NASSAU, Bahamas -- Heading into the Battle 4 Atlantis, Indiana sat at 4-0 and was ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll. The Hoosiers now leave at 5-2, placing seventh in the tournament, and likely out of the top 25.
“We got to play harder, get better, and we’ll continue to practice and work hard,” head coach Mike Woodson said of his team’s finish in the tournament. “Gonzaga, there’s a reason they’re a good team, they’re well coached and those guys play hard. Louisville played hard. We got to get our guys playing at that level.”
Indiana defeated Providence 89-73 in the 11 a.m. seventh place game Friday with Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau leading the team with 25 and 21 points, respectively.
Indiana went on a 15-4 run starting at the 15:36 mark when the game was at a 10-10 standstill. Indiana held that lead through the rest of the first half, with Providence getting it as close as 35-30 with 3:36 remaining in the first half. The lead was extended to as many as 19 in the second half and 63% shooting from the field in the half kept it in hand for the Hoosiers.
With the absence of Kanaan Carlyle — Woodson said he was “day-to-day” with an unspecified injury — Trey Galloway entered the starting lineup. Galloway, whether by the direction of Woodson or by his own resolve, forced his teammates to play faster. This quicker pace resulted in 16 fastbreak points, their third highest mark of the season, and the fifth-year senior scored his season high of 18.
On the Carlyle injury, Woodson added, “he couldn’t move today, so we shut him down.”
Woodson was asked postgame about if Galloway would potentially be entered into the starting lineup.
“Not going there with you with that,” Woodson said. “He played great today, and Trey’s situation has been gauged on how he’s feeling. Yesterday he played 29 minutes and I was holding my breath that he could get up this morning and tell me that he felt fine.”
Reneau only logged eight minutes in the first half due to recording his second foul at the 14:36 mark, but that served as an opportunity for Woodson to use a one-big lineup, something that should’ve been implemented with more success this season prior to Friday. The lineup saw more aggression on the perimeter both defensively and offensively — Galloway, Mgbako and Luke Goode all converted from deep in the first half.
Even with the victory in the morning’s game, Indiana and Woodson leave the Bahamas with far more questions than answers.
First, what is the problem with the regular starting backcourt and why did Myles Rice and Carlyle get outperformed this week?
Chucky Hepburn gave the Hoosiers 16 points, 10 assists and seven steals in Louisville’s 89-61 wiping of the Hoosiers. In Gonzaga’s 89-73 rout of Indiana, Ryan Nembhard added 11 points, 13 assists and five steals. In Friday’s action Jayden Pierre kept the Friars alive with 22 points and six assists.
On multiple instances Rice and Carlyle were dismantled physically and in decision making by their opposing guards throughout the tournament.
Woodson must make their lives less stressful on the offensive end and allow them to play out of structure more often. Both guards are talented scorers and passers, but both seem trapped in their ability to do either in Woodson’s big-dominated offense.
On Jan. 19, with Carlyle still at Stanford and Rice with Washington State, in a contest against each other the guards had 66 points and 11 assists between themselves.
In this tournament, playing five combined games, the backcourt contributed 17 points and 11 assists on 6-for-35 shooting and 2-for-13 shooting from three.
This is not the same crafty passing and get to your spot scoring that was expected out of the guards when they came to Indiana in the portal. While the guards do deserve some blame, the system of slow paced and physical basketball does not fit their games.
“I’m not concerned,” Woodson said when asked about Rice. “Myles is a tough kid and we’ll get him back, we’ll go home and regroup, and we’ll get him back going because he’s a major, major piece to the puzzle.”
Some much emphasis in this offense is hammering the ball into the paint, and rightfully so. Oumar Ballo shined in this tournament and proved why he is one of the premier centers in the country, but Woodson must allow his backcourt to create for themselves out of the structure of the offense, or they will continue to put up mediocre statistics.
The other question that Woodson will have to find an answer to how to convince his unit to play together defensively. Indiana allowed 89 points to Louisville and Gonzaga, both the most they have allowed all season, while the 73 allowed Friday is good for the second most this season. They also allowed 41 offensive rebounds over the course of the tournament.
“It’s been a major concern,” Woodson said. “It dates back to last season where we were a pretty big team last season and gave up a bunch of rebounds.”
There was a clear divide on the floor between Indiana’s communication on defense and that of all three of their opponents. In a ballroom that is transformed into a 3,500-seat arena, it becomes much easier to hear the communication on the floor. Throughout this tournament, Indiana’s defensive noise was repeatedly much lower than that of their opponents. Even some screens were delivered with force, it’s a clear sign that this team is not on the same page defensively.
When a team is constructed in the transfer portal, there are going to be kinks that must be worked out. Rice, Carlyle, Ballo and Goode have only been in the Hoosier uniform for a handful of games, not to mention the time it takes for players who have never played together to gel.
However, if Woodson expects to take this Indiana team on a deep run in the tournament come March, he has to be less stubborn. He must adapt his system to benefit his players as opposed to trying to adapt his players to fit the system. If he is able to do that then this team has a chance to make noise in the Big Ten and beyond this season.
If he is unable to adapt and change from the Battle 4 Atlantis, his guards will continue to struggle and his defense the same. If those two issues continue, then similar results will happen all season, forcing Athletic Director Scott Dolson to have some tough conversations when this season ends.
