The Hoosiers turned a lackluster first half into a scorched earth second.
It wasn’t a pretty one.
Last year’s nonconference slate was a minefield of near-losses for Indiana men’s basketball and this one served as a rather uncomfortable reminder of that for fans through the first half of action.
Indiana looked bad. Eastern Illinois was hitting 50% from deep, the Hoosiers’ guards couldn’t score to save their lives, 8 turnovers kept them from building any sort of comfortable lead and everything just looked disjointed.
The ball kept going down into the post, where it’d end up in the Panthers’ hands, bouncing off the backboard or, on occasion, through the net. The game was close because Eastern Illinois kept hitting 3s and turned those 8 Indiana turnovers into 11 points.
Some of those shots from the Panthers were a bit ridiculous that couldn’t have been defended any better than they were, but the margin would’ve been a bit too close for comfort had they hit the rim instead.
Broadly, effort just wasn’t wholly visible. Guys like Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau were clearly fighting for boards while others were caught jogging down the court or napping on defense.
The Hoosiers were losing 37-36 at halftime.
Then they just… stopped.
Indiana brought the clamps out of halftime, limiting Eastern Illinois to an absolutely ghastly 16.7% shooting from the field and just 2-10 from deep. The Panthers couldn’t generate good shots, managing just two second half assists as a team.
On the other end, Indiana hit 64.7% from the field and 4-11 from deep with 12 assists to four turnovers.
It looked like a completely different team came out of the halftime locker room. The effort was visible and reflected in the box score with a scoring margin of 54-18 to seize control and turn a 1-point deficit into a blowout in just 20 minutes.
Everyone impressed from the staff to the players on the floor. The first half necessitated a response, and Indiana gave one.
Next up: South Carolina.