Indiana Basketball: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from the Hoosiers final exhibition against Marian

Indiana basketball beat Marian 94-61 in the team’s final exhibition Friday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana pulled away early in the second half and coasted from there.

While it was just an exhibition, it was our final look at the team before they officially start the 2023-24 season on Tuesday, November 7 against Florida Gulf Coast.

There were a lot more positives after the blowout victory, but with the season quickly approaching, there are still some concerns facing this Hoosiers ball club.

Below is the good, the bad and the ugly from the final Indiana basketball exhibition.

The Good

After shooting 55% (11/20) from the free throw line in the team’s first exhibition against Indianapolis, the Hoosiers improved a ton tonight.

Indiana shot  84%  (21/25) from the line tonight, which was a huge improvement from Sunday. Mike Woodson said there had been no issues shooting from the charity stripe during practice and it showed today against Marian.

Another positive was Indiana’s ability to force turnovers on the defensive end. A lot has been made about this team’s length and versatility at that end of the floor, and it showed today.

Indiana forced 15 and scored 22 points off of the forced turnovers.

Indiana’s ability to score in transition will be a huge factor this season. They finished with 34 fast break points. With question marks surrounding the half-court offense, the Hoosiers will likely look to get out and run in transition often.

While Indiana basketball did a great job of forcing turnovers on one end, they took care of the ball on the other. Indiana had 25 assists to only 2 turnovers against Marian on Friday.

Xavier Johnson led the way with 7 assists with 0 turnovers. Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps each added 6 assists and 0 turnovers for Indiana.

Winning the turnover battle is always a big boost and with the team’s length and size, there is a hope they can win that battle often.

The play of the front court on Friday highlighted the true ceiling of this team. Kel’el Ware, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako led the way for Indiana, combining for 49 points on 18/28 shooting Friday.

Kel’el Ware led the way for the Hoosiers, scoring 20 points on 8/13 shooting. Ware made one of his two three point attempts along with a couple of midrange jump shots in the win, showcasing his ability to space the floor for Indiana.

Ware was extremely active on both sides of the ball, contesting a plethora of shots at the rim, blocking one. He also added two offensive rebounds in addition to his team leading with 11 boards.

Malik Reneau had a hot start for the Hoosiers, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the first half. The highlight of the night for Reneau was his three-point shooting.

Reneau went 2/3 from beyond the arc, making his first two attempts off catch-and-shoot opportunities. While his shooting provided a ton of excitement for fans, it is still too early to determine if it will be a real factor for the Hoosiers.

Reneau added 5 boards and 2 assists, showcasing his passing ability out of the post. There has been a lot made about Reneau’s growth from his freshman to sophomore year and through two exhibitions, he has looked great for Indiana.

The last of the three, Mackenzie Mgbako, showed why he is projected to win Big Ten freshman of the year. Mgbako scored 15 points while shooting 5/8.

Mgbako showed off his range, shooting 3/4 from three. His size and range are what make him an intriguing NBA prospect and he showcased that against Marian.

Mgbako had some lapses on the defensive end, but overall, he played a very balanced game on both sides of the floor. He had two steals and one block on that end of the floor while adding 3 rebounds.

The play of the three front court players gave Indiana basketball fans plenty to be excited about ahead of the season opener.

Last but certainly not least was the performance of CJ Gunn. The sophomore guard looks much more confident heading into the season.

Gunn was not afraid to shoot the rock today, scoring 11 points on 4/9 shooting. Gunn made his only three-point attempt of the game and showcased his jumper from mid range.

While his jump shot looked good today, his biggest improvement has come on the defensive side of the ball. Gunn has bulked up over the offseason and that, combined with his length, has made him a reliable perimeter defender.

Whether Gunn’s shot is on or not, he will likely be a mainstay in the rotation because of his defensive abilities.

The Bad

When you win by 33 points, there is not going to be much for this or the next section, but there were still some concerns from Indiana’s victory over Marian.

The three-point defense of Indiana was bad in the first half, allowing Marian to go 9/20 from three. Marian shot the ball well, but a lot of the looks were open.

The only reason the three-point defense is not in ‘The Ugly’ category is Indiana made an adjustment at the half. In the second half, Marian went 2/16 from three, which helped the Hoosiers pull away in this game.

When Indiana faces better opponents like UConn and Kansas, they will not be able to get away with the three-point defense that they showed in the first half.

A part of the poor three point defense came because of poor rotation by the Hoosier defense. When Marian got to the paint looking for shooters, there were times it seemed Indiana was lost on defense, which led to open Marian looks.

There seemed to be multiple instances of miscommunications on the defensive end which led to open looks for Marian. Fortunately for the Hoosiers, Marian was not able to make them pay for their mistakes.

As the season moves forward, Indiana will improve on that side of the ball as they continue to build chemistry with one another. With big matchups against UConn and other powerhouses in the near future, Indiana’s defensive rotations will have to improve for them to reach their ceiling.

The Ugly

The defensive rebounding of Indiana basketball was a real cause for concern Friday. Indiana allowed 12 offensive rebounds to a much smaller Marian team.

Marian has only two players taller than 6-foot-6 on their roster. With the size that the Hoosiers have on their roster, there is no reason to allow that many offensive rebounds.

Marian had 12 second chance points and seemed to take advantage of Indiana defenders leaking out to get out in transition. Often, long rebounds and tipped rebounds ended up in the hands of the Knights.

Indiana only out-rebounded Marian by two boards on Friday, which is a tiny gap considering they were facing a team that had nowhere near the amount of size and athleticism as Indiana.

With 7-footers Zach Edey, Donovan Clingan and Hunter Dickinson on the schedule, Indiana will have to put a much more focused effort on the defensive glass.

SEE ALSO: Indiana Basketball reacts to the passing of legendary coach Bob Knight: ‘He was always there as a coach. I could lean on him’

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTubeto stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.