B1G Game 6: Gophers Visit Indiana (1-17-24)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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Getting the Hoosiers Back on Track​

Entering her 10th season at Indiana, Teri Moren, has won six consecutive games versus Minnesota and nine of the last ten. The Gophers last victory came in February of 2019.

Indiana has qualified for the last four NCAA tournaments making an Elite 8 appearance in 2021. And at 5-1 in the B1G, the Hoosiers are on track to get back to the NCAA’s. They’ve compiled conference wins @Rutgers 66-56, Illinois 77-71, Michigan 80-59, @Nebraska 91-69 and Penn State 75-67 before being derailed in snowy Iowa City 51-84. More on the Iowa fiasco later.

Last season’s NCAA appearance ended disappointingly with the Big Ten Champion Hoosiers going down to Miami in the second round 68-70.

Last season’s only meeting between the Hoosiers and Gophers was also a disappointment to Teri Moren despite forcing 29 Gopher turnovers:


"We are happy to get the victory tonight, but collectively we feel that we didn't play our best basketball. 17 turnovers is just way too many for this basketball team that really prides itself in taking care of the basketball. Obviously, Mack and Syd had big nights for us, on a night where our guard play struggled. They struggled from the field. We are obviously glad that we are getting out of Minnesota with a win, but we know as we move forward that ball security, less turnovers, being able to make shots and being able to be cleaner from an execution standpoint is going to be important."

Despite the coaches disappointment It wasn’t a bad performance for the Hoosiers. Mackenzie Holmes had a field day with 28 points on 12-14 shooting. Sydney Parrish put up 23 points and 8 rebounds. Sara Scalia came off the bench for 10 points in 26 minutes. The now graduated Grace Berger had 4 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists in 33 minutes.

Nevertheless, the “I’m disappointed” message was received and in the next game IU traveled to a sold-out Mackey Arena defeating Purdue 69-46. The Boilermakers scored 2 third quarter points-Indiana 19.

And we don’t have to wonder about Moren’s mood before next Wednesday’s Gopher/Hoosier game. Here are some of her comments following Saturday’s loss to Iowa:

On feeling after this loss compared to 32-point loss at Stanford…​

Moren: "Well again, disappointing. I didn’t think I would be sitting here having to answer that question, you know. But we have to regroup, you know. It’s not the second year of the season where you can say, ‘Well, this is a good wake-up call for us.’ That should have already been done. I think all of us, we’ve got some soul searching to do. We can’t allow ourselves, first of all to get off to a slow, bad start the way we did with turnovers. We had opportunities, and then we would just give them the ball back and they were getting more possessions than we were. You can’t do that to a team like Iowa. Another very, very, very hard lesson learned.”

On game snowballing when Iowa hit two threes to go up 15, then Moren called timeout…​

Moren: "Yeah there’s no doubt. There were probably a couple of those moments. I felt like every time, especially in the second half, we were very, very bad in the second half, that it did, it got a little bit out of control. Then that kind of thing is contagious, right. You see one of those shots go in, and then Gabbie sees one of those shots go in, then Kate sees a shot, Kate Martin, so it is, it’s contagious. We’ve played like that before where Sara gets hot, then Syd gets hot, Yarden, and it’s kind of a snowball effect. It was’t fun."

On Yarden Garzon struggling offensively…​

Moren: "I wish I had the answer for that. She has not looked comfortable. She has struggled, and we need her. And I don’t have an answer. She’s had some other things that have been going on, but we’ve got to get her back on track."

The “back on track” surely applies to getting a veteran Hoosier squad back in the win column versus Minnesota.

The only change in IU’s starting lineup for this season was replacing Grace Berger with Sara Scalia.

The starters (Big Ten Stats through 6 games):

The heart of the Hoosier attack is 6’3” graduate forward Mackenzie Holmes with 22.3 points and 8 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. Holmes has not attempted a three.

6’2” senior guard Sydney Parrish is an all-around threat averaging 14 points and 6.2 rebounds in 32.8 minutes. Parrish is 14-30 from behind the arc (.462).

5’8” senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeal has stepped up her game and averages 13.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 34.5 minutes. At 6-13 from three Moore-McNeal is hitting at a .462 rate.

Sara Scalia is averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 35.5 minutes. Scalia’s three point percentage is an unScalia like .289 (11-38).

The 6’3” sophomore guard Yarden Garzon is a bit of a recent mystery averaging 8.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 30.3 minutes. Garzon is 9-22 from beyond the arc.

I guess we should mention 6’3” sophomore forward Lilly Meister and 5’9” sophomore guard Lexus Bargesser. But I don’t expect to hear their names a lot on Wednesday night.
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6 conference games is only 1/3 of the conference season, but Scalia’s conference numbers are not only sharply down from the non-conference season, but down from prior seasons. She is shooting under 30% from both 2 and 3 in conference play. If she and Garzon continue to struggle on Wed., hopefully Holmes and Parrish won’t be enough to carry IU to victory.
 

www.indystar.com

'This is not normal.' How Sara Scalia became one of the Big Ten's best 3-point shooters.

IU's Sara Scalia is not a 3-point aficionado by chance. She has been heaving up 3s since the second grade — it was the first shot she learned.
www.indystar.com

Good article about Scalia

“I wanted to definitely improve on other things, other than just being a 3-point shooter,” Sara said. “Definitely, I would say on the defensive end, just kind of focusing on that too, and I just wanted to play for a good team that focuses on everything you need to do to win. And obviously, I've been more facilitator this year, which I like to do.”

