In a defeat to Penn State, Indiana basketball falters in the second half and exposes its defense.
The once-full Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall student section began to disperse with about three minutes left in Indiana men’s basketball team’s 85-71 loss against Penn State on Saturday afternoon. The majority of the crowd started to leave, but the remainder continued to yell occasional taunts.
Mike Woodson, the head coach of Indiana, shook his head repeatedly while crossing his arms. The last buzzer went off, and Indiana’s starters left in despair. The Hoosiers’ defense broke down in the second half, despite having a lead of up to 11 points in the first.
Penn State exploited Indiana’s weak defensive rotations and, in Woodson’s opinion, lack of effort, shooting a combined 12-of-22 from outside the arc.
“We felt like we were a step behind,” Woodson remarked after the game. “And it’s kind of disheartening because you basically lay an egg when you come back after playing a nice game versus Iowa.”
The Nittany Lions weren’t among the Big Ten’s more formidable shooting teams going into Saturday. They made only 30.5% of their attempts and were only 184th in the nation in terms of 3-pointers made per game (7.4).
Ace Baldwin Jr., a senior guard, was Penn State’s slick operator, scoring 22 points to lead the team and exploiting defensively against Indiana freshman guard Gabe Cupps. With three of his five 3-pointers going in astray and an impressive eight assists, Baldwin helped the Nittany Lions defeat Indiana on the road for the first time since 2014.
Baldwin dribbled slowly along the arc toward his right with little over six minutes left in the contest. Cupps trailed behind, pacing his feet deliberately to correspond with Baldwin’s deliberate gait.
Baldwin quickly grabbed the ball, raised it over his head, and fired a shot that Cupps was unable to block in time. After the triple went through the hoop, Penn State led 71-57 and Baldwin let out a swaggering, self-assured shout.
But it wasn’t just Baldwin. Zach Hicks, a junior forward, and Jameel Brown, a sophomore guard, both scored four 3-pointers. Trey Galloway, a senior guard for Indiana, stated that following Woodson’s game plan and having unclear communication were contributing factors.
Galloway stated, “Coach gives us a gameplan; we have to follow it and do it.” “I believe that the misinterpretation stems from our general hesitancy. However, we need to come out of that shell, communicate with one another, and figure out how to get stops.
Maligned early in the season for failing to guard the 3-point line, the Hoosiers’ defense has improved significantly recently. Indiana gave up just 68 and 70 points, respectively, to Iowa and Illinois, the two Big Ten offenses with the second and third best scoring totals, respectively.
Throughout its early-season non-conference schedule, Indiana often found themselves vulnerable to deep ball attacks. In their first three games of the year, the Hoosiers gave up ten 3-pointers, and on December 29, they gave up a season-high seventeen against Kennesaw State University.
But Indiana’s perimeter defense got better in conference play, maybe because of the Big Ten’s rugged and post-centric style. On January 3, Nebraska completed 12 of its 32 long-range tries, and on January 19, Wisconsin completed 10 triples.
The amount Penn State surrendered on Saturday was equal to Nebraska’s, the highest the Hoosiers have let up in a Big Ten game this year.
“We have been guarding the three quite effectively in the Big Ten conference,” Woodson remarked. “I just felt like we were so flat coming out in the second half tonight. Something I hadn’t seen, that is.
Against a relatively smaller Penn State team, Indiana’s lineup included sophomore center Kel’el Ware, sophomore forward Malik Reneau, freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako, Galloway, and Cupps. With their size, Indiana was able to get anything down low.
However, that size advantage proved detrimental from a defensive standpoint. The Nittany Lions’ fast tempo and capacity to spread the floor forced the Hoosiers to make hasty substitutions. Even after switching back to smaller lineups.
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