Luke Goode's hot start leads Hoosiers to victory

BLOOMINGTON – IU Basketball got off to a strong start, posting a comfortable 97-71 win over Sam Houston State on Tuesday night.

Myles Rice led the Hoosiers with 19 points, while Malik Reneau and Luke Goode each contributed 18 points. Reneau also had 10 rebounds and five assists as IU tried to wash away the bad taste of Atlantis.

Overreactions:For IU, it’s one step at a time. So that was progress.

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Here are three reasons why:

Luke Goode sets the tone for an excellent opening 20

Last week in the Bahamas, Luke Goode seemed to have found his chance, and he announced that rediscovery on Tuesday with four 3-pointers in the first half. In the half court and in transition, the Fort Wayne native worked excellently on both ends of the court, scoring 13 points in the first half, which was his most in a game.

He fueled a stellar first half for the Hoosiers (6-2), who hit 64% of their shots from the field and outscored Sam Houston State by 10 in the first 20 minutes. They were even better defensively, finishing possessions and clearing the glass. The BearKats (4-5) went scoreless for a long time and struggled for the points they scored.

Without nine IU turnovers, the result would have been even more one-sided than at halftime. As it was, IU deserved its 42-25 lead before halftime.

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Tighter bench

Some of this was certainly influenced by injuries. But Mike Woodson clearly opted to keep a closer bench on Tuesday in the Hoosiers’ first game against the Bahamas.

For most of the game, Indiana stuck with an eight-man rotation: five starters plus Bryson Tucker, Goode and Anthony Leal, who repaid Woodson’s trust with good backup minutes.

Here too, part of this was predetermined by injuries. Gabe Cupps and Kanaan Carlyle both missed the game due to undisclosed issues.

But after last week’s ugliness, it still stood out that Woodson bolstered his bench when and where it mattered, something worth keeping an eye on as the Big Ten heads into action next week.

Defensive mood swings

These did not stay in Atlantis.

With about 15 minutes to play, Indiana held Sam Houston State to just 14 points. The Hoosiers were superior and sharp on defense, eventually killing possessions on the glass.

Over the next 15 minutes, the BearKats scored 38 points, with the defense being as poor in that period as it had been excellent in the opening.

It appears this will be an issue for IU for a while. The Hoosiers have the ability to hold their own defensively against good teams, which they demonstrated against Gonzaga. They also retain the ability to simply fall apart in places at this end of the floor.

With the Big Ten looming on the horizon, the good must begin to outweigh the bad more consistently.

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Luke Goode’s hot start leads Hoosiers to victory

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