Lineups and utilization of 11 scholarship players have been a consistent topic of conversation for the 2019-2020 Hoosiers. Without stars on the roster (with the exception of Jackson-Davis), Indiana planned on defeating opponents via their depth and size. How does that translate into lineups on the court?
Below, we have accumulated all of the lineups and substitutions through Indiana’s first 16 games. The analysis reveals certain trends, such as the important of Rob Phinisee, but it needs to be caveated because of the opponents on the floor. Race Thompson appears in the most efficient plus-minus lineups for the Hoosiers, but he also comes in to match up against opponents’ bench players often times.
Without further ado, here are the top lineups by usage as we cross the midway marker of the season.
Click here to open the 2019-2020 Indiana Hoosiers Lineup infographic.
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Notables:
- Indiana has used 136 unique combinations. Theoretically, there are 462 possible combinations of five players (selected out of 11 scholarship players).
- The two starting lineups have had the most time on the floor, as expected. Those two lineups both have had over an hour of floor time together, where as the next highest usage is less than 30 minutes.
- Race Thompson and Joey Brunk have developed a nice chemistry together. They lead the Hoosiers in rebounds per 40 minutes (Thompson 12.7, Brunk 12.1), so opponents find it tough to grab boards against this duo. Their effectiveness increases even more when Phinisee is the point guard at the same time.
- While Thompson and Brunk are one successful big man combo, another one is Justin Smith at the 4 and Trayce Jackson-Davis at the 5. IU has outscored opponents by 55 points in 106 minutes this season with a Smith/TJD frontcourt. On the other hand, when Smith is the 3 and Jackson-Davis is the 4, IU is only +35 in 237 minutes.
- With so much discussion surrounding Indiana’s guard play, specifically Devonte Green, it’s worth noting that IU is most effective when he’s on the floor with Rob Phinisee. Since the start of the Arkansas game, IU is +21 when Green and Phinisee share the floor, even though IU is -7 overall in those four games. Franklin and Green are -18 in that stretch, while Green and Durham are -23.
Featured Photo: IndianaHQ
