NASSAU, Bahamas – As Indiana basketball trailed by 30+ factors in a thumping in opposition to Louisville to open the Battle 4 Atlantis Wednesday, head coach Mike Woodson stood nonetheless, arms on his hips, earlier than taking a seat on the bench for the rest of the sport. All of the whereas, first-year Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey continued to bark orders and instructions to his crew.
In an 89-61 recreation whose ultimate rating generously understated the true product, Woodson’s Hoosiers seemed hopelessly unprepared and unable to make key changes. With one other two video games to play within the subsequent two days, this raises issues about how aggressive Indiana will likely be in closing out the neutral-site event.
“It was past schemes,” Woodson mentioned postgame. “As a coach, I’ve bought to get this crew extra able to go, and I’m speaking starting to finish.”
Louisville opted to start out smaller and extra perimeter-oriented than common – though Kelsey later admitted beginning large man James Scott didn’t begin as a consequence of being late to shootaround – and Woodson stayed along with his common two-big lineup. When Oumar Ballo was stripped by Chucky Hepburn, which led to a transition layup on the sport’s first possession, it was a nasty omen of what was to return.
Hepburn and Louisville’s guards had Indiana’s backcourt locked up in chains and the Hoosiers’ measurement was the one offensive side retaining them alive. Regardless of the scale benefit, Indiana nonetheless struggled to maintain up with the Cardinals, even in areas the place its solely benefit ought to have proven. For instance, Louisville utterly outhustled the Hoosiers for 4 offensive rebounds on one possession early.
It was prevalent early on that Kelsey and the Cardinals had a plan of assault on how you can shut down the Hoosiers: house the ground, get out in transition and management the tempo of the sport. Defensively, it was to stop Indiana from getting transition momentum.
“We simply thought our benefit was with the ability to house the ground, play with nice tempo and generate offense that method,” Kelsey mentioned. “, each crew goes to play to their strengths.”
Quite the opposite, Woodson and the Hoosiers did attempt to play to their strengths and relied on the publish offense. Nevertheless, even as soon as it turned clear that changes had been wanted with a view to compete with Louisville, there was no change in strategy.
Regardless of wanting outmatched and being outplayed in practically all areas of the sport, Indiana nonetheless managed to enter halftime trailing by simply 8 factors. Woodson was graced with a possibility to regroup on the break and determine how you can run with Louisville or sluggish them down. Spoiler alert: it didn’t occur.
The Hoosiers scored first to open the half, then within the blink of an eye fixed, an 11-0 Louisville run busted the sport open. One run after one other and it turned too late for Indiana to cease any bleeding. With seven minutes remaining, the most important concern was to not lose by 40+ and get embarrassed on nationwide tv.
Indiana’s four-guard rotation mixed to shoot 0-for-18 with eight turnovers earlier than a Myles Rice 3-pointer obtained a beneficiant bounce off the rim and went in. Exterior of Ballo and Malik Reneau, the Hoosiers shot 9-for-43 from the sector. The crew shot 4-for-19 on layups and completed with extra turnovers (23) than subject targets (21). No matter your selection of stat from Indiana, it was so pathetic it didn’t even appear attainable.
And regardless of all of it, Woodson’s solely response was the crew “didn’t play Indiana basketball” and must study from its errors and put together for tomorrow. Whereas he at the very least took accountability for the consequence and owned his duty to stop one other comparable efficiency, he had no rationalization for a way the crew was outcoached, outhustled and outplayed.
Even Reneau – who was the Hoosiers’ sole shiny spot with 21 factors, seven rebounds and 4 assists – might solely cite a scarcity of execution.
“We had a fantastic scout going into the sport,” Reneau mentioned. “We simply didn’t execute the sport plan that Coach Woodson had, particularly on the defensive finish. It was simply, like, a scarcity of focus in the direction of the scout we had and never giving all of it out after we had been on the court docket.”
Wednesday’s consequence marks 4 consecutive 20-plus level drubbings in Woodson’s previous 4 losses in a neutral-site contest. When the lights have been the brightest in a sq. setting – though there was a transparent fringe of Hoosier followers in Atlantis – the Hoosiers have failed to indicate up by any measure.
With the loser of No. 3 Gonzaga and 3-1 West Virginia up subsequent, Indiana has some critical evaluating to do. One recreation gained’t outline this crew’s season and the route it’s getting in, however that’s provided that some form of changes are made. And primarily based off Wednesday afternoon, when it was obvious changes had been wanted, there’s no assure what is going to occur subsequent.
(Photograph credit score: IU Athletics)
Filed to: Louisville Cardinals
