IU basketball is winless since beating Oregon 92-74 on Feb. 9 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
While the Hoosiers were expected to lose road games against Illinois and Purdue — both teams are in the top seven of the national rankings in KenPom — Tuesday’s loss to Northwestern put IU’s NCAA tournament hopes in serious jeopardy.
A closer look at the last three games for Indiana reveals some key stats that stand out:
Indiana is getting crushed in second-chance points
Crashing the offensive glass isn’t a priority for this Indiana team — and neither should the personnel be — but the Hoosiers need to hold their own on the defensive glass.
The number of second-chance points in the last three games paints an ugly picture: Over the final 120 minutes of basketball, Indiana was outscored 42-6 in second-chance points.
Illinois outscored IU 17-5, Purdue outscored 13-0 and Northwestern outscored 12-1 in second-chance points.
This isn’t the only reason why Indiana is losing games, but it is a major factor and one that could well support IU when Michigan State comes to town on Sunday.
The Spartans are the fifth-best offensive rebounding team in the country and rank second in the league in offensive rebounding percentage.
The Hoosiers get nothing in transition
Scoring in transition has been a strength for IU at times this season, but the offensive attack has been lacking in the last three games.
Overall, Indiana has scored two fast-break points in its three straight losses.
Those two points came against Purdue in a 93-64 blowout loss on Feb. 20 at Mackey Arena.
It’s tough to get in transition and on the break if you’re not stopped defensively, but getting on the run and attacking before the defense gets going should be a strength for this team.
The lack of success in transition has put even more pressure on Indiana to score in the halfcourt. With no consistent offensive options outside of Lamar Wilkerson, nothing comes easy offensively.
Defensive problems resurface
After giving up at least 1.22 points per possession in every game of their four-game losing streak from Jan. 10 through Jan. 20, the Hoosiers steadied the ship defensively over the next six games.
In a 5-1 stretch that included wins against Purdue, UCLA and Wisconsin, no opponent scored more than 1.12 points per possession against IU.
The numbers in the current three-game losing streak are similar to last month’s four-game skid.
Each of IU’s last three opponents has scored at least 1.17 points per possession. Illinois scored 1.25 points per possession, Purdue scored 1.46 and Northwestern, which averages just 1.05 points per trip in league play, scored 1.17 per possession against IU.
Indiana’s inconsistent defense has the Hoosiers ranked 14th in the conference in points allowed per possession with three regular season games remaining.
3-point shooting has gone cold
To be at its best offensively, the perimeter shots must fall. That’s how the roster is constructed, and Indiana’s top offensive threats operate primarily from beyond the three-point line.
The Hoosiers are in the midst of a stretch cold streak, although a 10-of-28 performance on 3s against Northwestern was better than the road losses to Illinois and Purdue.
Over the last three games, Indiana went 23-for-72 on three-pointers, good for just 31.9 percent.
In the 17 Big Ten games, the discrepancy between IU’s three-point shooting in wins and losses is stark. The Hoosiers are hitting 79-for-253 on 3s (31.2 percent) in nine conference losses versus 91-for-235 on 3s (38.7 percent) in eight conference wins.
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