Indiana Basketball Needs To Tighten Up Defense To Go Further In 2015-16

Indiana Hoosiers
Steven Branscombe – USA TODAY Sports

Once the Indiana Hoosiers lay their weary heads to sleep tonight, it wouldn’t surprising if Tom Crean’s team sees Fred Van Vleet in their nightmares.

The small yet skilled point guard of the Wichita State Shockers certainly provided a shock to Indiana’s system, carving up the Hoosiers’ defense in their NCAA tournament game, Friday. By the time Van Vleet’s one-man assault was completed, all Indiana could do was collectively walk off the court shaking their heads.

Indiana got a big performance from Yogi Ferrell, who scored 24 points. The Hoosiers also connected on 50 percent (11-of-22) of three points attempts and had four players score in double-figures. They made their fouls shot as well, connecting on 17-of-20 from the free throw line. In other words, Indiana played their typical offensive game.

Unfortunately, the Hoosiers also played their typical defensive game. And in the NCAA Tournament, such a performance simply wasn’t enough — not when the opposition only commits seven turnovers and grabs 15 offensive rebounds.

For his part, Van Vleet was magnificent. His final line of 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting was tremendous. Yet it wasn’t just his numbers that were wholly impressive. Rather, it was his continual ability to break down Indiana’s defense and get to the rim that will cause Crean serious reflection in coming days.

Even as teammate Ron Baker struggled to find his rhythm, Van Vleet carried the Shockers for the majority of the afternoon.

With Indiana trying to take control early in the second half, Van Vleet scored on three key drives to the bucket before assisting on a layup by Zach Brown that gave Wichita State a 59-54 edge. After James Blackmon, Jr.’s three-pointer brought Indiana within 59-57 on the next possession, Van Vleet came through with another drive to the hoop to extend the edge to 61-57 with 8:43 remaining. The Rockford native finished off his barrage by finding Brown for a dunk on the next sequence to make it a 63-57 ballgame.

There may have been 8:01 remaining on the clock by then, but the final result seemed almost inevitable. It was clear Indiana couldn’t stop Van Vleet, who managed one more highlight assist on a slam by Shaquille Morris with just over six minutes left on the clock. From there, Baker closed out matters by making 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:58 to seal a date with Kansas in the Round of 32.

For Indiana, the loss also highlighted the Hoosiers’ major downfall in 2014-15. Defensively, Indiana surrendered 71.4 points per game on average. They also allowed the opposition to connect on 45.5 percent of their shots and forced only 10.8 turnovers on average. Those numbers put Indiana squarely near the bottom half of the Big 10 in team defense.

Granted, the Hoosiers are still a young team. There is no lack of quality talent on a roster that doesn’t carry even one senior. Ferrell, Blackmon, Robert Johnson and Troy Williams all present matchup problems for opposing teams. But if Indiana is going to take another step forward in 2015-16, they’ll need to tighten up defensively. As of Friday afternoon, they have plenty of time to work on it.

Matt Johnson is a Big 10 basketball writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter at mattytheole or “like” him on Facebook.

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