Hoosier State of Mind
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Indiana Basketball: 3 takeaways from loss vs Wisconsin

By Trevor Gersmehl

BLOOMINGTON, IN - DECEMBER 08: Archie Miller the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers gives instructions to his team against the Louisville Cardinals at Assembly Hall on December 8, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - DECEMBER 08: Archie Miller the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers gives instructions to his team against the Louisville Cardinals at Assembly Hall on December 8, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 15: Joey Brunk #50 of the Butler Bulldogs looks to the basket while defended by De’Ron Davis #20 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half of the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 15, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indiana won 71-68. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 15: Joey Brunk #50 of the Butler Bulldogs looks to the basket while defended by De’Ron Davis #20 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half of the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 15, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indiana won 71-68. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Joey Brunk

Joey Brunk hurt his team in this game. As I said earlier, Nate Reuvers scored an easy seven points early on because Brunk let him get any shot he wanted. Nate Reuvers’ favorite shot is the face up 15-foot jumpshot, but Brunk backed off of him and let him shoot it two times in the first five minutes of the game. Brunk also had two turnovers on the offensive end in the first half that exacerbated a bad stretch of offense for Indiana. He also threw up three flailing hook shots that had no chance of going in.

It was just about as much as what Brunk did as what Brunk didn’t do against Wisconsin. He certainly wasn’t alone in this struggle, but he didn’t do any of the little things to help contribute.

Things like setting powerful screens, hustling, showing some scrap, these were all things absent from Indiana’s team performance, but especially Brunk’s individual performance.

Indiana only found success for a brief minute in this game when Archie Miller put Trayce Jackon-Davis at center with Justin Smith and Damezi Anderson at the forward spots. Jackson-Davis guarded Reuvers for one possession during this stretch and was scored on, but he couldn’t have contested the shot better.

Is the twin tower approach in the front court the best thing for this team? De’Ron Davis has looked sluggish all season, Brunk looked really bad in his first Big Ten game, and has struggled at times, but Trayce Jackson-Davis is obviously the real deal despite some growing pains.

Archie Miller shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with the Jackson-Davs/Smith/Anderson front court more.

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