No. 14 Indiana Embarrassed By Louisville 89-61 in Battle 4 Atlantis

Indiana traveled to the Bahamas and got thoroughly dominated by Louisville Wednesday in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Hoosiers shot just 33.3% from the field, committed 23 turnovers and struggled to defend the Cardinals.

Louisville forward Khani Rooths (9) celebrates during the Cardinals 89-61 win over Trey Galloway (32) and the Indiana Hoosiers during the Battle 4 Atlantis. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas – Indiana’s first game in the Battle 4 Atlantis was the opposite of paradise. 

The 14th-ranked Hoosiers suffered an 89-61 loss to Louisville in the first round of the tournament, a game in which they got beat just about every way possible. That’s tied for Indiana’s second-largest margin of defeat under coach Mike Woodson with last season’s 104-76 loss to Auburn, and trailing its 29-point NCAA Tournament loss to Saint Mary’s. 

The abysmal performance can be summed up through several stats. Indiana shot 33.3% from the field. It committed 23 turnovers, which Woodson said postgame are fixable, with at least two from seven different players. That’s tied for Indiana’s third-most turnovers under Woodson. Indiana made just 4-of-9 layups, many of which led to Louisville’s 14 fast-break points. 

Defensively, Indiana couldn’t stop anyone. Four Cardinals finished with 12-plus points, and they combined to shoot 56.9%. They scored easily against Indiana’s big front line, finishing with 48 points in the paint, compared to Indiana’s 20. 

With this loss, Indiana falls to 4-1 on the season and will play Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET against the loser of Wednesday’s game between No. 3 Gonzaga and West Virginia.

“It was beyond schemes. I thought they came out at the very beginning, and they punched us and we didn’t respond,” Woodson said. “And it didn’t get better throughout the ballgame, and as a coach I gotta get this team more ready to go. … We just got out-toughed, and that’s unacceptable to me.”

Indiana guard Kanaan Carlyle (9) shoots against Louisville guard Terrence Edwards Jr. (5) during the Battle 4 Atlantis. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Imperial Ballroom within the Atlantis resort is an intimate setting. With a low ceiling and tight quarters, noise gets trapped to create more noise than one might expect from a 3,500-seat venue. The crowd, with about 85% Indiana fans, let the Hoosiers hear it.

At halftime, one fan walking by the media seating said he just hoped it didn’t get worse than the eight-point deficit. It would get far worse. By the end of the game, fans shouted expletives at Woodson and told him to empty the bench as the embarrassing performance carried on. 

By the end of the game, one decided the outcome meant far more, saying, “Where’s Scott Dolson? I need to talk to him.” Players and coaches could certainly hear the insults during the game. It added to the ugliness of what took place on the court. 

Aside from big men Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo, who combined for 32 points on 12-for-20 shooting, the Hoosiers shot 9-for-34, or 20.9%.

“We had nothing from a perimeter standpoint, and they had a lot to do with that because of their physicality,’’ Woodson said. “We can’t complain and not play through it. We just gotta get a little tougher. You go 9 for 43 with your perimeter players, it’s gonna be tough to beat anybody in college basketball.”

Louisville point guard Chucky Hepburn, a Wisconsin transfer seeking revenge from last year’s loss to Indiana, played a big role in getting just that. Indiana starting point guard Myles Rice finished with just three points on 1-for-11 shooting. His backcourt mate, Kanaan Carlyle, didn’t score and only took two shots. Trey Galloway finished scoreless, too. 

“I think [Rice] is going to do really good things in the Big Ten, but it’s time for me to put my name up there, too,” Hepburn said postgame. “I’m one of the best point guards in the country as well, and I’m going to start playing like it every game.’’

Louisville guard Chucky Hepburn (24) dribbles against Indiana guard Myles Rice (1) during the Battle 4 Atlantis / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Hepburn wasn’t alone, though. Louisville’s Reyne Smith and Noah Waterman hurt the Hoosiers in particular, combining to make 8-of-17 3-point attempts. Hepburn finished with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 10 assists. 

In its first season under coach Pat Kelsey, Louisville is made up almost entirely of transfers and freshmen. Indiana is similar in that respect, with six transfers and one freshman, but it is still learning to play together as a team. Kelsey said Indiana has a big, physical and strong team, but it saw a path to combatting that.

“We just thought our advantage was being able to space the floor and play with great pace,” he said.

