Three things to watch for in the Indiana men’s basketball game against Marian

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana men’s basketball team showed Hoosier fans something on Sunday as the No. 17 Hoosiers fell to No. 12 Tennessee and earned a 66-62 road victory.

Yes, it was just an exhibition game, but it was played like a regular season game between two high-level teams. Indiana wasn’t perfect, but the Hoosiers showed some toughness, some stopping power and ultimately some shooting in the second half.

Friday’s 7 p.m. ET exhibition against Marian at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall won’t have the same glitz as a Power Four showdown, but what Indiana fans want to see isn’t a drop in performance from what Indiana demonstrated in Knoxville.

Marian brings former Hoosier Pat Knight returns to Bloomington in a coaching role. Knight played for his father, Bob Knight, at Indiana from 1991 to 1995 and later served on his father’s staff at Indiana and Texas Tech before taking over as head coach of the Red Raiders from 2007 to 2011. Knight also coached at Lamar from 2011 to 2014. He was hired at Marian in May.

Here are three things to watch for as the Hoosiers take on the Volunteers.

1. Can Indiana shoot more consistently?

There was a sort of “all good” feeling surrounding Indiana’s three-point shooting against Tennessee. The Hoosiers missed all 11 first-half attempts from beyond the arc at Thompson-Boling Arena. Indiana made amends in the second half with a 4-of-8 recovery. Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Kanaan Carlyle all found the net from long range.

The feast-famine atmosphere mimicked some of Indiana’s 2024 performances. For example, in Indiana’s 76-73 win over Ohio State in February, the Hoosiers were 1 of 7 from 3-point range in the first half, turning 4 of 6 in the first half. second half.

Few teams achieve complete consistency in any aspect, but it would do the Hoosiers well to have two solid shooting ends. Two 4s or 11s in each half would mean a solid night for the Hoosiers.

2. Will some of the injured players appear?

It wasn’t a huge shock that Trey Galloway and Jakai Newton weren’t playing in Tennessee, but Bryson Tucker’s absence was a bit of a surprise.

On his radio show this week, Indiana coach Mike Woodson said Galloway has been practicing recently and Newton has been practicing off and on as he tries to get his knee into the right shape. He did not provide an update on Tucker, who injured his femur during a practice just before the trip to Tennessee. Tucker’s injury was thought to be minor.

“Trey Galloway, Jakai Newton or Bryson Tucker didn’t play at the same time, so those are three big contributors for us. Once we get them all back? It will gel us even more and take us to another level that we can be at,” Indiana point guard Myles Rice said Thursday.

If Galloway or Tucker can play, it will give a more complete picture of what the Hoosiers are all about. It would be understandable if injured players sat out to avoid injury risk, but it would also be nice for them to shake off some rust.

3. Play fast, play flawlessly

Woodson has said on multiple occasions that roster composition should allow the Hoosiers to play at a faster pace. Indiana tried to do that against Tennessee, but offseason rust and a good defensive team in the Volunteers made it easier said than done.

“When (playing fast) you leave yourself a little bit open to turnovers, which we had 10 in the first half, but three in the second half. So that’s promising in terms of how we really want to play,” Woodson said Monday on his Inside Indiana Basketball radio show.

Rice said playing fast takes time to get right.

“I don’t think there is such a thing as flawless basketball. You will have sales, you will have read here and there. It goes back to choosing our spots,” Rice said.

“We have a healthy relationship not only with the players, but also with the coaching staff, so we can feed off each other and know where we want to go and how we want to do it,” Rice continued.

Rice himself was flawless in the statistics with no turnovers against the Volunteers. Six of Indiana’s 13 goals were committed by post players Reneau and Oumar Ballo, so if the Hoosiers can continue to calibrate their running game, they may be able to reach that fast and error-free sweet spot.