IU basketball outcast in blowout loss to Auburn with ludicrous effort in Atlanta

Despite a promising start, IU got throttled in a 104-76 loss to Auburn (6-2) on Saturday.

Here’s what went wrong for the Hoosiers (7-2) in State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Lackluster guard play

Indiana’s guards were thoroughly outplayed by Auburn’s backcourt. With starting point guard Xavier Johnson missing his third straight game with a left foot injury, the Hoosiers need everyone else to step up. On Saturday, Indiana did not get what it needed in Johnson’s absence.

Gabe Cupps and Trey Galloway — Indiana’s starting guards — combined for just 17 points, with 11 of those being in the second half once the Hoosiers were already down big. Meanwhile, Aden Holloway scored 24 points, and Denver Jones scored 12 in Auburn’s starting backcourt. K.D. Johnson also tallied 14 points off the bench for Auburn.

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IU’s guards didn’t perform well on either end. On offense, they did a poor job of scoring or creating looks for others. On defense, IU offered no resistance to Auburn’s perimeter players.

The Hoosiers won’t beat many quality teams with guard play that looks this uninspiring. Indiana got past Maryland and Michigan without Johnson, but neither of those teams have had impressive starts to the season. With Johnson’s return timetable being unclear, all of Indiana’s guards have to raise their play to a respectable level. Auburn’s backcourt flat-out embarrassed Indiana’s on Saturday.

IU was unable to take a counterpunch

Despite what the final score says, Indiana was the better team for the first eight minutes of the game. Indiana opened with an early 22-10 lead. The Hoosiers were getting stops, flowing well offensively and knocking down open looks.

But in the middle of the first half, Auburn cranked up the intensity, and the game took a complete 180. Indiana got outscored 42-12 for the rest of the half after delivering the first blow. Auburn began to play more physically and occasionally showed the Hoosiers a fullcourt press that they struggled to get by.

Teams as talented as Auburn typically don’t suffer wire-to-wire losses. The Tigers were going to make a push at some point. When Auburn did make that push, Indiana had no response.

The second half of the first half was full of turnovers, fouls and horrid shot selection by IU. The Auburn fans in Atlanta took over the building, as IU did nothing to quiet the noise. It would have been one thing for Auburn to work its way back and when a close game. Not only did Indiana lose the lead by halftime, it had lost the game by then.

IU came out swinging, but it was not ready to fight back. The Hoosiers’ lack of composure against Auburn was concerning.

The 3-point shooting still isn’t there

A major reason for IU’s early lead was its 4-for-5 start on 3s. IU came into Saturday shooting 25.8% from downtown and not making more than four 3s in any of its first eight games.

After an encouraging start from beyond the arc, the Hoosiers came back down to earth. Indiana missed its next nine 3s and finished 6-for-17. The early shotmaking proved to be fool’s gold for a team that has been dreadful from deep.

As Indiana coach Mike Woodson frequently emphasizes making 3-pointers isn’t everything. Indiana has found ways to win games without taking or making very many 3s. But when you get down big like Indiana did on Saturday, it’s hard to crawl back without the 3-point shot.

Don’t expect many huge comebacks from IU this season. The team’s lack of 3-point shooting won’t allow for that to happen. Sure, the Hoosiers may have stretches like they did early against Auburn, but there’s no reason to believe they can do it for a full game. Teams that can’t rely on 3s have to make up for it in other areas, which IU didn’t do against Auburn.