Indiana never led, and Louisville had a double-digit lead by the 8:21 mark of the first half. The Hoosiers went into halftime trailing 37-29, but in some respects, it was lucky the deficit wasn’t larger. The Hoosiers shot just 31% from the field, got out-hustled for several loose balls and committed 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play. 

Ballo turned the ball over on the first possession, which led to an easy fast break layup from Hepburn. Indiana missed its first seven layups, according to the live stats, and Rice started 0-for-6 from the field. Rice was coming off back-to-back games with 20-plus points, so his scoreless first half had the Hoosiers searching for other options. 

Reneau got off to a good start, scoring 14 points in the first half, but he didn’t have much help. He made his second 3-pointer at the 5:43 mark of the first half, but Indiana wouldn’t make another field goal until 19:25  left in the second half.

On the other side, Louisville torched the Hoosiers from long range. The Cardinals entered the game ranked fifth nationally with 34 3-point attempts per game, but shots hadn’t been falling during their 3-1 start. Their 29.4% 3-point shooting ranked 311th in the country. 

Wednesday, those shots fell. Louisville went 7-for-17 from 3-point range in the first half, with a trio of threes from Waterman and Smith. The Cardinals finished 10-for-27 from distance.

Reneau opened the second half with a layup that trimmed Louisville’s lead to six points, but Indiana’s comeback immediately fizzled. Louisville responded with an 11-0 run, including a 3-pointer from Waterman and an emphatic dunk by Kasean Pryor over Reneau.

Louisville forward Kasean Pryor (7) dunks over Indiana forward Malik Reneau (5) during the Battle 4 Atlantis. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Woodson called a timeout as Indiana trailed 48-31, hoping to stop Louisville’s run and flip the momentum. It did anything but that. Tucker got his pocket picked trying to lead a fast break, which led to a Waterman fast break layup the other way.

After another timeout, Indiana lost Smith, a 42.1% 3-point shooter, on an out of bounds play. His fourth 3-pointer, followed by an alley-oop dunk by James Scott, pushed Louisville’s lead to 20 points. It only got worse from there.

Woodson tried smaller lineups, with only either Ballo or Reneau on the court at one time. But without Ballo’s size and physicality down low, Indiana’s interior defense suffered. After a Luke 

Goode 3-pointer, Louisville responded with three straight layups to push the lead to 68-40.

“Defensively, it’s kind of always been our signature, and we just didn’t have it tonight,’’ Woodson said. “I mean, from ball screens to ball movement, we just took nothing away, and we’d been pretty good in those areas. Tonight, we had nothing for Louisville.” 

Part of Indiana’s problems started with missing simple layups inside. Rice made a quick move to the basket, but left his finger roll short. Louisville sprinted the other way and scored on another alley-oop dunk.

The Cardinals’ lead grew to 30 points with 11:06 left and extended as far as 38 with 7:08 to play, punctuated by a J’Vonne Hadley dunk. Indiana closed the game on a 7-0 run after Woodson put in the reserves, but it didn’t matter.

“This was embarrassing,” Woodson said. “And you gotta give Louisville credit, because they played their butts off, but we didn’t play Indiana basketball, I didn’t think.”

Indiana Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson reacts against Louisville Cardinals during the Battle 4 Atlantis. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

It’s a feeling all too familiar in these settings. In four seasons under Woodson, Indiana has six losses by 14-plus points and three by 28 points or more. The Hoosiers will look to ease the sting of their loss to Louisville with two more games in the Battle 4 Atlantis. 

But with this loss, they may have also lost their best opportunity to pick up resume-boosting wins in hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

“We gotta, somehow, go back and regroup,” Woodson said. “I mean, that’s the nature of college basketball. You get your butt beat like this year, you hope you learn. … You do have a quick turnaround. We play the [loser] between Gonzaga and West Virginia tomorrow, and we gotta see what we’re made of, see if we can rebound and bounce back.”

Indiana Hoosiers bench against Louisville during the Battle 4 Atlantis. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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• WHAT WOODSON, RENEAU SAID: Here's the video and full transcript of Mike Woodson and Malik Reneau's postgame press conference after Indiana's 89-61 loss to Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis. CLICK HERE

• LIVE BLOG: Hoosiers On SI has made it to the Imperial Ballroom in Paradise Islands, The Bahamas for in-person coverage of the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis. Welcome to our live blog, where we'll share updates, highlights and thoughts on Wednesday's game between No. 14 Indiana and Louisville. CLICK HERE