Indiana basketball beats Chattanooga 74-65 in Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers took down Chattanooga on Saturday in their last game before the Christmas holiday and it was no doubt a battle. What started out as a back-and-forth game ended with Indiana pulling away and winning by nine points, but Chattanooga would not go down without a fight. Here are three takeaways:
Takeaway #1: A slow start is becoming common for this Indiana team
What seems to be a common theme this year for Indiana basketball is the fact that a solid start to a game is hard for this team to come by. Going into the second half against Chattanooga, Indiana was up 41-38. While they had some success scoring the ball, they still played slow and sloppy on both ends of the court. Luckily, Indiana basketball was able to come out in the second half and pull away to win the game. However, this isn’t the first time this has happened this season. The game against Chattanooga on Saturday was slightly reminiscent of the game Indiana played against EIU on November 10.
At the end of the first half, Indiana was down by one with a score of 37-36. They came out hot in the second half and defeated EIU 90-55. It was great to see the Hoosiers play how they did in the second half, but also hard to avoid the question: Where was that in the first half? As the game against Nebraska on December 13 proved, IU is going to have a much harder time bouncing back from these slow starts against other Big Ten teams. In that game, while they did make a run in the first half and went into the second only down by 3, they fell to the Cornhuskers 85-68.
Is it good that Indiana basketball has proven multiple times that they can bounce back from a slow start? Yes. The issue in that is the fact that they have had to prove this multiple times since the beginning of this season.
Takeaway #2: Indiana’s bench proved their importance
Since Kanaan Carlyle has returned from his injury, he has been a huge part of Indiana’s success. Coming off of the bench, he finished the game against Chattanooga with eight points, two rebounds, and one assist. What was most important about his performance on Saturday was the momentum he gave Indiana going into the second half.
After an assist from Malik Reneau, Carlyle’s made jumper put IU up by three with seven seconds left in the half. After that, he had a steal to prevent a 3-point attempt by Chattanooga just before the buzzer sounded for halftime. It is evident that Carlyle is a great defender and key to Indiana’s rotation.
Also coming off of the bench, freshman Bryson Tucker was a key player, finishing the game with nine points and three rebounds. Other notable performances coming off the bench would have to included Luke Goode who had five points and five rebounds as well as Anthony Leal who provided three points for Indiana.
Takeaway #3: The win was within reach for Chattanooga
There is no doubt that Chattanooga battled and made a case for themselves against Indiana. They led the Hoosiers for the first 13 minutes before letting them go on an 11-3 run going into the second half. With only a minute left of the whole game, they were down by four before Indiana pulled away. This game proved that things like diving for loose balls or really fighting for a rebound can make a significant difference in the outcome, especially when it comes to playing against Big Ten opponents.
Junior guard Honor Huff led the scoring for Chattanooga with 20 points, making this his third game in a row with at least 20 points. While only scoring two points, Frank Champion’s 5 rebounds and 6 assists were also a huge contributor to Chattanooga’s ability to keep the game close.
Up next for Indiana (9-3, 1-1): vs. Winthrop (10-4) – Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. EST
Up next for Chattanooga (8-5): vs. Mercer (6-6), Jan. 1 at 7 p.m. EST