NASSAU, Bahamas – When Indiana basketball got off to a slow start, trailing No. 3 Gonzaga by two points with eight minutes left in the first half, it looked like there was a chance after Wednesday’s 28-point loss to Louisville Signs of a hard-fought duel.

Then the wheels fell off.

A 21-2 run by the Zags opened the game’s climax and ended in a 16-point loss, just as the Cardinals did against the Hoosiers on Wednesday. After entering the Battle 4 Atlantis as the No. 14 team in the country and hoping to pick up some big wins, Indiana will now look to win its way out.

“Well, we don’t have time to practice to try to fix it,” Woodson said after the game. “We’ll get up early tomorrow, watch film and get ready for whoever we’re going to play.”

In its first two serious tests of the season, Indiana failed miserably. Question marks and weak points are piling up and time is running out as to whether the Hoosiers can turn things around or whether what they have seen can be expected for the rest of the season.

Here are some of IU’s most concerning concerns:

Defects in the backcourt

Indiana’s backcourt trio of Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle and Trey Galloway were expected to be a significant improvement over last season’s guard rotation. After going 1-for-15 from the field overall and committing nine turnovers against Louisville, things didn’t go much better on Thursday.

The trio combined for 16 points and limited their turnovers against Gonzaga, but they were still 6 of 22 and there were no 3-pointers. Furthermore, the offense lacked any serious movement or flow. Against the Bulldogs, all they could do was give Oumar Ballo the chance and hope he would perform.

“I just think the two guards we played up front in those two games controlled the game in their own way,” Woodson said. “We need to get better guard play because if we plan on making a good run in the Big Ten, then our guard play is going to have to get better.”

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few attributed the dynamic change to controlling the tempo, another responsibility of the guard. If IU wants to be a threat and dominate inside, it must first figure out how to play on the outside.

Defensive identity

Woodson always chose defense and Louisville and Gonzaga each had their say in every area to defend the Hoosiers.

With each opponent primarily playing smaller lineups with lots of defensemen, Woodson decided to stick with his two-big player combination of Malik Reneau and Ballo and paid the price defensively. Both the Cardinals and Bulldogs consistently used transitions or taller defenders on the perimeter to allow easy passes to the basket. Despite Indiana’s clear size advantage in every match, 94 points were scored in the last two games.

“The last two games our perimeter game has been exposed and I have to fix that,” Woodson said. “We have to make sure the guys sit down and don’t make mistakes when it comes to our defensive efforts.”

Despite offseason talk of more small-ball lineups and clear disagreements, Woodson has remained true to his principles. As more teams take advantage of this, the Hoosiers’ ceiling will collapse unless adjustments are made.

Inconsistent effort

Aside from Gonzaga’s 16-0 and eventual 21-2 run that blew up the game, Indiana didn’t play as poorly as it did on Wednesday. They even outscored the Bulldogs in the second half.

However, college basketball is a 40-minute game and, as in the past, the Hoosiers struggled to perform at full strength throughout the game. Whether it was lazy passes without looking, mental lapses, repeated possessions by inferior players on defense, or simply being pressured into the ball, Indiana didn’t look like it wanted to win more than his opponents.

“I thought we came out early and competed, then we hit the dry spot right before halftime that gave them the cushion,” Woodson said. “In the second half I thought we were competitive, but unfortunately again we have to play two halves and we couldn’t put two halves together tonight.”

Whether the coaching staff or the players are responsible is up for debate, probably a combination of both. Regardless of who is to blame, basketball is uninspiring in countless moments where the team expresses their fear on the court and the fan base has taken notice.

With a light non-conference schedule and two conference games in between before Big Ten play really gets going, the Hoosiers have another chance to escape the Bahamas with a win and show their ability to improve and adapt. If there is no improvement, we may be in for a long season.

(Image credit: IU Athletics)

Submitted to: Gonzaga Bulldogs