Key takeaways from the Indiana basketball 69-58 win over UNC-Greensboro

Indiana basketball had its final tuneup before the Battle 4 Atlantis next week and it left fans wanting more. Despite the 69-58 win over UNC-Greensboro, it was anything but pretty for the Hoosiers.

Indiana moves to 4-0 but struggled in many areas on Thursday night.

Here are the key takeaways from IU’s win.

Myles Rice builds on his weekend performance: After his best game of the season against South Carolina, Myles Rice put together another very good outing on Thursday — and he was far and away the best Hoosier. Rice had 14 first-half points and finished with 20 on 8-of-14 from the floor. He also had five rebounds and six assists on the night. It was the confidence and decisiveness that he played with which is a major boost and a change from the first few games. He is really starting to emerge as the true alpha of the team and continues to get more comfortable with his role on both ends of the floor. If Thursday’s outing is any indication, it’s good things that’ll continue to come for Rice and IU.

Bryson Tucker emerges in a big way: Tucker has been very good thus far as a freshman off of the bench and Thursday’s performance is an indication that he’s getting more confident in his role and his ability at this level. Tucker had 12 of his 14 points after halftime and had the third highest +/- on the team with +11. It starts with his midrange game and his ability to get his shot off at any point inside 15-20 feet. Tucker’s size and length is a major plus for Indiana basketball on the perimeter and his knack to score the ball was on full display. While he’ll still have some freshman inconsistent moments throughout the season, Thursday’s outing was a major, major positive for IU moving forward.

Lack of killer instinct: Once again, it was a lack of a killer instinct for this team and the main constant is Mike Woodson. Indiana basketball was up 21-5 in the first half and then 36-20. Then it was a 2:37 stretch without points for the Hoosiers to end the first half, taking a nine point lead into the locker room. That inability to put teams away is one of the most consistent parts of Mike Woodson’s tenure and it continued. Indiana then had an ability to put UNCG away to start the second half, but it was a quick 13-4 run for UNCG to tie the game. Indiana eventually made enough plays — like it did last time out — down the stretch mainly because the talent level of IU compared to the competition.

Defensive rebounding a major issue: Indiana’s inability to rebound the ball has become an issue — a major issue. It’s now a consistent issue for the Hoosiers. On Thursday, UNCG had 17 offensive rebounds and 10 second chance points. Indiana has now given up 10+ offensive rebounds in three of the four games this season. It’s not only a lack of effort, it’s a lack of hustle from the main group and team. Indiana has had a major size advantage at nearly every position over the course of the first four games, yet the inability to keep opponents off of the glass has been one of the major issues this defense has had this year.

Sloppy turnovers: Indiana had 14 turnovers on Thursday and, once again, it was more of mental lapses vs defensive intensity from the opponents. Indiana’s backcourt of Trey Galloway, Kanaan Carlyle and Rice combined for nine turnovers. In the first half alone, Indiana basketball was turning the ball over on nearly a quarter of its possessions — sitting at 23.9 percent. A large majority of the issue is the ball watching and lack of off ball movement from its perimeter players. Indiana’s transition offense used to be an issue to start the season, now over the course of the last game or two, it’s transitioned to its half court offense.

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