Indiana was unable to take down the tallest team in the nation in Tallahassee on Wednesday night in their single possession loss that came down to the wire. The Hoosiers saw the return of their senior captain Al Durham, but they continued to lack additional bodies in the paint given the absence of Joey Brunk, whose injury is beginning to seem like a longer term concern. Indiana tied their lowest number of lineups since IndianaHQ has been producing this report.
- Once again, Archie Miller used just 11 unique lineups in IU’s two-point defeat at FSU. In te last game vs. Stanford, that low number was likely due to Al Durham’s absence from the game. Last night, even with Durham available, Miller simply seemed more comfortable using a smaller rotation, even in an overtime contest.
- Part of that tighter rotation included Miller playing his starting lineup of Phinisee, Franklin, Durham, Thompson, and Jackson-Davis for a whopping 22:52 out of the game’s 45 minutes. That group did well on the court, going +3 for the game. However, they played the final 8:31 of the game; in that stretch, FSU outscored IU, 13-10.
- Even if he didn’t put up the most gaudy numbers, Race Thompson once again proved to be valuable for Indiana. His +11 led the team, and IU’s offense and defense were both at their most efficient with him on the court. It may sound crazy, but his 33:44 of playing time might have been too little.
- Out of the 11 unique combinations, only three lineups went negative last night, and all three had a frontcourt of Galloway, Hunter, and Jackson-Davis. IU’s defense struggled mightily with Galloway and Hunter on the floor, leaking 1.76 points per minute (PPM) with Galloway on, and 1.71 PPM with Hunter in the game. Overall, IU gave up just 1.53 PPM in the affair.
Photo: Christian Daniels
