LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- This was the kind of ugly loss that stirred all the questions that have persisted around Archie Miller’s basketball program at Indiana University for more than three seasons.
Stagnant, cover-your-eyes offense.
Abysmal three-point shooting.
Lack of a fearless alpha male.
A day after Indiana looked defensively formidable while handling Providence by 21 points, the Hoosiers looked offensively inept while failing to threaten Texas in a 66-44 loss in the second round of the Maui Invitational in Asheville, North Carolina.
That faster, more dynamic offense that Miller promised to demand this season?
Apparently it was routed to Lahaina instead of the mountains of North Carolina.
Mark it down as the fewest points for Indiana since Jan. 24, 2010 -- Year Two of the Tom Crean rebuilding job in the days when Christian Watford and Jordan Hulls were freshmen.
The IU offense looked like the same offense that failed to score more than 50 points against Penn State, Rutgers or Purdue last season. The Hoosiers could not make even a quarter of their field goal attempts and only one player (Trayce Jackson-Davis) scored more than two field goals.
Get physical with the Hoosiers, and they flinch. Retreat. Disappear.
And lose big.
This game was a first-round TKO, dropping the Hoosiers to 2-1. Any thoughts they might climb into the Associated Press Top 25 next week were going, going, gone. IU slid from No. 14 to 27 in Ken Pomeroy's computer formula, one spot lower than where they began the season last week.
"They imposed early on how physical and tough they were going to play," Miller said. "We got beat up on the glass. We couldn't run offense."
The Hoosiers fell behind 6-0. They made two baskets in the first 10 minutes. They finished the first half 5-23 from the field and 0-4 from the three-point line. They turned the ball over on 27 percent of their possessions.
The first 20 minutes were no fluke. They were similar to the offensive issues the Hoosiers have too often shown over Miller’s first three seasons.
Down a dozen at halftime, the Hoosiers never got closer than 11 points in the second half. The Longhorns stretched their edge to 13, 17, 19 and even as much as 24. Miller earned a technical foul. The Hoosiers lost guard Al Durham to an ankle injury when he tumbled to the court in the second half. Expect him to miss games.
In 40 minutes, Indiana was unable to score more than five consecutive points. They got one field goal from their bench. They looked like a team that earned its position as the eighth-best squad in the Big Ten in preseason media polls.
"We just wanted to make it tough for all of them," Texas guard Matt Coleman said.
"Today we led with our defense, which is what our identity needs to be," said Texas coach Shaka Smart.
The Indiana frontcourt of Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson were overmatched by the length and athleticism of the Texas frontcourt.
Against Providence Monday, Thompson delivered his career-best in points (22) and rebounds (13). Against Texas, he was mostly invisible. He made one field goal.
Jackson-Davis started the day learning that he earned one of the 50 spots on the preseason Watch List for the John Wooden Award. The long and dominant arms Jericho Sims and Greg Brown limited Jackson-Davis to 17 of the most difficult points he has scored. He made five field-goals (on a dozen shots) but had five turnovers. Even Miller said Jackson-Davis has to be better.
The Indiana backcourt wasn’t more productive, even as Miller mixed and matched seniors (Durham), juniors (Rob Phinisee), sophomores (Armaan Franklin) and freshmen (Khristian Lander and Trey Galloway).
The Indiana guards were tentative, unable to create the spacing to get to the rim — and equally unable to finish on the rare moments they did. Three-point shooting. Don't even ask. IU made 2 of 10. It's not a priority. Until it is, how can it be a strength?
Indiana has less than 24 hours to reassess its issues. The Hoosiers will play Stanford in the third place game Wednesday. Miller said Indiana needed a game like this as evidence for the players on what they need to work on.
"This is why you play in these events," Miller said. "We're better than we played today."
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