IU Falls to Ole Miss

Indiana lost to Mississippi 89-71 in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. IU started off very well. In fact, they led 20-11 after the first six minutes. I know Hoosiers fans were all pumped up about the offensive firepower IU was showing. Unfortunately, the bottom fell out and Ole Miss quickly took control and never looked back. Indiana made a run to cut the lead to eight points but a turnover on a fast break by Devan Dumes doomed them to a loss.

Quickly, the positives, negatives and a look at today's game against Boston University.

Transition Game
The Hoosiers were able to get a jump on the Rebels because of their transition game. They were forcing turnovers and scoring off of them. They were scoring off of quick outlet passes on defensive rebounds. I was really impressed by Rivers, Jones and Creek for most of the game. Rivers ended up with 14 points, Jones had 17 and Creek had 18 to lead Indiana. A lot of these points came when they attacked the basket early in possessions. Unfortunately, the half court offense looked pretty awful.

Rebounding
I would not have put this in the positive category if I had not looked at the box score. Indiana managed to come very close in the rebounding department (43 to 46) against a good rebounding squad. Pritchard led the way with eight and Rivers grabbed seven.

Turnovers
This is clearly a negative. Indiana turned the ball over 21 times. Eight of these came in a very ugly stretch of possessions that turned a nine point lead into a deficit. I think some of the turnovers were issues of indecision. These guys did not look very confident about what they were going to do. If you hesitate on a pass, it is probably not going to work out. Creek and Rivers both had four turnovers to "lead" Indiana.

Miserable Free Throw Shooting
Holy schnikes. There are a couple of things that really get under my skin. One is a lack of effort and the other is poor free throw shooting. Free throw shooting can be fixed through practice and concentration. The opponent can't do anything to make you miss a free throw, you are in complete control. Indiana shot an absolutely pathetic 12-27 (44%) from the line in this game. I am a firm believer that this team needs to shoot at least 70% to be competitive in the Big Ten. Fix it before it loses us a game!

Next Up
The Hoosiers now play Boston University. The Terriers lost to Kansas State 80-70. ESPNU was supposed to televise this 6 o'clock but they are going to show a Bowling Green vs. Miami (OH) football game, nice. Jeremy Gray and Todd Leary have the call on 97.1 FM. I am going to predict a Hoosiers victory but it will be close. Boston has lost to Iona, George Washington and Kansas State by 9, 10 and 10 respectively. They are expected to contend for the America East title (good Mid-Major league). BU has a very good backcourt and a solid frontcourt. They don't have much depth, particularly down low, so getting them in foul trouble would be helpful. This is a 50-50 game for IU, sorry that's just where this program is for now.

Roth Update
Matt Roth injured his ankle in the practice before the Ole Miss game. Tom Crean isn't saying definitive but it sounds like Roth will be out for an extended period of time. I don't want to sound cruel but I hope he doesn't redshirt. I just don't see him ever being a major difference maker at IU and a redshirt would take up a scholarship from a recruiting class down the line. I hope he gets better quickly and can return to provide more depth at the guard spot.