[Postgame 3-2-1] What We Learned From Indiana's over South Carolina
We break down three key stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 87-71 victory against South Carolina.
In their one and only home game against a power four non-conference opponent, Indiana took an early lead with a 14-0 run and never looked back.
Myles Rice led all scorers with 23 points while Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Kanaan Carlyle, and Trey Galloway all finished in double figures.
“I think when you have a game like this and you go and watch film, and I think film is the best teaching tool in basketball besides practicing and getting it right on the basketball floor,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson. “They knew coming into tonight's game that they had to be better. I thought they responded.”
With the win, Indiana is now 3-0 on the young season and will host UNC-Greensboro on Thursday night at Assembly Hall before heading to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.
Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 87-71 victory against South Carolina.
Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?
3 Meaningful Stats
1. Myles Rice Finishes With 21 Points
Indiana fans held high hopes for what Myles Rice could achieve in an Indiana uniform after the exhibition game at Tennessee; however, his first two regular season games did not live up to the hype.
The Washington State transfer scored a combined 16 points over his first two games at Assembly Hall.
On Saturday, Rice more than doubled his point total, scoring a game-high 21 points on an impressive 7-of-10 performance. The redshirt sophomore also hit a trio of triples after only making 1-of-3 in the season’s opening games.
“It's just within a flow,” Rice said postgame. “Whether I have two points, ten assists or 20 points, two assists I am always just going to try to make the right play.”
Rice obviously has an abundance of talent handling and dishing the basketball, but his scoring is what will set him apart from other guards in the country.
Mike Woodson needs a scoring point guard for his offense to work and that’s what Rice brought on Saturday afternoon.
2. Indiana Makes Season-High 8 Threes.
Fans have griped about the subpar three-point shooting over the last few seasons. From not making enough to not taking enough, there has always been something that has been a problem for Indiana.
Saturday afternoon was one of the more impressive shooting performance Indiana has had in some time. In fact, the last time the cream and crimson made eight threes in a game was in January of last season when Indiana took down Iowa at Assembly Hall.
Five different Hoosiers knocked down a three as the Hoosiers finished 8-of-17 from beyond the arc, 47.1%.
“Hey, I'll take -- if we can get much better than that I'll take it. Tonight was a step forward in making threes. You know, what did we shoot, 47% from the threes. Anybody in college basketball would take that,” Woodson said. “We just got to keep working at it and keep improving.”
Indiana has proven its worth in the paint, but it’s past time that the Hoosiers become a threat from deep.
3. Indiana’s bench got outscored 26-7
Of all the good that came of Saturday’s victory, Indiana lost an important stat: bench points.
Indiana has far too much depth to get flat-out dominated in this stat.
The Hoosiers got off to a rocking start in the first half, but as soon as Woodson went to the bench, the momentum had vanished and South Carolina worked themselves back into the game.
“Just better movement offensively. You know, we did it in spurts, and when we did it in spurts it looked pretty good, the ball movement from side to side and getting easy looks. Then we got stagnant. We went up 15 points; from that point on we didn't play very well from an offensive standpoint,” Woodson said. “Defense was still solid, but I just got to help us get better.”
Coaches must make substitutions during the game, but if the bench cannot maintain the same energy, Indiana will be in trouble against better opponents. Only eight Hoosiers saw the floor with Gabe Cups and Langdon Hatton not seeing the floor Saturday. That could be a preview of what is to come in conference games.
2 Important Observations
1. Kanaan Carlyle Finally Got The Lid Off The Basket
Indiana fans and observers expressed concern about Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle's offensive production after two games.
Carlyle only made 2-of-11 from the field in his first two starts in an Indiana uniform and was becoming increasingly frustrated with his own play. His body language was poor, but his defensive remained steadfast.
The breakout finally happened for Atlanta native, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including two makes from deep.
One of Carlyle’s made threes was a transition entrance pass from half-court that was so bad, that it actually went in.
The parity of Indiana’s offense is imperative for success and to see Carlyle to have his coming out party, is a welcome sight for Woodson and Indiana.
2. Oumar Ballo Has Already Improved At The Free Throw Line
It may not be pretty, but Oumar Ballo has seen a drastic improvement from the charity stripe.
The career 56.5% free throw shooter had some troubles in the first half, but when his team needed him to make his free shots, he delivered. Ballo finished 5-of-9 for the game and is now 9-of-15 (60%) on the young season.
South Carolina decided to foul Ballo, attempting to extend the game and keep Indiana from scoring points, but Ballo drilled the pair at the line and helped seal the victory for the Hoosiers.
Ballo can improve even more, and Woodson and the rest of staff has been working with him to get better in that aspect of his game.
1 Lingering Question
Why Doesn’t Indiana Play in More Marquee Non-Conference Games?
After watching other Big Ten teams play quality opponents both at home and on the road last night, it's time to have this conversation.
For years, Indiana basketball has never shied away from an opportunity to play the best of the best.
That’s not the case this year. Indiana doesn't have a single marquee game on their non-conference schedule this season. In fact, South Carolina is the toughest non Battle 4 Atlantis opponent the Hoosiers will play.
Indiana basketball is a national brand and the games against Kansas and Kentucky need to be the beginning of a challenging non-conference schedule year in and year out.
It’s time to start playing top-tier programs at Assembly Hall and on the road, too.
What were your thoughts about yesterday’s victory over South Carolina?
Don’t think bench scoring is accurate. Believe Gallo was in double figures and Tucker had a bucket as well.
Is the Kentucky matchup now dead with their old coach leaving?