First Thoughts: Indiana 77, Evansville 46
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Let’s take a quick look at how the Indiana Hoosiers cruised to a 77-46 win over the Evansville Aces on Tuesday night at Assembly Hall.
WHY IT HAPPENED: Struggling Jeremy Hollowell busted out with a career-high 18 points in 17 minutes of playing time off the bench and stud freshman Noah Vonleh added his fifth double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds as Indiana improved to 6-1 with a dominant performance over previously undefeated Evansville (5-1). Yogi Ferrell had 10 points. The Aces could never get anything going as the Hoosiers allowed a season low point total at 46. High-scoring shooting guard D.J. Balentine led Evansville with 14 points but shot just 5 of 17 and committed five turnovers.
WHAT WE LEARNED: The Hoosiers played stifling defense and methodical offense focused on attacking the basket and offensive glass. Hollowell had not played particularly well since the season opener but responded with a great performance after Indiana coach Tom Crean made a surprise move starting little-used senior Jeff Howard in Hollowell’s place at power forward. When Hollowell left the game for good in the final three minutes, the remnants of the crowd of 16,255 granted the sophomore from Indianapolis a standing ovation.
KEY NUMBER: Evansville shot 29.1 percent from the field (16 of 55) and missed 11 of 22 free throws.
TURNING POINT: Just over two minutes into the game, Indiana led 7-0, forcing Evansville coach Marty Simmons to burn an early timeout. Things got worse from there for the visitors in purple. Indiana led 28-8 before settling for a 33-19 advantage at halftime. The Aces got no closer than 11 in the second half and trailed by as many as 34.
GOOD: Indiana had 12 assists on 24 made field goals, emblematic of improved ball movement since a 59-58 loss to Connecticut that was plagued with one-on-one play.
NOT-SO-GOOD: The Hoosiers went 4-for-16 from beyond the arc.
NEXT: The Hoosiers get a nice holiday break with six days off before traveling to Syracuse for their first true road game on Dec. 3. The Orangemen ended Indiana’s season in March in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
Follow Chris Goff on Twitter: chrisgoff_ISL.
