Indiana Basketball Suffers Narrow Loss To UCLA: 3 Takeaways

In another Big Ten battle, Indiana basketball fell short with a 72-68 loss to UCLA.

Indiana basketball has had its fair share of narrow games this season. Indiana vs. UCLA is the newest on the list. The Hoosiers have been unable to capitalize on late-game opportunities at home, which has ultimately hurt their tournament chances.

UCLA guard Dylan Andrews missed two front ends of 1-and-1’s, keeping Indiana in the game. The Hoosiers got a corner three-point shot off from Mackenzie Mgbako in the final second; however, it didn’t sink. This shot would have won them the game. It certainly wasn’t all the forward fault, however. Multiple factors impeded the Hoosiers against UCLA. Head coach Mike Woodson discussed the final play with the press during the postgame,

“We got exactly what we were looking for in the play. That is a shot that he [Mgbako] normally makes, and he just didn’t make it,” said Woodson. 

Takeaway #1: A poor first-half start set the Hoosiers back all night

Indiana basketball has seen a pattern of slow starts this season. They had a 10-9 lead at the beginning of the game; however, they let go of their lead with a three-pointer from Tyler Bilodeau. They then fell to a double-digit deficit and couldn’t regain the lead for the remainder of the competition. 

Offensively, the Hoosiers only shot 32.1% from the field, going 9-28. Outside the car, the story was no different. By the time half hit, they only made 2-13 three-pointers (15.4%). 

Unsurprisingly, the Hoosiers have struggled to gain the upper hand during the first half. However, at some point, they can’t keep playing catch-up. It had gotten them so close to winning games, but it seems it’s been a race against time for Indiana. 

Takeaway #2: Unsteady guards for Indiana

Earlier in the season, Myles Rice put up some great performances. He later showed some inconsistency, and Anthony Leal entered the starting lineup. He brought his experience and leadership to the court, keeping the team collected when things started speeding up. Leal, however, is not a potent scorer, which the Hoosiers need. In his 20 minutes of play against the Bruins, he only put up two points.

Recently, Trey Galloway has rejoined the starting five in place of Rice. He only recorded five points against UCLA—tied with Rice. Galloway put up 15 against Purdue and 9 against Michigan, but the redshirt senior’s inconsistency does not make him a promising guard.

Kanaan Carlyle suffered a lower-body injury in December, which put him on the bench for three games. Ever since, he has played minimal minutes. In his past five games, he has scored 20 points; however, 13 were during his strong performance against Ohio State on Jan. 17. 

To put it blatantly, Indiana’s guard situation isn’t great. Other positions have strong players, such as centers Oumar Ballo and Luke Goode and forwards Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako; however, the guards’ inconsistency on the court has been overall hurtful.

Takeaway #3: UCLA was on fire from downtown

While Indiana overcame No. 11 Michigan State in their prior game, a noteworthy part of that is because of how poor their outside shooters are. UCLA successfully competed against Indiana’s zone defense, forcing them to re-sort their defense as the game continued. Shooting 9-20 from their perimeter, the Bruins capitalized offensively. In the second half, they shot 5-10 from three. This was also a balanced effort, as six UCLA players made threes. Skyy Clark finished with 11 points, going 3-for-3 outside the arc. 

“They had big-time shooters around the horn,” Woodson said. 

The 45% from three was just something that the Indiana defense couldn’t respond to. This is rough, especially considering the slim margin of victory. 

Up next for Indiana basketball (15-11, 6-9): vs. Purdue (19-7, 11-4) – Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. EST

Up next for UCLA basketball (19-7, 10-5): vs. Minnesota (13-12, 5-9) – Feb. 18 at 10:30 p.m. EST