IU coach Tom Crean said there wasn't anything worthy of media attention or any "drama" in the locker room after his team's disappointing first half performance against North Carolina Central.
However, something he said must have lit a spark underneath the feet of the young Hoosiers, especially on the defensive side. To prove that, here is a comparison of some statistics from the first to second half for NCCU.
First Half:
- Field goal percentage: 40
- Three-point percentage: 36.4
- Free-throw percentage: 83.3
Second Half:
- Field goal percentage: 28.1
- Three-point percentage: 22.2
- Free-throw percentage: 55.6
From looking at this, it is obvious IU stepped into what Crean has set as a priority for his team - a "defensive mindset" - during the second half of this contest. That allowed players like freshman guard Maurice Creek to settle into a rhythm and took the Eagles out of their comfort zone. As the crowd got rowdier and the Hoosiers picked up the tempo, NCCU was unable to keep up, forcing bad shots and losing their focus at the free-throw line.
This game can be seen in two ways. The first perspective is that IU once again failed to play a full 40 minutes, something that doomed any chance the team might have had against Kentucky. The other view is that, even when they are playing poorly, if the Hoosiers manage to keep themselves in the game, they can find a way to self-correct and change the pace of the game. That is a sign of progress from last year, when the opposite was true - take for example the games against Lipscomb and Michigan.
