worth throwing some junk zone at Darian DeVries’ team early in the next few games, just to see what it does to the Hoosiers’ rhythm. The ideas weren’t all bad against the zone, but IU generally just never looked comfortable in the game because of it. Shooting rhythm not just from the 3-point line but also the free-throw line never really clicked, and the game stayed closer than it should have as a result. This game is going on the scouting report.
- Defensive pressure. Down the stretch, Incarnate Word found a confidence it never should’ve been allowed, and by the time Indiana tried leaning into its pressure, the Cardinals believed far too much in their own upset hopes to be slowed down. At one point late in the second half, they scored on five-straight possessions, cutting the lead to as few as five points.
What IU basketball’s win vs Incarnate Word means
That was bad. But Indiana survived. Barely, but if it’s a blip, it won’t matter much in the grand scheme. If it’s a symptom of something worse, we’ll know soon enough. DeVries will want to warmly remind his team of the required standard after a game like this one.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball score today vs Incarnate Word, game stats, likes, dislikes
