BASKETBALL

‘Our communication from a defensive standpoint was lost’: Indiana basketball erupts late game, allowing 54 second half points in loss to Northwestern

Defensive mistakes forced Indiana basketball to fall victim to a lights out Northwestern offense in the second half of Wednesday’s loss.

Published

14 seconds ago

January 22, 2025

Dylan Traeger

Jan 22, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Indiana Hoosiers forward Mackenzie Mgbako (21) fouls Northwestern Wildcats guard Ty Berry (3) during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

After an impressive road win in overtime on Friday at Ohio State, Indiana basketball took its road momentum to Evanston, Illinois, facing Northwestern.

A mediocre first half from both sides put Indiana up six at halftime.

This lead was quickly erased.

While Northwestern shot just 30.8% in the first half from both the field and three point range, Indiana quickly handed over the game in the second half, playing sloppy defense and allowing Northwestern to constantly get good looks on offense.

Northwestern went on to shoot 62.5% from the field and an impressive 64.3% from three in the second half.

The knock down three point shooting plus efficient shooting from the field pushed Northwestern to a 16-4 scoring run from the 7:57 to the 3:12 mark, which ultimately sealed the victory for Northwestern.

Following the loss, Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson commented on the team’s inability to play competitively for 40 minutes.

“I’m still trying to figure it out… we had a hell of a defensive half and then we come out and we give up 54 points and we pile on the turnovers, it’s just a bad combination. We just didn’t play well the second half.”

Northwestern’s 54 second half points resulted in an average of 1.688 points per possession.

Woodson reflected on what didn’t work from his team’s defense in the second half.

“Not guarding in a floppy situation, which is the easiest thing to guard… in the second half we just gave up too many opportunities and they made us pay.”

A lot of these opportunities were in reference to seniors Ty Berry and Jalen Leach. The veteran duo torched Indiana from deep in the second half, combining to shoot 7-of-10 from three land.

Woodson voiced frustration with his team’s approach to covering opponents.

“Our communication from a defensive standpoint was lost in the second half. We weren’t together on switches where we were connected in the first half. They made us pay for it. We can’t go on routes like that.”

It was clearly shown that Indiana didn’t prepare a strong enough plan in terms of defense outside the perimeter as guys were struggling to stay on their man while also leaving opponents too much room to shoot.

Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako analyzed Indiana’s failure to defend the three ball in the second half.

“The communication was a little bit lost towards the second half. We weren’t getting to our spots and when they picked up the ball and spread it out, we were supposed to be with our man. I fell victim to that, so just trying to stay locked in and being focused for a full forty minutes and not let the game get away from us.”

Mgbako finished the game with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting from three. Mgbako also added five defensive rebounds and two steals in his 26 minutes of action.

Mgbako’s three point makes ended his slump from beyond the arc, as he was 0-for-15 from deep in Indiana’s previous four games going into tonight’s contest.

With Indiana now dropping three of its last four games, Mgbako broke down what the team needs to work on in order to find success going forward.

“Staying cohesive as a team, playing through our offense and talking our defense and following our game plan. Getting to the second side and trusting what we have works and following our practice.”

Indiana will head back home and prepare over the next few days to host Maryland on Sunday.