Her assist numbers have improved. She averaged 1.9 assists per game in her three years at Minnesota and 1.6 apg last season coming off the bench for Indiana. So far this year, she is averaging 2.7 assists per game, and has nearly already matched her assist total from last season.

“I felt like the biggest thing was just being more comfortable playing under this coaching staff,” Scalia said. “Obviously, it's fun playing with (senior center Mackenzie Holmes) and the pick-and-roll game, for sure. I think a big thing was just being more comfortable. And obviously, I can pass the ball a little bit, so that's fun. I like to pass the ball when they hit a shot.”
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Gophers can't be timid going into this game. Need to find more ways to get the offense more help. Think we have the talent for screens to setup cuts and rolls to the hoop. They start doing that and that will open up the shots outside more too. Iowa prime example. Have plenty of players who can shoot the 3 like we do, even besides CC, but they also find ways to throw tight passes for layups and drive to hoop to force d's to collapse so the open 3 kickout is there. Rooting for a BIG WIN here, would help this program big time.
 

Double Holmes with two Forwards, like 007 said cannot be timid. Indiana bullied and pounded Gophers twice last year by having nothing but open looks and they dominated glass. Holloway quickness and rebounding will be needed this game as getting on the glass and getting second chance points is a key. Need to battle Indiana's bigs and not back down.
 



BigTenGuy said:
Minnesota and IU played once last season, and Minnesota won the rebounding battle 40-32, with 15 offensive rebounds to IU's 7 offensive rebounds.
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Yes only at Williams. They Indiana, were up almost 20 plus in the first quarter went on a big run, Rose got early foul trouble and Indiana could not miss shots. I attended this game. That game was as flat and dull as I ever saw the Gophers play against Indiana or most of last season. Different team now. Statistics lie from this game, Indiana starters dominated boards early. Gophers couldn't hit any shots and got a lot of boards and still couldn't score in second half. It was a lopsided game and never in doubt. I'm just hoping Gophers come to play tomorrow. Could use a top tier win against an unexpected opponent. I know it is a tall task but if Gophers come prepared and not scared they have a shot.
 

BigTenGuy said:
Minnesota and IU played once last season, and Minnesota won the rebounding battle 40-32, with 15 offensive rebounds to IU's 7 offensive rebounds.
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Rose Micheaux's 11 rebounds (7 offensive) had a lot to do with that. Hopefully Nia and the rest of the team's improved rebounding can reproduce that advantage. And for God's sake put those offensive boards up and in....
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
Statistics lie from this game, Indiana starters dominated boards early.
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FWIW, at the end of Q1, IU was winning the rebounding battle 11-10, with Gophers winning the O-rebound battle 4-3. In the 2nd Quarter, the defensive boards were equal, with IU winning the offensive glass 3-1.
 
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IU couldn't hardly miss shots even with the Gophers playing hard on defense. It was frusturating game to watch cause Rose couldn't score inside early. Once IU built the big lead, Gophers never got close. I know Gophers shooting percentage was low. Rebounding didn't tell story this game as IU pulled away early on. First game I ever left early in 4th Q because of how flat Gophs were. Was not a fun game. Gophers are a different team this year, a lot more energy and depth and less key turnovers. I hope they show up tomorrow with the upset. As Aesop said second chance points need them, and to finish shots, to have a chance on the road.
 
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Although we are way farther along as a team as compared to last year at this time, I'm not sure we're at Indiana level yet. I think that if Everything Absolutely Clicks, we have a chance to pull an upset. That's a tough ask on the road against a really good team. I also think we could play really well and still come up 10-12 points short. Rooting for a nice upset, but not really expecting it. Mara, Heyer and GG combining for about 18 threes would be a big help.
 

A highly-motivated IU team will be hard to beat. Still, IU is a bottom-half team in the league in terms of pace, as are the Gophers (and the conference teams Minnesota has beaten). If IU doesn’t shoot it great, pace may help Minnesota stay in the game.
 





Aesop70 said:
Rose Micheaux's 11 rebounds (7 offensive) had a lot to do with that. Hopefully Nia and the rest of the team's improved rebounding can reproduce that advantage. And for God's sake put those offensive boards up and in....
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I forgot about Rose Micheaux. She seems to start every game on a top tier Virginia Tech team, but plays only about 14 minutes a game. Odd for a starter to average only 14 mpg.
 

Gophers lost by 23 to Iowa. Gophers lost by 18 to UConn. Gophers were off a bit in both games. Or is that how they play against top teams? We will find out.

-Cold/hot shooting
-3s dropping or not
-Defense of best players(s)
-Turnovers
-Defense
 

SHGopher said:
Gophers lost by 23 to Iowa. Gophers lost by 18 to UConn. Gophers were off a bit in both games. Or is that how they play against top teams? We will find out.

-Cold/hot shooting
-3s dropping or not
-Defense of best players(s)
-Turnovers
-Defense
Click to expand...
We're a current bubble team. We will look good at times and struggle at other times. Still a really young team meshing.

Iowa was the only game that was not competitive.

UNCONN was up 3 at the half and then outscored us by 15 in the 3rd. 1 bad Quarter.
Maryland we were up after one by 3 but outscored by 10 in the 2nd. lost by 8.

One bad Quarter doomed us in those games.

Iowa is a top 3 team this year and makes everyone look bad, now on a 15 game win streak.
 











Opening play, Sophie Hart scored, Mackenzie Holmes in defense.
 


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