With No. 14 Indiana coming off two humbling losses in the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Hoosiers are relegated to the seventh-place game as they face Providence on Friday morning in Paradise Island, Bahamas. It's been a mortifying two games for Indiana (4-2).
In the opening round, it trailed by as many as 38 points in an 89-61 loss to Louisville. Thursday was more of the same as Indiana fell to No. 3 Gonzaga, 89-73.
The Hoosiers rallied to capture the lead midway through the first half against Gonzaga, but their success was fleeting. By early in the second period, they were down by 23 points. From there they never challenged.
The rebounding numbers told the tale as Gonzaga won the battle on the boards 42-27, which paved the way for its edge in second-chance points, 23-4. Indiana coach Mike Woodson called the Hoosiers' lack of success on the boards "the difference in the game." "It's a major problem that we've had and a lot of it is we're not putting bodies on bodies to block out," Woodson added.
"That's gotta stop. We gotta get our guys competing." One of the few positives was the offensive work of 7-foot center Oumar Ballo, who hit 11 of 13 shots on his way to scoring a season-high 25 points.
The Indiana guards have been outplayed. In the two games, Myles Rice tallied nine points and two assists, making 3 of 17 shots, while Kanaan Carlyle provided six points and three assists, while making just 2 of 10 shots from the floor. "These last two games, our perimeter play has been exposed.