What to expect: Indiana vs. Oregon – inside the hallway

Indiana opens the Big Ten tournament game on Thursday afternoon against Oregon in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The ducks He won the regular season meeting 73-64 On March 4 in Eugene.

Thursday’s game will bow at noon et in BTN:

Seven Straight winners, Oregon enters the Big Ten tournament this week as one of the most popular teams in the country. Indiana, 5-2 in its last seven, is also playing well as the postseason game begins.

Ducks are a blockade for the NCAA tournament, but Indiana remains in the bubble and may need a victory to hit your ticket to the great dance. With the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis For the first time since 2022, Hoosiers will have a favorable crowd while looking for a fifth victory Quad 1.

The first confrontation

Indiana’s inability to ensure defensive rebounds and make late defensive stops was expensive in her loss against Ducks last week.

Oregon fired only 39.3 percent in the first confrontation between teams at the Knight Arena, well below its 45.5 percent season average, but could feed its offensive with second chance points.

The Ducks grabbed 39.5 percent of their lost shots and canceled 23 second chance points. Oregon surpassed Indiana 23-13 at second chance points. It was the percentage of high offensive rebounds allowed by Indiana from Maryland’s game at the end of January.

Indiana also did not stop at the most critical situation of the game. Leading 64-63 with less than two remaining minutes, the Hoosiers played a star defensive possession until the end of the clock. It was then that Oregon’s guard Jackson Shelstad hit a triple triple on the 1:30 mark to push the ducks ahead, 66-64.

The offensive was also difficult to find for Hoosiers in the section. IU was lost 10 of his last 12 field goal attempts and scored five points in finals 8:19.

In the narrow victory, Oregon also had a determined advantage of the free throw line. The Ducks were 19 by 21 of the Strip and Indiana was 3 by 7. The significant differential in attempts led Mike Woodson to criticize arbitration in their comments after the game.

“We had our possibilities,” Woodson said. “But listen to guys, in a physical game like this, it cannot be 21-7. You have to be joking. 21-7 in F *** ING Free Shots are bulls ** t. It simply cannot be, not in a physical game. They are a physical team, and it cannot be so unequal. It is impossible. “

The production, or lack of it, from Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako also hindered the hoosiers. Mgbako triggered 2 of 10 from the field and lost all his five 2 -point field goal attempts.

Reneau struggled to end against the size and dump blocking capacity of Oregon’s Nate Bittle. Reneau had two shots blocked by Bittle and fired 4 of 11 in 2s. The Reneau and Mgbako duo fired 6 of 22 from the floor.

Numbers without tempo, keys to the game

(All statistics in the previous picture are only for conference games.

Reduce Nate Bittle: Bittle was excellent in the first confrontation in Eugene with a final statistical line of 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four shots blocked in 30 minutes. Sometimes, Indiana imprudently attacked Bittle on the edge, a bad strategy against one of the best league blockers. Hoosier Bigs must be more selective to attack Bittle on the edge in the rematch. Defensively, the Hoosiers did a decent job in Bittle when it was 3 of 10 from the field, but they sent it to the line eight times and became every attempt.

Limit the second chance points for Ducks: Oregon is long and athletic in almost all positions and led to a determined advantage over the glass at the first meeting. Hoosiers must do a better job when blocking and keeping ducks a shot and going out to win the rematch.

Better decisions of Ballo and Reneau: In the first confrontation, Oumar Ballo turned the ball twice and Reneau had a vision of the tunnel in several possessions that attacked the edge. With the speed of Oregon, Ballo cannot afford to put the ball on the floor and try to drive in a later movement. It will be much more effective to get a stamp and go quickly after capture. With Reneau, get the ball out of the post when the pressure arrives is essential.

What is reduced to

Kenpom’s projection is Oregon for two with a 42 percent possibilities of a UI victory. Bart Torvik’s classifications also favor Ducks by two and gives the Hoosiers a 43 percent opportunity to move forward.

Many of the last projections of the NCAA tournament are still predicting the hoosiers for a trip to the first four in Dayton. This is a game that needs to win to feel safe about your chances of moving madness. Indiana played Oregon well for more than 38 minutes at the first meeting before Shelstad’s difficult shot pushed the Ducks ahead forever.

With the possible robberies of offers that are coming and uncertainty about what the selection committee could assess more when evaluating bubble equipment, this is a game that hoosiers must obtain.

(Photo credit: Oregon Athletics)

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