Indiana dominates on defense in 76-57 win vs. Rutgers

Indiana comes out on Sunday with their best defensive showing this season beating Rutgers at home.

It was another slow start for the Indiana Men’s Basketball team, something the Hoosiers have seen way too often this season.

The first five minutes of the game had Rutgers up 15-6 at the media timeout. The Hoosiers were making defensive mistakes early and buckets were not dropping.

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A crucial steal right after the timeout by O.G. Anunoby sent the Hoosiers on a 20-3 run for nearly 6 minutes. The Hoosiers pretty much controlled the game from here but the rough starts are worrisome.

It was an odd day at Assembly Hall. A day in which the offense shot 18% from three on 22 attempts. James Blackmon Jr had 16 points but went 0-8 from three-point range. The offense found a way to still be productive despite not being able to shoot from the outside.

The most impressive part of this win was the defensive aggressiveness the entire team showed throughout. Indiana had a season high 14 steals in the game and forced a total of 21 turnovers for Rutgers. Indiana for the first time in six weeks the defense for the Hoosiers came alive.

In large part, Indiana thrived because of the performances from Juwan Morgan and O.G. Anunoby on the defensive end. Morgan had 7 points 3 blocks, 3 rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes. Anunoby had a career high 7 steals igniting the Indiana defense. He finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists to go along with the steals.

Furthermore, Indiana coming in was one of the best rebounding teams in the Big Ten Conference. Rutgers ended up out-rebounding the Hoosiers 38-29. The steals and turnovers helped Indiana combat the glass work of Rutgers.

Final thoughts…

The final 20 seconds of the game Indiana’s Devonte Green lobbed up an alley-oop attempt to Freddie McSwain Jr. The dunk was unsuccessful, the Hoosiers were up 19, and quite frankly coach Tom Crean was irate.

So much so that he stormed the court before the buzzer to light Devonte Green up, rightfully so.

Not really the best look considering Indiana has dropped 4 of their last 5 games coming into this game. To try alley-ooping with time expiring is immature. The fact that Indiana was up 19 points on the team in last place in the conference is flat-out embarrassing.

It shows that Indiana still is without the leadership that was instilled by Tom Crean to players in the past. That type of play falls squarely on the lack of veteran presense in the locker room.

One thing is for certain, Green, McSwain, and the rest of the team will know to never conjure up a play like that ever again.