Three-guard lineup gives Indiana basketball life during second-half spurt in win over FGCU

BLOOMINGTON, Ind – Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson has always been a fan of playing numerous ball handlers, and point guards, on the floor at the same time. Last season he wasn’t given that luxury due to the injury of Xavier Johnson. Instead, it was a normal two-guard lineup with Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trey Galloway.

During the preseason, Woodson harped on the ability to have Johnson, Galloway and freshman point guard Gabe Cupps all on the floor together. While it was shown in limited segments in two exhibition games, it was on full display in Tuesday’s season-opening 69-63 win against Florida Gulf Coast. And, the win was a direct result of the three-guard lineup in this second half.

Indiana basketball was down 48-42 at the 10:43 mark of the second half when Xavier Johnson checked back into the game to join Cupps and Galloway on the floor. After that, the trio of guards never left the floor.

It was a 27-15 run that lifted Indiana to a win.

“They were small, too, you know,” Woodson said postgame. “I mean, I was basically looking at it from a defensive standpoint, and it’s always good. I feel good with all three of those guys handling the basketball. If we run a pick and role offense they all three are capable of making plays out of the pick and roll. You got to give them credit. Their defense was I thought solid as hell. Their rotations were right on and they stymied the ball in our pick and rolls to the point we couldn’t get it out quick enough to that pass leading to something good.”

A move to the three-guard lineup was in large part to Indiana’s inability to defend the Eagles on the perimeter and inability to find any sort of rhythm within its half court offense.

Quickly, that lineup forced a turnover with a half court trap that resulted in one of few transition opportunities for Indiana all night. Then, the following possession was a block, followed by back-to-back scores offensively on secondary breaks that gave Indiana a four-point lead, 52-48. It was a 10-0 run — eventually ballooning to 14-0.

Inside of that massive run was a quick 7-0 burst by Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway — Indiana’s two captains.

“Well, X and Trey are seniors; they’re supposed to step up,” Woodson said.

“I mean, obviously we wanted to be up more because we’re capable of that. But I liked our fight when we got down six late in the second half, because you could easily break there and kind of fall apart,” Galloway added postgame. “We made that run and got back in it with our intensity and defensive energy and our stance. So I think just knowing that we got guys willing to fight when things aren’t going well, I like to see that. Obviously we got to be better and not put ourselves in that position, but to be able to climb out of that and come out with a win was huge for us.”

While those two guards are veterans and have played a combined 206 games coming into this season, the third member of that backcourt — Gabe Cupps — has played zero. But, the way he played on Tuesday would’ve convinced a lot of viewers that he was a vet as well.

“H’s a freshman, but didn’t play like a freshman,” Woodson said of Cupps. “He’s capable of making plays. I mean, I followed this kid for some time now. That’s why he’s wearing an Indiana uniform. He’s a winner. He’s not going to get it right all the time, but he does a lot of winning plays that help you win games. That excites me.”

“Yeah, I thought he did a great job coming in, stepping up in a big time moment. I think he was really good at talking and kind of just staying poised,” Galloway added. “So good to see that, and know we can rely on him and trust him in crunch time. I think just him staying ready and being ready off the bench was good.”

Some of that poise was nailing a three off of a ball screen on the left wing to push the lead to 11, the largest lead of the night for Indiana basketball.

“He’s (Cupps) a winner,” Woodson added. “That’s the first time I’ve had an opportunity to play he and X some extended minutes. Especially in crunch time you don’t expect that, but I felt comfortable enough with Gabe in the game. I’ve seen him enough plays. He’s capable of hanging in there and making basketball plays. I thought he was tremendous on both ends.”

In total, Johnson had 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Trey Galloway had 10 of his game-high 16 points after halftime as well. That duo was a combined 12-of-18 from the floor. They missed just two total shots in the second half.

Cupps added five points, two rebounds and two steals.

The Indiana basketball backcourt trio combined for 13 of the 23 made field goals on the night.

Despite some major offensive struggles for the Hoosiers, four players scored in double-figures. Kel’el Ware had his first career double-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Malik Reneau added 15 points as well.

“Make no mistake, it was our defense coming down the stretch that got us back,” Woodson said. “The fans got into it and that was very helpful getting us on a roll. That was enough just to bring it home for us.”

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.