The Hoosiers forced the Eagles into 23 turnovers, including seven steals.
IU associate head Coach Tim Buckley said maintaining that kind of aggressive mindset is crucial moving forward, beginning with a matchup against Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne tonight in Assembly Hall.
“You’ve got to have that kind of mindset where we attack, that mindset where we’re not gambling but we’re aggressive and playing together,” Buckley said.
He said it’s often a matter of reminding his players throughout the game to keep an aggressive demeanor. They had that Saturday.
The Hoosiers limited the Eagles to just 16 made field goals, the lowest for an IU team in Coach Tom Crean’s eight years in Bloomington.
Having active hands on defense will lead to more steals and being able to get out and run, Buckley said.
“We shrunk the floor. We had good rotations, everyone was covering for each other when there was a mistake or error made,” Buckley said. “We just have to continue to stay alert for a 40-minute period.”
The players and coaches agree that aggression needs to transfer to the offensive end of the floor as well.
In the Morehead State game, IU went to the free throw line 22 times in the first half alone. Previously, it had averaged 19 attempts per game.
Sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr. said he is working on getting to the line more often and being overall more assertive on offense.
“That’s something coach talked to me a lot about,” he said. “I feel like last year I got to the line more early in the season. That’s definitely something I’m focusing on.”
Buckley said it’s not about Blackmon’s driving 1-on-1 down the lane every time ; rather, the sophomore needs to crash the boards more often.
“James is one of those guys — he gets on the boards, he can score around the basket,” Buckley said. “So it allows him to get some easy points and maybe get to the free throw line.”
Tonight IU faces an IPFW team off to its best start in program history. The 7-3 Mastodons are led by the backcourt trio of junior Mo Evans, redshirt senior Max Landis and redshirt freshman John Konchar, all of whom average double digits in scoring.
Evans, who averages more than 15 points per game, is the Mastodons’ leader on offense.
“I think that he has become not only a high level scorer but a high level point guard ... If you over help or make a mistake he’s going to get the ball in the right place,” Buckley said.
