‘Scrappy’ and a team that ‘doesn’t quit’. With identity beginning to form, Indiana basketball hitting its stride at the right time

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — When the calendar turned to January, Indiana basketball had more questions than answers surrounding its team and its identity. With sluggish performances to limp back into conference play, Indiana was at a crossroads and it needed to figure something out quickly before the season’s outlook was decided for them.

Fast forward three games, including Indiana’s 82-69 win over USC on Wednesday night, and an identity is starting to emerge. Indiana is starting to compound performances and build from one game to another — and now win games in similar ways.

“Well, when we’re scrappy and defending and rebounding the ball as a unit and able to get out and play a little faster instead of staying in the half court game, that’s Indiana basketball,” IU head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “We’ve had some glimpses of it off and on. I thought the last three, four games we were playing much better now, shooting the ball better from the three-point line.”

Wining doesn’t always have to be pretty and error-free, in fact they rarely are and some of the best wins to build on are the gritty, tough performances.

Looking back at IU’s wins over Rutgers, Penn State and now USC, all three games were exactly that. Wednesday’s performance was key, however. The backbone of Mike Woodson’s tenure at Indiana has revolved around winning at home. Typically the Hoosiers have. Their game against USC was going to be a test to see if this team would be different from past Indiana teams. Would it be able to keep momentum going in Big Ten play?

The energy to start certainly said no. Indiana trailed for the majority of the first half, by as many as 10 points, and entered the half tied at 38-all. Then, much like its win over Penn State, it used a strong surge coming out of the half. It was an 11-3 run out of the gates that turned into a 21-9 spurt that broke the game open. Indiana took control by doing the little things correctly; limiting turnovers, playing strong defense and rebounding the ball.

“I mean, they came out the gate pretty physical. I mean, I think it shocked us a little bit,” IU guard Trey Galloway said. “The way we responded was great. I think just punching back was big for us. The way we responded was great.

“Obviously made some shots, but we started to defend and got back in transition. I think they hurt us a little bit early on with them getting quick stops. Our shot selection wasn’t great beginning of the game. We started to get open looked we wanted and were able to turn it around.”

Indiana would stretch its lead to as many as 13 points at the 7:56 mark and never looked back.

IU’s second half performance was a complete flip from half one — scoring 1.294 points per possession, finishing the half with a scoring rate of 61.8 percent and a turnover rate of just 2.9 percent. Indiana finished with 17 assists and just six turnovers — only one in the second half. On the flip side, Indiana’s defense went from allowing the Trojans to shoot 46.9 percent in the first half to just 34.5 percent in the second.

And Mike Woodson didn’t mince words about how Indiana basketball was able to win.

“Defensive stops, rebounding the basketball, and getting out, getting quick strikes,” he said. ” … I thought they were the most physical team starting the game. Once we got going and met their physicality, then we got back into the game and started playing Indiana basketball, which was nice to see.”

Indiana is now on a five-game winning streak and sit at 13-3 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play — the best start to a conference season since its 7-0 start in the 2015-16 season that resulted in a Big Ten Championship.

After a difficult first month of the season that was highlighted by a disappointing showing in The Bahamas, Indiana has found a way to calm the waters and turn a corner.

There’s clearly no easy game in Big Ten play, but things will come easier when there is a true identity to a team. Indiana basketball now has that and has something to turn to when things go in a difficult direction. That’s a far cry from where the team was just two weeks ago.

“I think personally, it’s defense and rebounding,” Senior wing Luke Goode said when asked what’s changed for Indiana of late. “At the beginning the season, you go back to the trip down to the Bahamas, the biggest issue for us was guarding. We were getting killed by Louisville and Gonzaga. Couldn’t guard anybody. The last ten games I think we’ve out-rebounded our opponents.

“I think to be able to continue to be successful in the Big Ten in a physical league, we got to keep defending and rebounding. I think what we’ve been doing in the past, what is it, five Big Ten games now, last three, has been great.”

“You know, we are starting to grow and learn one another and guys are feeling comfortable about who can do what and who can’t do what,” Woodson added. “Makes a big difference. Still got a long way to go and still growing … The bottom line is we won today. You know, I mean, our team has shown that they don’t quit.”

SEE ALSO: Key takeaways from the Indiana basketball 82-69 win over USC

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