Indiana Survives LIU Brooklyn: 73-72

The Hoosiers won, but you probably won't convince many fans of that.  Despite being ranked just #243 on KenPom, LIU Brooklyn came just a shot away from upsetting Indiana on their home court.  For a team that won the Big Ten and finished in the Sweet Sixteen last season, this certainly had to come as a surprise.

There were many reasons for Indiana's struggles, but the biggest had to revolve around a sluggish start and a pretty awful shooting night.  Indiana finished shooting just 38% from the floor and 26.9% from outside the arch.  To accompany that, one of the team's best shooters ,Will Sheehey, shot just 3-11 from outside the arch.  Whether this will be a constant theme for Indiana is unknown, but it seems unlikely that Indiana will shoot this badly on a consistent basis this season.

Another thing worth noting were some simply unexplainable errors on the night, including some bad decision-making from Yogi Ferrell.  Sure, he finished the night with 17 points and 3 assists, but on a few occasions, he left you scratching your head.  One play in particular to note occurred when Ferrell drove under the hoop, then tried to twist his body over several defenders to make a shot.  It was just an ugly attempt and should have been thrown out to a teammate.  Another moment was when he almost attempted to throw someone off of him 50 feet from the hoop.  It was a clear moment when he should have just taken the ball, handled the pressure, and moved on.  This is something that he needs to get better at over time.

Another player worth mentioning is Noah Vonleh who had 17 points and 11 rebounds on the night.  He came up big when Indiana needed him.  Along with this, he shot 5 of 8 from the line, which is not perfect, but is encouraging to see from a freshman.  He will have to make some big free throws as the year goes on, so it's good to see he made them in a close game.

Final thoughts.  LIU Brooklyn is certainly not a powerhouse, but they fought well throughout the game.  If they play with that intensity all season long, they have a good shot to do some damage as the year continues.  For Indiana, this is a scare that will either motivate the team or tell of things to come.  The Hoosiers certainly do not deserve to be ranked at this point and have a lot of improvement to do offensively, defensively, and in general game practices.  The Hoosiers next game is against Samford on November 15th