Can Indiana win on the road?
Their 13-1 home mark at Assembly Hall includes wins over top teams Kentucky, Ohio State, and Michigan, while their road resume is less-than-impressive to say the least at 3-5, all five losses coming in Big Ten play. In the last four seasons, Indiana has accumulated a 4-36 record in total road games, including 2-31 mark in conference play and then a super sub-par 3-10. With such a young team, what are the expectations moving forward?
Things will not get any easier for the Hoosiers moving forward on the road with games at Purdue, Iowa and Minnesota- not the easiest places to win, even though these teams are not among the conference's elite. Tom Crean needs to build up this team's confidence and get the offense going again. Christian Watford has not been his aggressive self scoring the basketball and role players Victor Oladipo and Verdell Jones III are not hitting from the floor; between Oladipo and Jones, they have just 16 combined free-throw attempts in the last five games. But most importantly, Cody Zeller needs to stay out of foul trouble and then he can be one of the nation's best bigs. He is mobile and quick enough to get two or three buckets in transition every game and should be taking at least double-digit shot attempts each game; he's done so just twice in the last six games.
Another issue is the Hoosiers' lack of playmaking. They have just two players (Jordan Hulls and Jones) averaging better than 1.7 assists per game, but both are not natural creators and facilitators. Along with Oladipo, this team is at its best breaking down the defense and penetrating into the lane and then hitting the open man if the opportunity presents itself.
By President Corey Ruff - 2 - 2 - 12
