The Minute After: Tennessee Tech – In the lobby



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Thoughts on an 89-59 win over the Golden Eagles:

An empty Assembly Hall. COVID-19 knocking out the head coach and returning top scorer of opponent Indiana … and fear it could endanger the game as well.

Welcome to the 2020-2021 college basketball season, where it always looks strange and we’re just getting started.

It was a shoddy start on the Hoosiers’ part. Trayce Jackson-Davis only made one of her first six shots. But Indiana’s 28-2 run to close the first half gave the Hoosiers a 48-19 halftime lead, pretty much putting that thing aside for good.

Looking for signs of improving shooting in Indiana tonight? You will have to keep looking. There was none in this one. The Hoosiers were sad off the line (10 of 22, 45.5%) and the 3-point shot was a mess too (5 of 19, 26.3%). Outside of Rob Phinisee (2 of 3), who looked slick, and Jerome Hunter (1 of 2), Indiana really struggled to connect deeply. Al Durham hit only one of his five attempts. Freshman Khristian Lander hit his first three before losing late in the game to finish 1 of 4 from distance.

It’s early, but a game, and therefore too small a sample to draw any real conclusions about the Indiana set. But after three seasons of blatant weakness under Archie Miller, one can’t help but notice tonight’s performance.

Despite the shooting issues, the new wrinkles from the Indiana attack were superb. There are more passers-by, playmakers and finishers in this squad and the transition game was a real bright spot tonight. Freshman Trey Galloway has made a terrific start, showing great talent for getting ahead and finishing at the rim in myriad ways. He’s long and smooth and relentless … and may already be a fan favorite with some comparing his game to Will Sheehey.

“He is definitely one of the best players we have, without a doubt, in transition,” Miller said of Galloway after the contest.

The Culver Academies product had 13 points on 6 of 9 shots tonight, edging out any unnamed Jackson-Davis Hoosiers in its debut. Speaking of Jackson-Davis, he quickly erased his slow start with a dominant performance. The Golden Eagles had no answer for the second once it started. He finished with 26 points (one of his career high) and 11 rebounds, another double-double in a career full of these. Jackson-Davis also hit a deep jumper on a pick-and-pop, the shot looks pretty good. If he’s able to hit that consistently and continue to dominate in the paint … watch out for Big Ten.

In defense, Indiana switched more screens, which wasn’t really in the repertoire last season, and kept Tennessee Tech at just 0.80 points per possession. The Hoosiers were also excellent with the ball tonight, as they only returned it on 11% of their property.

With no exhibits or secret scrums and the weird nature of this offseason, you’re going to be taking this kind of Hoosier performance tonight. But this game is pretty much the only real tweak for IU before it faces some legitimate competition. The Hoosiers will face some high-quality opponents at the Maui Invitational next week before heading to Tallahassee to face 21st Florida State in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

We’ll know more about this crew (and their shoot) then.

Filed at: Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles



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