Indiana basketball: Do we see another lineup change from Mike Woodson?

Indiana basketball has a lot of work to do to be competitive in the Big Ten and it seems like we may see another lineup change from Coach Mike Woodson ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with Penn State.

Losers of two straight games, both Indiana and Penn State are coming into Wednesday’s game in University Park hoping to end their losing skid.

Who makes the right changes? Who steps up for each team? Will we see a defensive battle in the Bryce Jordan Center?

Here are my keys for Indiana basketball to end their two-game losing streak against Penn State on Wednesday:

Keys to an Indiana basketball victory over Penn State

Please play small ball with Trayce Jackson-Davis inside

Jordan Geronimo earned the starting spot with Race Thompson going down due to a leg injury at Iowa, and it did not work well. In just 10 minutes as a starter, Geronimo logged zero points, two rebounds, and three personal fouls.

The most successful lineup seemed to be the combination of Jalen Hood-Schifino, Tamar Bates/CJ Gunn, Trey Galloway, Miller Kopp, and Trayce Jackson-Davis. With injuries inevitably happening on a nightly basis, adjustments need to be made by Coach Woodson, and let’s hope this is one we see.

TJD & the Hoosiers need to hunker down defensively

Indiana basketball has lost four of their last six games and four straight games against major conference opponents, allowing 87.0 points per game and scoring just 77.3 points per game in that same stretch.

Prior to December, the Hoosiers were undefeated and held six of their seven opponents under 70 points and did not allow any opponents to reach 80+ points in a game. It’s time to get back to that defensive effort and energy.

Jalen Hood-Schifino needs to create more plays for others, but stay aggressive in scoring the ball

In his last game, the Big Ten Freshman of the Week poured in a career-high 33 points on 5-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc and added three rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes of action.

Although he had such a great night scoring and shooting the ball, Hood-Schifino needs to get back to his aggressiveness in getting to the paint and creating plays for his teammates, while also doing as much as he can to score the ball to help out Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Coach Woodson agrees, as he was frustrated with Hood-Schifino’s six turnovers and wants him to play more as a point guard without Xavier Johnson on the floor.

Projected Starters for Indiana basketball @ Penn State

Indiana

G – Jalen Hood-Schifino
G – Tamar Bates
G – Trey Galloway
F – Miller Kopp
F – Trayce Jackson-Davis

Penn State

G – Jalen Pickett
G – Myles Dread
G – Andrew Funk
G – Seth Lundy
F – Kebba Nije

Stat line predictions for Indiana basketball @ Penn State

Jalen Hood-Schifino: 36 MIN | 20 PTS | 4 REB | 7 AST | 7/11 FG | 2/5 3PT | 3 TOV

Jalen Pickett: 38 MIN | 22 PTS | 8 REB | 7 AST | 8/14 FG | 2/6 3PT | 1 STL | 2 TOV

Trayce Jackson-Davis: 38 MIN | 24 PTS | 13 REB | 9/12 FG | 6/8 FT | 5 BLK

Seth Lundy: 31 MIN | 13 PTS | 6 REB | 5/11 FG | 3/6 3PT | 2 STL

Tamar Bates: 32 MIN | 14 PTS | 3 AST | 5/9 FG | 4/7 3PT | 1 STL | 1 TOV

Andrew Funk: 36 MIN | 9 PTS | 3/9 FG | 3/7 3PT