What went right — and what didn’t — in IU Basketball’s first 11 games – Inside the Hall

Indiana is 8-3 with two non-conference games before Big Ten play resumes against Rutgers on January 2.

After starting the season ranked 17th in the top 25 in the Associated Press poll, the Hoosiers suffered three losses by an average of more than 20 points, knocking them out of the rankings.

Through 11 games, here’s what went right — and what didn’t — for the 2024-25 Indiana Hoosiers.

Indiana’s offense is better than it was a season ago

After finishing last season — Mike Woodson’s third in Bloomington — with the 105th-best offense in the country, Indiana is back in the top 50 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency.

The Hoosiers currently have the 46th best offense in the country.

Indiana currently ranks 60th in field goal percentage (54.7), 104th in offensive rebound percentage (33) and 100th in free throw rate (FTA/FGA) at 36.7 percent with just over a third of the regular season complete.

The Hoosiers also rank 44th in 2-point field goal percentage (56.7) and 89th in free throw percentage (74.8).

Indiana is averaging 79.3 points per game, up from 72.3 points per game last season.

Indiana needs to take better care of the ball

Turnovers are a notable stat that is a problem for Indiana’s offense.

Hoosiers give away 19.1 percent of their assets, which ranks them 266th in the country.

Point guard Myles Rice has a higher turnover percentage (24.6) than assist rate (20.5). Trey Galloway, who also spends a lot of time as the team’s primary playmaker, has a higher turnover percentage (29.6) than assists (25).

According to KenPom.com, only Malik Reneau has a better assist rate than turnover percentage among IU’s rotation regulars.

Defensive rebounding has improved

Through IU’s first seven games, the team has allowed opponents to rebound six times on over 32 percent of its missed shots.

That included allowing Louisville to recover 37.9 percent of its misses and Gonzaga recovering 39.4 percent of its misses in two losses in the Bahamas.

Since these losses, the Hoosiers have been better on the defensive boards.

Over its last four games, Indiana hasn’t allowed an offensive rebound percentage higher than 24.5.

The Hoosiers currently rank a respectable 146th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage. That’s a number Indiana needs to continue to move closer to the top 100.

IU’s defense doesn’t offer enough resistance

The best defensive teams in college basketball dictate to their opponents how a game will be played.

The Hoosiers have been repeatedly beaten down the stretch and breakdowns often lead to easy buckets for the opposition.

As Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star recently pointed out, the assisted field goal percentage for Indiana’s opponents has increased since Woodson’s first season.

Rather than forcing opponents into tough shots or one-on-one situations — which was often the case in Woodson’s first two seasons — Indiana’s countless defensive breakdowns generate easy buckets at the rim or takedowns for clean 3-point looks.

Until Indiana strengthens its perimeter defense, these breakdowns will continue, limiting the gains of a team too talented to lose three games by an average of 20 points.

3-point volume is well below the national average

Indiana attempted a season-high 35 3-point attempts in its last game, an 85-68 loss to Nebraska.

The Hoosiers made just eight of those shots. Woodson said after the game that he was happy with most of the looks, which was the most the program took in a game under the fourth-year coach. With Nebraska determined to take Indiana’s post play away, the Hoosiers were forced to look at the perimeter and didn’t do enough.

Through 11 games, Indiana is shooting a respectable 33.7 percent from 3, which ranks 156th in the country.

The Hoosiers rank 336th in percentage of 3-pointers made at 23.7 and 329th in percentage of field goals attempted from behind the 3-point line at 32.2.

The national average for 3-point percentage is 31.6. In terms of percentage of field goals attempted from 3, the national average is 39.5.

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