Indiana Basketball: Will three point shooting be the downfall of Indiana?

The Hoosiers are in the midst of a three game slide and lack the shooting they need to get them rolling in the right direction.

With the Hoosiers losing their third game in a row, there seems to be a trend in Big Ten play regardless of the end result and that is three-point shooting.

After going just 2-for-14 from three against Nebraska, it brings their percentage in conference play to just 29.8 percent in five games.

It was none more evident than on Monday night, that the Hoosiers lack the necessary three point shooters to be successful.

When Nebraska went to a 1-3-1 defense, it took Indiana right out of the game. Making their final three at the 16:31 minute mark in the second half, the Hoosiers missed their final four attempts of the game, but what is even more telling is that they only attempted four.

The Hoosiers rank 332 out of 351 Division 1 teams in three point attempts showing their lack of confidence taking, but more importantly making, threes. As it stands now, there are only two power five schools that rank lower in that category (Texas Tech, and Kentucky).

For the Hoosiers, Romeo Langford has attempted the most threes on the team, ranked 26th in the conference, while shooting the lowest percentage on the roster (23.8 percent).

As for the best shooter, percentage wise, on the team, Rob Phinisee has only attempted 30 on the season, barely hitting the minimum attempts to be ranked in the conference.

Juwan Morgan, another capable shooter with a career average of 35.6 percent from three, has seen his season average of 41 percent dip to just 23.5 percent in Big Ten play, making just four total threes.

Ranked 302 in the NCAA in made threes per game (6.1), Al Durham is the only player on the roster that averages more than one make at just 1.2 per game, and his health is in question for the near future after missing the last 24 minutes against Nebraska.

This wouldn’t all be stressed if the Hoosiers had a dominant inside force, but with the lack of size and injuries, Indiana doesn’t have a great mix that bodes well moving forward.

When looking at the Big Ten rankings at a whole, the Hoosiers rank tied for sixth sitting at 3-3.

As you compare those standings with the conference standings for team’s three point percentage, the Hoosiers rank eighth. What’s the trend? No surprise, the best three point shooting teams are ranked at the top of the league.

The only team that is ahead of the Hoosiers when it comes to Big Ten record but below Indiana in three point shooting is Minnesota, who ranks just three spots ahead of the Hoosiers in the NCAA at 329th in three point attempts.

The end result is that it all comes down to the Hoosiers ability, or inability, to shoot and make the three.

Though we are only six games into Big Ten play, it could be a long season ahead if they don’t turn their shooting around.