LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Indiana beat Louisville, 74-66, late Monday afternoon in the consolation game of the Saatva Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Four Hoosiers scored in double figures. Anthony Walker played his best all-around game. Mackenzie Mgbako showed improvement. Kel’el Ware continued his run as the Hoosiers’ most productive player.
IU outscored U of L 13-2 over the final 3 1/2 minutes. The Cardinals looked unsettled by Indiana’s unexpected switch to a 2-3 zone, and U of L made only one of its last six shots down the stretch, an irrelevant layup in the final four seconds.
Now here is my primary takeaway from what I saw from the Hoosiers in New York City:
If the way Indiana (4-1) performed against Connecticut and Louisville is the way the Hoosiers are going to play the rest of the season, coach Mike Woodson’s team will finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten and miss the NCAA Tournament.
You can’t keep pretending that it’s 1986 and the 3-point field goal does not exist and expect to be taken seriously in today’s college basketball.
Indiana forward Kaleb Banks (10) dunks the ball in an NCAA college basketball game against Louisville in the Empire Classic tournament in New York, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)
Bob Knight, Woodson’s mentor at IU, was never in love with the 3-pointer but he was wise enough to recognize it was a weapon he could not ignore.
Ask Steve Alford. Or Calbert Cheaney. Or Greg Graham. Or Damon Bailey. Or A.J. Guyton.
Indiana made one three-point shot, none in the game’s final 23 minutes. They attempted 11. Mark it down as the fifth consecutive game Woodson’s team has been outscored from distance.
The Hoosiers started the game ranked 306th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 26.4% and a more damning 339th in percentage of shots taken from distance, only 27.3%.
By game’s end, Indiana’s 1 for 11 performance was reflected in the updated statistics at Ken Pomeroy’s website. Now the Hoosiers rank 340th in three-point percentage (23.4%) and 348th in percentage of shots taken from distance — 25.9%.
That’s more brutal than the most brutal numbers of the Archie Miller era. You can't win against prime competition being one of the Bottom 25 teams in the nation in both categories.
It’s also not sustainable if you expect to play with the heavyweights in college basketball.
It's Indiana, right? The state where babies have basketballs placed in their cribs?
And nobody can shoot the ball?
You can’t get the guard play that Indiana got from its veteran guards, Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway, the team captains, and believe you’ll survive against Kansas, Auburn, Purdue, Michigan State or any other serious team remaining on the Hoosiers schedule.
In two games in the Garden, Johnson and Galloway combined to make eight field goals.
For all the talk and concern how Indiana would miss all-American center Trayce Jackson-Davis this season, the Hoosiers miss point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino more.
Woodson’s biggest whiffs putting this team together have been building a backcourt with guys opposing coaches have to fear and developing perimeter players who can make jump shots.
Galloway shoots set shots and runners. He missed his first six shots before he made one against Louisville.
Johnson has been a decent shooter, but his form is far from textbook. Johnson made a three-pointer with 4:14 to play in the first half and a layup with about three minutes to play. That was it.
C.J. Gunn was supposed to develop into Indiana’s best shooter. That was his calling card at Lawrence North High School. He’s yet to make a three-point shot this season, leaving him 2 for 28 for his career.
Gabe Cupps has been a precocious freshman but ball-handling and defending are the primary things he has done well in the first five games. Nobody expects Cupps to become a guy who gives Indiana several threes in a game, at least not this season.
In 28 total minutes at Madison Square Garden, Cupps attempted one shot. He didn’t make mistakes but he was not a guard Louisville had to defend.
Maybe freshman Jakai Newton will develop into an offensive force at Indiana. But Newton has been battling a serious knee issue that has required multiple surgeries. Newton is unlikely to play this season.
And Indiana is unlikely to get the guard and perimeter play that a team has to bring to be a consistent winner in college basketball.
Woodson should have found another guard in the transfer portal. Or uncovered another recruit.
The offense Indiana played in New York was not enough to beat Connecticut and was barely enough to beat Louisville.
It won’t be enough to beat the kinds of teams the Hoosiers have to beat to go where this program expects to go next March.
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