Mike Woodson: 'This Team Has Been Stuck In a Rut a Little Bit'

Indiana is still a fragile team that Mike Woodson inherited from Archie Miller in late March. They still need to learn how to play well at the most important moments, and not let failure in tight road losses affect the next game. They'll try to bounce back on Thursday night with a home game against Ohio State.

Tom Brew | Jan 6, 2022

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The good news, if you can call it that, is that Indiana has only lost three games so far this year, all on the road and all by five points or less. They've been in every single game.

The bad news, of course, is that the Hoosiers have had an opportunity to win all three of those games, too, but didn't get it done, most recently on Sunday at Penn State, where they lost 61-58 and had plenty of chances to win.

Is it confidence? Is it execution? Is it not having the experience to feel good about closing these games out?

Yes, to all of the above.

This is still a fragile team that Mike Woodson inherited from Archie Miller in late March. They still need to learn how to play well at the most important moments, and not let failure affect the next game.

That ''next game'' is Thursday night at home against Ohio State, who's off to a 3-0 start in the Big Ten so far.

"When you lose a game like Penn State, you get some heads hanging and stuff, but you can't hang your head,'' Woodson said. "The Big Ten is not going anywhere, you know what I'm saying. It's what it is, and you can't reflect on what happened in the past. That's easy to do, but it's my job to try to keep them from that.

"That's what we're fighting right now, you know what I mean. This team struggled in the Big Ten last year and I'm trying to get them over the hump where they're not struggling. We aren't playing bad basketball, but Wisconsin and Penn State were both winnable games. I've got to get them over the hump in those games. We've got to keep grinding, keep practicing, keep watching film and learning, and everybody's got to be committed. That's the only way that you're going to get out of the rut that you've been in.''

Execution has certainly been part of the problem. Woodson said Indiana's pick-and-roll offense hasn't been effective, and they aren't doing a good job of getting open looks for shooters like Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp

That needs to change, and fast. Starting with Thursday night's game against No. 13-ranked Ohio State at Assembly Hall.

"Our pick-and-roll offense is not where I want it to be. We're not getting a lot out that have right now,'' Woodson said. "We get it in spurts. Where we've been good offensively is really getting stops and deflections and things of that nature where we're getting out and getting early buckets that way.

"We have runs where we've been able to take advantage of Trayce (Jackson-Davis) and Race (Thompson) running the floor. But our half-court pick-and-roll offense is nowhere near where I want it to be. We've got some work to do there to get better in that area. I think we've been pretty good out of timeouts because we've been able to set and draw up stuff when teams don't zone us. But our halfcourt sets, we've just got to get better in terms of our execution at setting screens and things of that nature and cutting and passing the ball.''

Woodson would also like to play faster and get easier looks before talented Big Ten defenses can get set up. It's one thing to not be efficient offensively, but that gets compounded when total possessions decrease, too.

"I think that's the whole thing. When we're at our best, that's when we're getting stops, deflections and we're getting up and down the floor,'' Woodson said "When we're getting quick strikes, that's what I call them, that's when we're good, when we get buckets over the top behind the defense and where we're spraying it around getting three-point shots early.

"But to do that, you've got to get stops, you know what I mean. That's the name of the game. I thought in the Penn State game, I thought our defense was solid, it wasn't too bad. I didn't like how we played guard at our pick-and-roll coverage, and the fact that we got smashed on the boards, you know what I mean. That was the difference in winning that game.''

You can't run if you don't rebound, and the Hoosiers gave up 11 offensive rebounds and were outrebounded 39-29 total on the night. Especially late in the game, Penn State got too many second and third chances. You need to finish.

"Right now, I think we're at a point where we've just got to play a perfect game. Well, not a perfect game, but we've got to play 40 minutes, man. We can't play 38, 39 minutes. That was a winnable game the other night, and again, we didn't make the plays and they did coming home.

"I think it's believing that you can win. This team has been stuck in a rut a little bit, and we've got to get them over the hump. I truly believe that if we had won the Syracuse or the Wisconsin game, then people would look at us in a different light, that they would totally different. We didn't win them, so again, we've got to figure out how to stay where we are at home, and then next time we're back out on the road, we have to figure it out, eventually, I think we'll break the ice.''

Past history — most notably last year's 12-15 season that included only seven Big Ten wins — still hangs like a dark cloud over this team. Shaking that losing mentality doesn't just happen with a snap of a finger.

"That's what I'm hoping, because this team needs it, you know what I mean,'' Woodson said about needing to experience some success in tight games. "These guys, they have had some tough go at it in the past, and they get down on themselves a little bit. It's my job as a coach to try to keep them up and keep them ready to play.''

Indiana's defense has been plenty good this season, but getting points when needed is still a struggle on some nights. Jackson-Davis is the focal point of the offense, and he's seen his fair share of double-teams.

But in Big Ten play, Indiana has been seeing a lot of different looks. Penn State, for instance, often stayed home with shooters and let strong and physical John Harrar guard Jackson-Davis one-on-one. He was only 8-for-18 shooting, and missed a pair of short shots late that would have made a difference.

"I think Penn State just stayed home and said, Trayce, it's OK to beat us,'' Woodson said. "You think about in the Penn State game, I mean, he had 18 looks down there (around the basket). I think he shot one jump shot. And he had a lot of, you know, a lot of good shots around the rim that he didn't finish.

"And that wasn't from double teams, you know what I mean. Before the double team even got there, he was beating the double teams a lot. So they pretty much stayed home on Parker and Miller and said, OK Trayce, let's see what you got, you know what I mean. Hell, a bucket or two here or there, that's a different ballgame as far as I'm concerned.''

That will be the challenge going forward, remaining efficient offensively no matter what the approach is from an opposing defense. The Buckeyes have plenty of size themselves, and they may choose to single-cover Jackson-Davis often, too.

It's a wait-and-see situation, and attacking whatever the Buckeyes' defense gives them.

"He missed a few little bunnies down there, but he made some for us to keep us where we needed to be,'' Woodson said. "He's been double-teamed with guys from the low side, he's been doubled from guys cutting and coming back. He's been doubled just from the ball being thrown into him, they just come from the ball and double.

"He's seen all kinds of looks in that regard. But I wouldn't leave Miller or Parker, either, you know what I mean. They are shot makers. I thought Penn State did a good job of saying, all right, Trayce, you've got to beat us. And you know, we missed some good looks. I mean, he had some good looks down there I thought. I even thought the last play we went to him was a good shot for him.''

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