Zeller, Hoosiers cruise to easy win over Bryant in season opener
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Athletic director Fred Glass stood at center court and announced that Indiana basketball was back. He cited Tom Crean as the reason – and revealed the terms of a two-year contract extension for the coach through the 2019-2020 season.
Crean then took the sideline and proved his worth, leading No. 1 Indiana to a 97-54 rout of Bryant. Here’s how it went down Friday in Assembly Hall.
IN A NUTSHELL: Jordan Hulls launched the Hoosiers’ first shot of this highly anticipated season, and the deep 3 from the right wing went down for a 3-0 lead. From there, Bryant never much challenged. Coach Tim O’Shea’s Bulldogs enjoyed a 15-14 lead during an official TV timeout with 11:18 remaining in the first half. That proved to be their high-water mark. Indiana responded by ripping off an effortless 22-4 run spearheaded by six points and three assists from freshman point guard Yogi Ferrell. Cody Zeller scored 12 of his 18 points before intermission, when Indiana led 48-28. The Hoosiers only stretched their comfortable lead in the second half to improve to 1-0. IU didn’t miss much, and when they did, they frequently grabbed the rebound. The Hoosiers missed 24 shots and pulled in 11 offensive boards. Bryant (0-1) was outclassed 46-27 on the glass overall.
STAR OF THE GAME: Who else but Zeller? The 7-footer constantly drew fouls against overmatched post defenders and added 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Ever fleet of foot in the open floor, Zeller once beat all of the other nine players down the court for a score on a fast break. Zeller didn’t show much of the perimeter game he’s added to his repertoire, but he didn’t need to, not when he could get four layups and two dunks among his eight field goals. Zeller was the best player on this night and should be the standout performer in just about every game the Hoosiers play.
BEHIND THE SCENES: One underrated aspect of this blowout was the defense played by Indiana forward Christian Watford on Bryant counterpart Alex Francis. The Bulldogs star finished with 15 points, but when the game was in the balance, Watford never let Francis break free. Of Francis’ seven first-half points, only three occurred with Watford on the court. Denied full use of his go-to option, O’Shea turned instead to bombing away from downtown. Nearly half of Bryant’s shots came from beyond the arc, and for good reason. It was about the only way they could score. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs missed 25 of 29 attempts and the rout was on. Bryant shot just 32 percent overall. Indiana mostly played an aggressive man-to-man defense that resulted in 12 steals and six blocks. Crean occasionally experimented with pressing on the inbounds after a made basket and with showing a 2-3 zone in the halfcourt.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: It’s nitpicking, to be sure, but Indiana might be vulnerable up front against a stronger opponent like, say, North Carolina. The suspensions of interior players Hanner Perea and Peter Jurkin and the injury to power forward Derek Elston left Crean scrambling to fill in five players once Watford and Zeller sat down. Forced to go to an extremely small lineup, the results were poor. Four-star recruit Jeremy Hollowell slid in as an undersized center alongside out-of-position power forward Maurice Creek early in the first half. Bryant promptly went on a 7-2 mini-run to take the lead. Later in the half, Crean again sent Hollowell and Creek out as the bigs in a lineup with Will Sheehey, Victor Oladipo and Remy Abell. And, again, Bryant perked up. The Bulldogs outscored Indiana 9-5 while the smallball unit was on the court. With the lead trimmed to 13, Crean was forced to come back with Zeller. It’s a temporary problem, but the current lack of depth in the frontcourt could flare up as an issue against the Tar Heels or even SEC opponent Georgia.
YOGI-ISMS: Ferrell could be better than Marquis Teague, who led Kentucky to a national championship despite an erratic and inconsistent season as a freshman point guard. In particular, Ferrell looks to be the best passer IU’s seen in years. He had seven assists in 24 minutes Friday and maintains a low dribble while constantly keeping his eyes open surveying the court. His quickness could be lethal when combined with a proficient midrange jumper. Play off Ferrell to avoid the shake-and-bake, and he’ll sink a 15-footer. The beautiful thing is how Ferrell tries to involve all five players in a halfcourt possession. Because Indiana will almost always have five guys on the floor who threaten the defense, this can only maximize the Hoosiers’ effectiveness. Although tiny at 5-foot-11, Ferrell is a creator in every sense of the word.
NEXT: Indiana faces North Dakota State in the Legends Classic at Assembly Hall Monday at 7 p.m. The Bison (1-0) finished first in the Summit League a year ago and went 17-14 overall. Only once has North Dakota State appeared in the NCAA tournament. It lost to Kansas in the first round in 2009.
