How it Happened: Indiana opens Big Ten slate with frustrating loss at Minnesota

Indiana suffered its first defeat of the season on the road at Minnesota, losing 73-64 in both the first Big Ten game and the first road game of the Darian DeVries era.

Shooting, or a lack thereof, was a major issue throughout the game, as Indiana went just 22 of 55 from the floor. It shot 8 for 27 from beyond the arc, as the Hoosiers never could get things going from 3-point range.

And Minnesota took advantage of the Hoosiers’ poor night offensively. The Gophers attacked the rim and made Indiana pay with a limited presence on the inside. Minnesota went 23 of 47 from the field and 8 of 21 from deep, both better than Indiana’s shooting percentages.

Tayton Conerway was the leading scorer for the Hoosiers, while Langston Reynolds and Cade Tyson scored 17 to lead the Gophers.

But the biggest discrepancy between the two conference foes was in the rebounding battle, as Minnesota outrebounded the Hoosiers 40-25. The Gophers wanted it more, and it resulted in a big-time win to begin the Big Ten slate.

From Williams Arena in Minneapolis, here’s how it happened:

Hoosiers struggle in first half

The first half was anything but pretty for the Hoosiers, as they found themselves executing an incredibly up-and-down performance throughout the opening 20 minutes of the ballgame.

When Indiana wasn’t shooting well, it struggled, while rebounding was a major issue like it’s been in several games early this season. The Gophers outrebounded the Hoosiers 17-12, as eight offensive rebounds led to 14 second-chance points for Niko Medved’s group in the early going.

A 4-for-12 mark from 3-point range wasn’t awesome either, as three of the four made shots from deep came within two minutes of each other.

When Indiana was hot, it got out to an eight-point lead with just over four minutes left until halftime, but then it went cold. And when the Hoosiers were cold, they were incredibly frustrating to watch.

Minnesota took advantage of the Hoosiers’ miscues, and even though it wasn’t great on the offensive side of the ball, it had the game tied at the break. Indiana didn’t make a field goal in the final four minutes of action, while it seemed to be getting out-hustled throughout most of the first half.

It wasn’t a terrible start by any means, but against a 4-4 team dealing with serious injury issues, it wasn’t how the Hoosiers would’ve liked to perform in the first half. The final 20 minutes would tell the story, though, as the two teams were knotted at the break.

Poor shooting continues in second half

Unfortunately for DeVries’ team, it couldn’t turn it around offensively in the second half, as the shooting struggles continued in the final 20 minutes.

Indiana made just 10 of 30 shots from the floor and made an even worse 4 of 15 attempts from 3-point range. For as bad as the first half was at times, the second half was far worse, and it led to the Hoosiers’ demise on the offensive side of the ball.

As a team that values 3-point shooting, it has been known to have a hard time scoring when the ball isn’t finding the bottom of the net on shots from the outside. The only way the Hoosiers have combated poor shooting is with high energy up and down the floor, and even that wasn’t present in the second half against the Gophers.

It wasn’t turnovers, as Indiana committed just one in the final half. It was just poor offensive execution, and it came at a time when Minnesota really turned it up from beyond the arc.

And in the final moments, when Minnesota left the door open, Indiana still struggled to make a key shot and get back into the ballgame. The Hoosiers didn’t look composed on the offensive side of the ball late in the game, as it was a continuance of the problems seen throughout the entire game.

Road woes continue, even with new staff

Wednesday night was the first road game in the DeVries era, and just like many Indiana teams under previous coaches, going on the road was rough sledding.

It seemed like the Hoosiers weren’t themselves, and for the most part that would be correct.

The offensive side of the ball was a struggle throughout the game, but even on defense, Indiana wasn’t playing with the same intensity and energy that it usually does.

And at the free-throw line, Indiana certainly felt the road environment, going 12 of 20 for the game and a poor 7 of 14 in the second half. This is the clearest example of all, as the Hoosiers were affected by not playing at home, and there was no debating that.

It was a very disappointing way to begin Big Ten play, and even though Indiana ended up picking up the energy toward the end of the game, it was too little too late.

It allowed Minnesota to shoot 5 of 9 from 3-point range in the second half, as the Hoosiers seemingly sleepwalked through the first 35 minutes of the game. Once they finally realized the game was in danger, the hole was dug far too deep to pull out a win on the road.

Indiana returns to action on Saturday against Louisville, as it looks to bounce back from this frustrating performance against the highest-ranked opponent the Hoosiers have played up to this point.

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