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Indiana returned to Bloomington and crushed Sam Houston State 97-71 on Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Here are five takeaways from the win against the Bearkats:
Luke Goode finds his perimeter shot
Luke Goode entered Tuesday’s game 6-for-21 (28.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point line.
Goode had numerous clean looks through the early season games but couldn’t find any rhythm from the perimeter.
That changed Tuesday night. The Fort Wayne native made five of his seven 3-point attempts and scored a career-high 18 points in the win.
Goode is now 11-for-28 on 3s this season, good for 39.3 percent.
The 6-foot-7 senior didn’t hesitate once shots started to fall against Sam Houston State. He made transition shots and converted looks off of sets designed to free him for in-rhythm looks.
Indiana’s 3-point volume as a team, however, continues to underwhelm. The Hoosiers attempted 11 3-pointers in the first half and took only four after halftime. IU ranks 351st out of 364 teams in 3PA/FGA through eight games. Only 23.7 percent of the team’s points come from 3s, which ranks 329th nationally.
For a night, defensive rebounding is improved
Sam Houston State entered Tuesday’s game ranked 68th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. The Bearkats were rebounding 34.6 percent of their opponent’s missed shots.
With Indiana’s continued struggles on the defensive glass, it was a concern Sam Houston State would take advantage and rack up offensive rebounds against the Hoosiers.
In the Bahamas, Indiana surrendered 41 offensive rebounds in three games.
For a night, the Hoosiers cleaned up one of their biggest deficiencies in the season’s eighth game. The Bearkats had just three offensive rebounds and didn’t score a second chance point.
With the performance, Indiana moved from 292nd nationally in defensive rebounding percentage to 227th. But one performance doesn’t mean the problem is solved. As the regular season progresses, nights like Tuesday need to become more common for Mike Woodson’s team.
Myles Rice delivers a strong second half
After a dismal performance at the Battle 4 Atlantis, where he shot 4-for-25 over three games, the struggles for Myles Rice were evident.
Confidence from Rice seemed to have evaporated and his body language, as pointed out by BTN announcer Brian Butch, wasn’t great in the first half.
Rice went to the locker room with four points, two rebounds, no assists and three turnovers.
But he was a different player in the second half against Sam Houston State. After seeing a few shots go down, Rice looked like the guy who led Indiana to an exhibition win at Tennessee and an early season win in Bloomington against South Carolina.
The 6-foot-3 guard shot 7-for-8 in the second half and scored 15 points in 17 minutes. He finished the game as IU’s leading scorer with 19 points.
“Myles is still trying to figure out the surrounding pieces, you know what I mean?” Woodson said postgame. “He’s a good pick and roll guy that can get downhill as you saw today. He’s capable of making shots.
“He struggled in the Bahamas. You know, to see him come back tonight and play the way he did, I’m proud as hell of him. We just got to keep him headed in the right direction.”
Anthony Leal provides a major boost off the bench
Woodson didn’t want to explain his decision to play Anthony Leal 25 minutes after only playing him five minutes total before Tuesday night, but it was a move that was beneficial for the Hoosiers.
Leal finished with a line of four points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Hoosiers were +39 with him on the floor, easily the best mark on the team.
His role in the rotation moving forward isn’t certain, particularly with Kanaan Carlyle and Gabe Cupps currently sidelined, but Leal will be ready when his number is called.
“He played 25 minutes this game after not playing a single minute in the Bahamas, and he was still a great teammate,” Goode said of Leal. “When you have that and you have that winning mentality, you know, it really helps everybody else realize it’s bigger than themselves.
“That’s the selflessness we need to keep portraying to the rest of the team and the rest of the guys.”
Indiana’s defense in the second half was poor
While Tuesday was a comfortable 26-point win for the Hoosiers, the second half defense was not encouraging.
Indiana allowed Sam Houston State to shoot 60 percent and gave up 46 points (1.18 points per possession).
IU’s defense continues to lag behind the offense through eight games. The Hoosiers rank 43rd in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric and 61st in adjusted defensive efficiency.
IU’s defensive numbers are currently below those of a team that has a chance to contend in the Big Ten.
“When I look at the box score, giving up 46 points in a half, that’s a bit too much for any team,” Woodson said postgame.
Thus far, Indiana’s defense this season has been a continuation of last season where the Hoosiers finished with the nation’s 84th best defense. There’s still time to improve, but IU has a lot of work ahead to improve defensively.
Filed to: Sam Houston State Bearkats
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