Thoughts on a 77-68 win over Winthrop:

Oumar Ballo sat inactive on the bench for today’s competition. Malik Reneau was with him for most of the game, although he struggled with foul trouble.

With Indiana’s starting players having less impact tonight, Langdon Hatton made the most of his opportunity.

In the Bahamas, Hatton did the little things, kept the ball moving and contributed to the team concept. Tonight he played his best game as a Hoosier in 26 minutes. In 14 minutes of the first half, the Bellarmine transfer collected five offensive rebounds and drew fouls, keeping the Hoosiers alive on multiple possessions. After Reneau picked up an early third foul in the second half, Hatton again played plenty of minutes and continued to shine. At the end of the game, he collected seven points, 11 boards, three blocks, one assist and one steal. Despite committing four fouls, Hatton’s three blocks at the rim helped deter a Winthrop team that kept getting there as the Eagles attacked throughout the game.

With Ballo not on the field tonight and Reneau only playing 14 minutes, Indiana wasn’t looking to get as many post touches as usual. This meant the attack distance was better. This was very important for Myles Rice as it gave him more freedom of action. Rice scored several baskets at the rim in both the half-court offense and in transition. His 18 points (7 of 13) led the way for the Hoosiers. And against a Winthrop team that got to the finish line faster than any other team in the country heading into the contest, Indiana was even better than the Eagles in that regard. The Hoosiers had a free throw rate of 36 percent compared to Winthrop’s 31 percent. Indiana went 16 of 24 (66.7 percent) from the finish line. The Eagles scored 14 of 20 goals (70 percent). Indiana also turned the ball over on just 11 percent of its possessions and came out in transition, scoring 17 fast-break points.

And yet this game was close. Indiana defended its one-point lead (69-68) with 3:16 to play. An important reason for this? Indiana was terrible from 3-point range. Luke Goode made Indiana’s first attempt from deep at 17:04 of the first half. But from there, the Hoosiers missed 19 straight times and shot just five percent (1 of 20) for the game. Goode finished 1 of 9. Mgbako went 0 of 5. Rice, Kanaan Carlyle and Trey Galloway combined to go 0 of 6. More than half (52.7 percent) of Indiana’s errors came from the middle of the contest.

And while it wasn’t as egregious as we’ve seen in other non-conference games this season, the Hoosiers also had some lulls in performance and energy, allowing the Eagles to keep up throughout the contest. Indiana never led by double digits in this game.

With the non-conference season looming, Indiana hasn’t shown many signs that it will be in contention for a Big Ten title. And in every notable NCAA Tournament projection, the Hoosiers are currently on the outside looking in. At the moment, this team often operates more like a collection of individually talented players than a cohesive team with a strong identity.

It was played against teams like the Southern, Big South and Ohio Valley Conference. But in Big Ten play? Indiana could be on its way to a sub-.500 mark if it can’t get its act together.

Submitted to: Winthrop Eagles