IU vs. Eastern Illinois overreactions: Effort an issue, but not from Mackenzie Mgbako

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana made life interesting Sunday, trailing by one to outmatched Eastern Illinois at halftime thanks to a glaringly lackluster performance from the Hoosiers over the opening 20 minutes.

Mike Woodson’s team turned it around after halftime, outscoring the Panthers (1-2) 54-18 in the second half on the way to a 90-55 victory. Let’s overreact to it.

IU-Eastern Illinois player ratings: Mgbako shines again, freshman impresses

Effort an issue

Malik Reneau more or less admitted Indiana (2-0) didn’t take Eastern Illinois seriously enough at the start of Sunday’s game. Mike Woodson said completely straight-faced he thought his team was still in bed during an opening 20 minutes as ugly as any the Hoosiers put on the floor last season against these kinds of nonconference opponents.

The Hoosiers were slow on defense, lagging in transition and sloppy with the ball. Too many players either looked too disengaged with the game, or too panicked about its flow and prone to mistakes because of it.

As a matter of practice, Woodson does not share what’s said in his locker room with the public or the media. But given how much sharper IU was from minute 21 on through the end of the game, the message delivered during Sunday’s intermission must have been a doozy.

If Indiana is capable of the kind of intensity and production it showed in the second half, against a team that’s so obviously less talented across the board, then the Hoosiers need to ensure these slow starts don’t become a habit against tougher opponents. They won’t be so forgiving.

Encouraging from Mackenzie Mgbako

Mackenzie Mgbako’s 49 points through two games and 6-of-9 start from behind the 3-point line should be encouraging to Woodson, no matter the opposition.

Mgbako’s 16 rebounds, four assists and three steals should be even more so, as they speak to a player whose progress from his freshman to his sophomore seasons appears to be manifesting itself in more than just his offense.

This time a year ago, Woodson was defending…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iu-vs-eastern-illinois-overreactions-205650823.html

Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2024-11-10 20:56:00

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