Unraveling Indiana's Basketball Journey

COACHING (C)

The quest to inspire this team to give elite effort remains an ongoing battle. Defensively, getting the team to lock in and show discipline is equally challenging. These aspects seem to rest squarely on the shoulders of the head coach. Mike Woodson must demand more from his players and establish accountability. A five-point lead with just 10 minutes left in the second half against a mid-major is far from comfortable and doesn't bode well for Big Ten play. Woodson has shown he'll use the bench to sit underperforming players during the game, but the rigor and focus need to be instilled during practice. There are clear core issues with this team that go beyond talent, as evidenced by the data so far.

On Tuesday, there was progress in defending the arc on defense and spacing the floor on offense. However, this seemed to fade as the game progressed. The team needs to maintain a consistent level of performance across different aspects of the game.

OFFENSE (C)

Indiana has been plagued by turnovers all season, and this issue continued on Friday. Three players had three or more giveaways, and the team had a total of 16 turnovers. This was their second-highest turnover percentage of the season after the Louisville loss. Such turnovers clearly helped keep Miami in the game and limited an otherwise efficient offensive performance.

Other aspects of Indiana's offense were solid. They got to the free-throw line, grabbed some offensive rebounds, and shot the ball reasonably well overall. But it was good, not great. This was enough to beat a mid-major, but it left fans feeling uneasy about conference play. Offensively, the team leaned heavily on their big men. It would be beneficial to see them invest more time and energy in backcourt production and wing scoring against smaller opponents. However, when the game got tough, Woodson often turned to his frontcourt for stability.

DEFENSE (C)

The raw numbers suggest that Indiana's defense was quite good. They held Miami to just 30.8% shooting from the floor, the lowest output by any of their opponents this season. Their points allowed per possession of 0.85 was their second-best result of the year. Inside the arc, the Hoosiers contested everything Miami tried to do and made life difficult for the opponents.

However, it was a close call as the RedHawks were getting and missing a lot of open three-pointers. Woodson was candid about his team's shortcomings, acknowledging that the perimeter defensive effort was not nearly good enough. "We still got work to do, man," he said. "Even though they went six minutes without scoring, they still had good looks. The looks came from our inability to switch correctly. We screwed up so many switches tonight. Those are things we need to get right. When you switch, you need to have a body on a body. Nobody should be breaking free for easy shots. We need to clean this up and continue to work on it in practice to get better." Miami made 11 three-pointers, but the 32 attempts they got up on the night are more concerning.

THE PLAYERS (*starters)

*Mackenzie Mgbako (D-) The sophomore forward frustrated his head coach with repeated defensive lapses, both on and off the ball. On the offensive end, when he hadn't touched the ball for a while, he would force things when he finally got possession.

*Malik Reneau (B+) Another typical day at the office for Reneau. He missed some three-pointers and had turnovers, but his 19 points and 7 rebounds were a solid performance. Miami coach Travis Steele was impressed. "We played Indiana two years ago when he was a freshman, and his progress and development have been remarkable."

*Oumar Ballo (A-) Ballo was physically dominant throughout the game and seemed to have more energy. While his 18 rebounds caught everyone's attention, his six assists should not be overlooked. The only minor issue was his free-throw shooting, which may never be a strong suit of his game.

*Myles Rice (B) Rice wasn't a major facilitator on this night and had a few turnovers, but he was an efficient scorer and played well on defense.

*Trey Galloway (B+) Galloway's improved 3-point shooting is one of the more positive trends this season. Unlike some of his teammates, he was also focused on the defensive end.

Bryson Tucker (D-) This wasn't a good night for the freshman wing. He turned the ball over, missed every shot, and seemed slow to close out on shooters on multiple occasions.

Luke Goode (C+) Goode hit a long three to start his night, but couldn't maintain the momentum.

Anthony Leal (C) Leal's impact on the game wasn't as prominent as on Tuesday. He played 14 minutes and only had a couple of fouls to show for it. If Indiana is going to become a high-volume 3-point shooting team, he needs to be more aggressive when he gets space.

Langdon Hatton and Jakai Newton saw limited minutes.

Dallas James did not play, according to the coach's decision.

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