BLOOMINGTON °®¶¹app Indiana basketball is set to take a step up in competition, at least in theory.Ā
After playing back-to-back buy games against mid-major opponents last week and winning both games with relative ease (leaving aside some frustrating lulls that let those inferior opponents hang around), the Hoosiers will open Big Ten play tonight against Minnesota. The matchup will give IU a chance to test its mettle against its first high-major opponent since its up-and-down turn in the Battle 4 Atlantis over the week of Thanksgiving.Ā
The Big Ten has had a successful nonconference season to date. After entering the season without any obviously dominant teams, the league is still a muddled mess, but that's because it has had so many teams shine in non-league play. Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Maryland, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA and Nebraska have garnered statement wins already this season while also looking fallible at times, setting up a potentially wild race for the conference title. Indiana is still looking for a signature win, as blowout victories over middling high-major teams such as South Carolina and Providence don't really qualify.
One Big Ten team that has not been particularly impressive this season is Minnesota. The Golden Gophers, in Year 4 under coach Ben Johnson, took a step forward to 19-15 last year and were ninth in the conference at 9-11. This year, however, they are just 6-4, are still looking for their first win against a high-major opponent (0-2) and began Big Ten play with a 90-72 homr loss to Michigan State on Friday. They enter the game No. 163 in the NET rankings the NCAA uses to help it seed the March Madness field; they are 20 spots below Miami (Ohio), the team IU beat last Friday and six spots below Sam Houston State, the team the Hoosiers took down last Tuesday.
In short, this isn't as much of a step up in competition for the Hoosiers as it would appear based on the name on the front of the opposing jerseys. To put a finer point on it, IU should win this game. If it does not, the Hoosiers have even bigger problems than it appeared during the trip to The Bahamas over Thanksgiving. Start 0-1 in Big Ten play with a home loss to a team that might well finish last in the league standings this season and it would be time to push the panic button in Bloomington. Curt Cignetti and the IU Football Hoosiers are only going to be around to shield the basketball team from criticism for so long.
The biggest key to the game for Indiana will be taking care of the ball. Minnesota is not a team that forces a ton of turnovers (just 12.1 per game), but the Hoosiers have given the ball away a lot this season without their opponents needing to do much. The indelible image of this Indiana season so far has been a kick-ahead pass in transition thrown into double coverage for no good reason. IU clearly has a mandate from its coaching staff to get out and run and it has taken that to heart, but it is doing so in far too aggressive a manner, giving away possessions. That can't happen tonight. Minnesota's strategy for winning is to slow the game down and limit possessions. If the Hoosiers are throwing the ball away on their limited opportunities on offense, they will find it difficult to score enough to win the game.
A significant key to Indiana's ability to limit turnovers will be the performance of guard Kanaan Carlyle. Carlyle was one of the most prized guards in the transfer portal this offseason and has looked impactful onĀ defense at times, but he has really struggled to find a groove offensively. Carlyle had four turnovers in just 14 minutes in Indiana's loss to Louisville in Atlantis and has missed the last couple of games with a minor injury. He's active tonight and it will be interesting to see whether he moves back into the starting lineup or whether coach Mike Woodson keeps Trey Galloway in the lineup. IU is 3-0 with Galloway starting.Ā
Either way, the Hoosiers really need to get Carlyle going. It's possible the injury could give him a chance at a hard reset and help him get his confidence back with a fresh start. Galloway and Myles Rice have done a decent job of making plays on the perimeter and knocking down outside shots, but Carlyle was supposed to do both of those things, as well, and IU won't reach its ceiling until the Stanford transfer reaches his. The Hoosiers need to hope he's much closer to his top form, beginning tonight.
For Minnesota, the sun, moon, and stars is fifth-year senior big man Dawson Garcia, who is averaging 19.0 points and 7.4 rebounds to lead the Golden Gophers in both categories. IU's Oumar Ballo will get first crack at slowing down the 6-foot-11, 234-pound Garcia. The Hoosiers will have to find a way to deal with the standout post when they go with their smaller lineup that places Malik Reneau at center. Reneau is a little undersized to be defending Garcia one on one so that lineup may have to be limited to minutes that Garcia is on the bench. Backup center Langdon Hatton could also have a role tonight for the Hoosiers.Ā
Indiana is entering the meat of its schedule and it needs to start piling up wins. The Hoosiers are the more talented team tonight and should win, but they played well below their ceiling much of the season. Minnesota is good enough that it can pull an upset if IU stumbles. Indiana can't let that happen.Ā
