Indiana took care of business against Minnesota on Wednesday night and added another victory to its total with the approach of the National Team on Sunday.
Here are five lessons from Indiana’s 82-72 victory over Minnesota:
• Rob Phinisee shows signs of improvement: Phinisee probably played his best basketball in the last few months on Wednesday night. The junior guard has been inconsistent throughout the season and was removed from the starting lineup for a brief period at the beginning of the Big Ten schedule.
“He’s a thinker,” said Indiana head coach Archie Miller. “It processes things. He cares. And I think part of the reason is that it’s hard to avoid noise when you don’t play well. There is a lot of noise. The guy doesn’t play well, sometimes he is impacted. You have to try to block everything. “
But against Minnesota, Phinisee had an impressive 10-point performance, six assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes on the floor. He was aggressive in driving the ball on the offensive and did a solid job of restraining Minnesota’s Marcus Carr, who hit just 3 of 8 in the second half.
“I don’t care if he misses a shot,” said Miller. “I really don’t want to. I just want him to be aggressive and do the right readings offensively. If it is open, shoot. If someone else is open, pass and save like crazy. “
If Indiana is going to run a race in March, they will need this version of Phinisee.
• Jerome Hunter provides survey from the bank: Just three games after being eliminated through a “coach decision”, Hunter scored the best mark of his career with 16 points, by shooting an efficient 5 out of 6 on the field and 2 out of 2 out of three. He also made 4 out of 5 shots from the free throw line.
“I just feel like I let my team down, so I tried to come back with a bigger weight on my shoulder to show everyone that I apologize and that I’m here to help us win some games,” said Hunter.
Since losing two games, Hunter has averaged 11 points per game and has become a spark off the bench.
“He has great confidence in his shot, he doesn’t hesitate,” said Miller. “He’s making mistakes and he’s giving us a little bit of physicality, a little bit of strength, which we need. But it will play a big role for us, hopefully, at the end of the road. “
Hunter, who dealt with a serious leg injury in his freshman season in red T-shirts, has always had potential, but has never fully brought him together at the university level. With Indiana’s exhausted attack court, Hunter has the ability to provide the necessary depth in all four positions.
• Turnover remains a major problem: Indiana turned the ball 17 times on Wednesday night, drawing at a high point of the season. Minnesota turned those errors into 25 points, which represents more than a third of the total points.
Phinisee and Al Durham each had four turnovers. Hunter registered three while Jackson-Davis had two. Jordan Geronimo and Trey Galloway were the only two Hoosiers who saw time on the ground and did not make a comeback.
“Offensively, we were very efficient when we weren’t delivering the product,” said Miller.
Turnover has been a constant problem in recent weeks. The Hoosiers have played the ball at least 11 times in five of the last six games. Limiting turnover was a point that Miller hammered at home throughout the season.
In fact, Indiana could have won by 20 points if it had managed to halve the number of turns.
• Indiana takes advantage of the impulse of the second half to move away: With 8:17 left in the game, the score was 55. Then, in the next five minutes, Indiana embarked on an 18-4 run, reaching a 73-59 lead and closing the door in victory.
At times, throughout the season, Indiana has shown the ability to do powerful offensive stretches, but has not been able to close games consistently. On Wednesday, however, Indiana extended the lead and did not look back.
The race started with 3 consecutive points from Al Durham and Armaan Franklin. Then there was a series of free throws made. Jerome Hunter scored four points during the stretch. Phinisee and Jackson-Davis also entered the scoring dam.
“It was a big change in the game,” said Miller.
On the other side of the court, Indiana’s defense remained strong, forcing six consecutive Golden Gopher errors. In the end, those five minutes were the difference in the game.
• Indiana shows impressive offensive performance: For the first time since winning against Penn State, Indiana hit more than 50 percent of the field as a team. On Wednesday, the Hoosiers hit 58 percent in what was a rare offensive explosion.
Jackson-Davis led with 20 points. Franklin, Phinisee and Durham’s starting lineup of Indiana also scored double digits.
Indiana was also extremely efficient on the 3-point line, shooting an impressive 7 out of 12 beyond the arc. Franklin was 3 out of 3, while Durham and Hunter were 2 out of 2.
Free throws, which have been a problem all year, have stabilized Indiana in the final stretch. The Hoosiers hit 14 of 18 free throws in the second half after suffering in the first half.
Overall, floor spacing and offensive movement were the best throughout the season. There were few assets that Indiana took a long time to enter its offensive flow. Aside from the upsets, this may have been one of Indiana’s best offensive displays this season.
Filed for: Jerome Hunter, Robert Phinisee