Indiana men’s basketball: Three things to watch down the stretch

Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch — Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

What to keep watching for as the Hoosiers close out the 2023-24 season.

Barring a miraculous finish, Indiana is not making the tournament this year.

The Hoosiers are not only comfortably outside the Field of 68, they’re hovering around the 95-100 spots in the NET and KenPom. Not a great spot for a team to be in year three of a coaching tenure.

These last few weeks still mean something though, always do. There’s no playing for a March Madness bid, but there are projections for next year and avoiding a total collapse in the last weeks of the season.

Here’s what to watch for:

Does Gabe Cupps take a step forward?

Getting this out of the way early: this is not a role Cupps was ready for and that is not his fault.

He’s had to step up in Xavier Johnson’s absence as a true freshman at the most difficult position to play. The game moves faster, everyone is bigger and faster and he’s a smaller guard in a physical conference.

That being said, he just hasn’t been a scoring threat with the ball in his hands. His past five games have seen him log 0, 2, 2, 3 and 0 points. He’s mostly operated as a defender and secondary ballhandler to Trey Galloway.

These next few weeks will be telling. Will he be more aggressive with the ball in his hands, take more shots? Will he take steps as a passer and limit turnovers?

This year probably isn’t fair to judge him by, but it’s worth keeping track of whether or not he develops when the team should be looking to its bench underclassmen to see what could be on the roster next year.

Will Indiana experiment with different lineups?

Indiana has used and gotten results by going small, playing three guards with one of Mgbako or Anthony Walker at the four.

Will we see more of that down the stretch? Try to get some space for Galloway to score off the bounce with shooters like Leal and Mgbako hanging around the perimeter? Ware or Reneau handling the post?

It would at the very least be more interesting to watch than the clunky two big style of play Indiana currently has going for it. And, I cannot say it enough, would provide a selling point for portal guards.

Does anything improve?

This is a really, really important moment for Mike Woodson.

Season is a wash, at-large bid hopes down the drain. Does anything improve here down the stretch? Will there be something to build off of for next year other than an incoming five-star?

If not, then the fanbase’s confidence will plummet further. Uproar about his job status will increase and the general vibes will get worse.

Something should happen. Not saying a run in the Big Ten Tournament, but there has to be some sort of result here down the stretch.