There’s a lot to like about how No. 16 Indiana has performed during the opening weeks of the season.
But the Hoosiers are far from satisfied as they assess their good results going into Thursday evening’s matchup with UNC Greensboro in Bloomington, Ind.
“We’ve got to get better at defending off the bounce,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said, “where we’re not allowing teams to play in the paint against us.”
The Hoosiers (3-0) will play their fourth home game of the season and are coming off an 87-71 handling of South Carolina on Saturday.
UNC Greensboro (2-1) has shown signs of good defense, including in its 99-54 romp Saturday in its most recent game against Division III North Carolina Wesleyan.
Facing Indiana will be a different task.
“Going into a hostile environment against a really good team, a really well-coached team is going to be a challenge for us,” Spartans coach Mike Jones said. “I’m looking forward to putting our guys in position to go in there and compete for a win.”
Indiana’s Myles Rice posted 23 points against South Carolina. He hit three of the Hoosiers’ eight 3-point baskets.
Despite the large point total against the Gamecocks, there were some voids on offense for Indiana. Woodson viewed the team’s 12 assists as too few.
“We have to be better in that area,” Woodson said. “That won’t get it (done). … There were times we were stagnant, and the ball wasn’t moving. I have to help us get better in that regard.”
Rice insisted he can get the Hoosiers better organized.
“We didn’t have the crispness of how we want to run the plays,” said Rice, a transfer from Washington State. “That’s on us. Put it on me.”
Indiana’s backcourt is starting to jell, something Woodson said was a priority during the offseason. Three games into the season, he said he’s comfortable with what he has viewed.
“Get enough guys in case someone got hurt,” Woodson said. “We have enough perimeter players this season. I feel good about everybody if someone goes down. I feel good that someone can step in and make basketball plays.”
The Hoosiers have shown a knack for perimeter scoring, hitting 8 of 17 shots from 3-point range in the latest game after drilling six 3s in each of the first two games. The 47.1 percent clip on 3-pointers against South Carolina was a good mark, Woodson said, but it’s a matter of developing consistency beyond the arc.
“We’ve just got to keep working at it,” he said.
Jones said the Spartans will have to be sharp defensively in dealing with the Hoosiers.
“We’ve got to do a better job of being more alert,” he said. “We’re good at it. We’re just not great at it yet. We’ve got a ways to go.”
UNC Greensboro had 22 assists on 36 field goals vs. North Carolina Wesleyan, so that was a plus offensively.
“That’s really the only rule we have on offense is just share the ball,” Jones said. “We’ve been emphasizing playing with a little bit more pace, and I thought we had some possessions there where we played with great pace and got some great opportunities.”
–Field Level Media
