Indiana Enters Mackey Arena With 'Staggering' Struggles on the Road
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has looked like two different teams at times this season.
One plays well enough to beat anyone in the country at home, and the other takes a steep decline on the road.
From a pure wins and losses perspective, Indiana is 14-1 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. It's only loss was by one point against No. 21 Northwestern in Indiana's first full game without a previously-injured Race Thompson and fourth without the still-injured Xavier Johnson. But in true away games, Indiana is 4-7.
On the road in Big Ten play, Indiana averages 65.3 points on 45.3 percent shooting, and its defense allows 70.2 points. Against conference opponents at home, the Hoosiers score 76.4 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting, and its defense allows 66.8 points per game.
"It's staggering," Indiana coach Mike Woodson said Thursday. "It’s unbelievable. It’s a major, major difference how we play at home and when we get out on the road. It’s totally the other way."
Even more drastic is Indiana's 45.3 percent 3-point shooting at home, compared to its 31.9 3-point shooting on the road, both on 119 attempts. There's a slight uptick in turnovers, too, with 109 turnovers in nine Big Ten road games versus 90 in eight Big Ten home games.
Here's a snapshot of Indiana's home and road splits in all games.
Jalen Hood-Schifino
- Home: 13.7 ppg, 48.7 FG%
- Road: 11.5, 32.6 FG%
Trey Galloway
- Home: 8.4 ppg, 54.3 FG%
- Road: 5.8 ppg, 47.9 FG%
Miller Kopp
- Home: 7.9 ppg, 52.6 FG%
- Road: 7.4 ppg, 44.6 FG%
Race Thompson
- Home: 7.5 ppg, 48.7 FG%
- Road: 7.5 ppg, 48.8 FG%
Trayce Jackson-Davis
- Home: 19.7 ppg, 56.5 FG%
- Road: 22.5 ppg, 58.5 FG%
Tamar Bates
- Home: 9.3 ppg, 52.2 FG%
- Road: 2.5 ppg, 21.2 FG%
Malik Reneau
- Home: 7.6 ppg, 56.3 FG%,
- Road: 4.8 ppg, 54.1 FG%
Jordan Geronimo
- Home: 5.3 ppg, 54.2 FG%
- Road: 4.1 ppg, 60.0 FG%
Jackson-Davis is no stranger to road games in the Big Ten, and he shared his thoughts on why certain Hoosiers have struggled in these environments.
"Especially for Malik [Reneau], sometimes he's just a little out of control, and I don't mean that in a bad way," Jackson-Davis said. "He gets happy and he starts fouling a little too much. Even at the beginning of the year when we were playing at Xavier, he was playing down the stretch and that was probably the most hostile environment that we've played in this year and he played really well. So I just think for him, he can get in his own head. He's just got to go out there and play because when he has a clear head and he's just playing, he's a great player."
"With Tamar [Bates], I think it's kind of the same," Jackson-Davis said. "Sometimes he just gets a little sped up and tries to do a little too much, but other than that if he's open he can hit shots, I know that about Tamar. Yeah, that's just the biggest thing, just playing under control and at your own pace. Don't let the game speed you up and don't let the other team speed you up is probably the biggest thing."
Woodson said there's always a concern when a team goes on the road, but the Hoosiers have had a few positive moments away from home this year. Two of Indiana's biggest wins this season, regardless of location, came at Illinois on Jan. 19 and at Xavier on Nov. 18
Jackson-Davis dominated Illinois with 35 points in that game, and the Hoosiers' defense held the Illini to 38.7 percent shooting. The Xavier win has aged especially well, as the coach Sean Miller's Musketeers have gone from unranked to No. 16 in the nation and tied for second place in a Big East conference with five ranked teams.
Indiana picked up a pair of important road wins at Minnesota and at Michigan, but didn't play its best in those games, either. Minnesota is now 1-15 in Big Ten play and didn't have its leading scorer against Indiana, and the Hoosiers needed a 7-0 run in the last three minutes to win 61-57. Indiana trailed Michigan by 11 points in the first half and held the Wolverines scoreless in the final five minutes to secure a 62-61 win.
Since then, Indiana has lost its last two road games, 64-62 at Northwestern and 80-65 at Michigan State on Tuesday. Woodson thought Indiana executed the game plan well to get out to a 22-13 lead through the first 14 minutes, but Michigan State responded a 34-12 run across the following nine minutes.
The Hoosiers have their final true road game of the season on Saturday against Purdue. Indiana defeated Purdue 79-74 in the first matchup at Assembly Hall on Feb. 4, but the Boilermakers are 13-1 at Mackey Arena, which could be the toughest road environment Indiana will face all year.
"I wish I knew what the formula was to get us feeling good about the road," Woodson said. "It’s not just our team, a lot of Big Ten teams struggle on the road and the environment that you play in ."
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- JACKSON-DAVIS' FINAL SEASON: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis is having an All-American-caliber senior season, and he confirmed Thursday that it will be his last year of college basketball. CLICK HERE
- GAME STORY: When Michigan State finally got rolling late in the first half, the Spartans never looked back. They erased a nine-point Indiana lead and stormed to an 80-65 victory on an emotional Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. CLICK HERE
- PLAYING FOR A COMMUNITY: Michigan State won an emotional game on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center, 80-65 over Indiana. After a slow offensive start, Tyson Walker's 3-point shooting sparked a run that led the Spartans to their ninth in win Big Ten play. CLICK HERE
- WHAT WOODSON SAID: Indiana coach Mike Woodson met with the media after the Hoosiers' 80-65 loss at Michigan State on Tuesday night. He was disappointed with their defense, which he said was ''non-existent'' for most of the night. Here's the full transcript and video. CLICK HERE
- WHAT GALLOWAY SAID: Trey Galloway scored 11 points on 3-for-5 3-point shooting on Tuesday night, but Indiana lost 80-65 at Michigan State. Here's what Galloway said after the game, with video attached. CLICK HERE
