Diverse as the Hoosiers struggles may be, turnovers continue to the team's most potent kryptonite.
The Hoosiers continue to be one of the worst teams when it comes to turnovers per game in the country (327th among D-I teams through Dec. 21). Last night in their upset loss to Lipscomb, the Hoosiers turned the ball over only 13 times, their second-lowest total of the season. With the performance the team's average dropped to 19.6 turnovers per game.
Thinking last night might not be a compelling game (shame on me), I decided to chart IU's turnovers throughout the game in search of patterns:
| Turnover | Player | Type | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 (19:38) | Pritchard | Violation: offensive foul | FT line | moving screen |
| No. 2 (17:46) | Williams | Pass | 3-point line | deflection |
| No. 3 (16:38) | Pritchard | Dribble | Post | off foot |
| No. 4 (9:40) | Taber | Violation: travel | Post | triple teamed |
| No. 5 (4:21) | Jones | Pass | 3-point line | To Roth |
| No. 6 (3:41) | Williams | Dribble | FT line | shot clock down |
| No. 7 (3:21) | Roth | Violation: offensive foul | 3-point line | moving screen |
| No. 8 (1:26) | Moore | Dribble | Post | stepped on OB line |
| No. 9 (1:01) | Jones | Pass | 3-point line | To Roth |
| No. 10 (28.5 seconds) | Story | Pass | 3-point line | To Jones, OB |
| No. 11 (14:09 2nd half) | Roth | Dribble | Post | OB |
| No. 12 (8:49) | Jones | Pass | 3-point line | - |
| No. 13 (4:48) | Story | Dribble | Post | Lost control |
At first it appeared I had chosen the wrong game with the Hoosiers up 21 early and only turning the ball over three times in the first 10 minutes.
But then things began to resemble games of the past. The Hoosiers turned the ball over six times in the final 4:21 in the first half, a span that reminded Crean of the TCU game when the Hoosiers couldn't stop turning the ball over in the closing minutes of a blowout.
The chart shows that the Hoosiers could limit their turnovers per game by improving perimeter passing and interior dribbling. Against Lipscomb, IU turned the ball over three times with passes beyond the three-point line and lost the ball four times dribbling inside the paint.
The team only committed three turnovers in the second half, something IU coach Tom Crean pointed out in the post-game press conference. And only one player committed three turnovers or more.
With the exception of the end of the first half (about the same time Lipscomb began to mount its epic run), the Hoosiers took care of the ball fairly well Sunday. The team's top two point guards - Verdell Jones and Daniel Moore - combined for 10 assists and only four turnovers and Devan Dumes (41 turnovers on the season) didn't turn the ball over at all.
Even better, while the Hoosiers were playing in a tight game in the closing minutes they didn't turn the ball over at all. Malik Story's turnover with 4:48 left was the team's final turnover, although some of that can be explained by shot selection. In that span, the Hoosiers missed five of their last six shots, all of them coming beyond the three-point line.
With Big Ten season around the corner, taking care of the ball and maximizing possessions will become more important than ever for the Hoosiers. Teams are likely to bring more defensive pressure than Lipscomb and IU will need to put an emphasis on ball care if they want to succeed.
