Indiana men’s basketball returned to Assembly Hall with a new roster and new uniforms to represent the United States in an exhibition contest against Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, the Canadian ambassador, dousing the northern neighbors with a final score of 98-64.
This matchup was a final tune-up for both squads ahead of the FISU America Games, an amateur basketball tournament held in Lima, Peru from July 20 to Aug. 1.
The new-look Hoosiers debuted a roster featuring only four returning players but had a respectable performance, despite allowing the Canadians to hang in the game much longer than expected.
With no official stats recorded, Indiana needed to pass the eye test. Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s exhibition contest:
Interior defensive and rebounding are issues
As expected, Indiana towered over its Canadian opponent, with the likes of 7-foot-2 junior Samet Yigitoglu, 6-foot-8 sophomore Trent Sisley and 6-foot-11 junior Aiden Sherrell standing noticeably higher than their maple-blooded adversaries, whose tallest player was only 6-foot-7.
While the Hoosiers tallied 17 steals and six blocks, the team’s defense looked unconditioned. With having just over a month of practice in the books, the general defensive scheming appeared uncertain at times.
Rebounding also lingered as an unexpected issue. Indiana, while wearing the nation’s name on their chests, was outrebounded by Jean-de-Brébeuf in the first half, sporting respective totals of 17 and 18. While the second half showed improvement, Team USA was simply out-aggressed on the boards.
The team from Ontario, despite being undersized, found its way to the rim far more often than expected. Sixteen of Canada’s 23 field goals came from inside the arc, resulting in 24 points inside the paint.
Finishing the night with 23 made field goals on 56 total shot attempts, Canada could not score efficiently. Though Indiana gave them plenty of chances to do so, surrendering 10 offensive rebounds on 33 missed shots.
“We want to be an elite offensive rebounding team,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said in a press conference after the game. “I didn’t think we were quite there tonight. Defensive rebounding as well. We need to secure the defensive glass.”
If Indiana, a team that was 13th in the Big Ten in rebounding last season, hopes to compete against high-level conference foes, efforts will have to improve in both their defensive and rebounding strategies.
Sloppy possessions made the game feel close
Team chemistry is a part of the game. Although it’s not rational to expect a team of transfers to gel perfectly in July, Indiana made poor offensive choices throughout the night, leading the Hoosiers to turn the ball over 14 times.
Reckless ball handling and subpar passes displayed some of Indiana’s weak spots as many possessions ended sooner than the Hoosiers expected.
While Canada also did its fair share of turning the ball over, giving Indiana 24 free possessions throughout the night. The Hoosiers’ lack of ball security looks to be an area for improvement before the regular season starts.
Prince-Alexander Moody shined among freshmen, highlighted team’s depth
Freshman guard Prince-Alexander Moody’s first appearance in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall stood out among the roster of new faces, finishing with 13 points, earning nine by way of three-pointers.
Following a dominant sequence of buckets in the third quarter, Moody earned thunderous applause from the Indiana crowd as he made his way to the bench. Back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter invoked similar reactions.
“He just plays hard,” DeVries said. “That’s what gets you in the game.”
Moody joins a freshman class that includes forwards Trevor Manhertz and Vaughn Karvala. The three new arrivals made remarkable impressions in their first game minutes as Hoosiers, combining for a total of 29 points.
The display of notable first-year Hoosiers affirmed the overall depth of this Indiana team. Every Hoosier who touched the court contributed something, with six Hoosiers scoring at least 10 points.
“They just came out and gave incredible effort,” DeVries said. “Some effort plays that impact winning and losing.”
With Indiana lacking solid bench pieces in recent years, two full rotations of players producing productive minutes is an exciting, fresh look to the program.
Indiana men’s basketball will represent the United States at the FISU America Games from July 20 to Aug. 1 in Lima, Peru.
