Another game, another win. IU used its tenacious defense to stifle the Jackson State Tigers, on their way to a 70-35 victory. Mike Woodson and his staff are still gathering data on this team in the early stages of the season, and another 40-minute sample came on Tuesday night. Which player combinations excelled for their Hoosiers in their domination of JSU?
Notes:
- Indiana’s starting lineup of Xavier Johnson, Parker Stewart, Miller Kopp, Race Thompson, and Trayce Jackson-Davis continued to steamroll the opposition, grading out as IU’s best lineup per raw +/-. This group recorded a whopping +28 in 16:55, outscoring JSU 39-11.
- This lineup is now +50 on the season, and they have put IU in a leading position before Woodson’s first substitution in all five games.
- Indiana’s most efficient lineup on a per-minute basis included Khristian Lander, Tamar Bates, Kopp, Jordan Geronimo, and Michael Durr. This unit also performed exceedingly well relative to other Hoosier lineups against Louisiana. Rob Phinisee’s absence has led to more Lander minutes, but even after Phinisee’s return, Woodson might give consideration to this combination.
- Speaking of Lander, Woodson played Lander and Johnson together for an extended stretch in the first half. In the 2:16 they played together, IU outscored JSU 4-0. Woodson has shown no hesitation in playing two of Johnson, Phinisee, and Lander together this season.
- Johnson, IU’s player of the game on Tuesday, finished +26 in a team-high 25:23 of playing time. It was the first game this season in which he led the team in minutes.
- For those of you familiar with this article, it should come as no surprise that Thompson came away as the team’s leader in +/-. He ended up +30 in 22:30 of playing time.
- However, what’s interesting is that every second Thompson played also came with Jackson-Davis on the court. On the other hand, Jackson-Davis played 1:57 without Thompson, and TJD went -4 without his roommate on the floor.
- As we pointed out in the Louisiana lineup article, Stewart once again played every second of his 18:09 with Jackson-Davis on the court. That runs up Stewart’s playing time to over 100 minutes this season; only two of those minutes have come with Jackson-Davis off the court. Stewart and Jackson-Davis are +67 in their minutes together.
- IU’s offense was at its best with Stewart in the game. In his 18:09, IU scored 42 points, or 2.31 points per minute (PPM). In the 21:51 with him on the bench, IU scored just 28 points, or 1.28 PPM.
- Of course, defense was the story once again tonight, and IU’s defense was at its finest with Durr on the court. IU gave up a paltry eight points in his 13:26 of action, or .60 PPM. In the 26:34 he was sidelined, IU gave up 27 points, or 1.02 PPM.
Featured Photo: IndianaHQ / Collin Ebel
