PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Mike Woodson didn’t mince words. How could he? Why would he?
The Hoosier coach’s No. 14/15 Indiana Hoosiers (4-1) were beaten 89-61 by Louisville in Wednesday’s opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Multiple offensive and defensive breakdowns indicated plenty of work was needed with this tournament reality – IU will play again Thursday against the winner between No. 3 Gonzaga (5-0) and West Virginia (3-1).
“This was embarrassing,” Woodson said. “We got out-toughed. That’s unacceptable.”
Louisville (4-1) blew the game open with a 35-11 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“We couldn’t never get it going,” Woodson said. “We couldn’t make shots. We turned the ball over, and it led to easy buckets for them. It got out of hand.”
Forward Malik Reneau led the Hoosiers with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Center Oumar Ballo had 11 and six.
IU guards Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle and Trey Galloway didn’t score until six minutes were left in the game. They finished 1-for-15 from the field with nine turnovers. Rice’s 3-pointer was their only points.
“We had great intentions (at the start of the game),” Reneau said. “We didn’t execute the game plan, especially on the defensive end. It was a lack of focus on the scouting report.”
Playing in a ballroom at Imperial Arena didn’t help Hoosier shooting. They were 9-for-29 from the field in the first half along with 11 turnovers. The second half wasn’t much better. They finished 21-for-63, and that was with reserve guard Anthony Leal hitting a pair of jumpers in the final eight seconds. They totaled 23 turnovers against 12 assists.
Woodson said he had been encouraged by Hoosier pre-tournament preparations.
“We had some tough practices. We worked our (butts) off. I push the guys to do the right things, and you hope when the game comes, it flows.
“Today we went backward. I have to get us moving forward.”
Louisville attacked with defensive ball pressure and physicality that produced seven Indiana turnovers in the first eight minutes, although it only resulted in four Cardinal points.
Still, it set a tone the Hoosiers couldn’t reverse.
IU defensive communication errors surfaced early, stopped briefly with Ballo and Reneau blocks, then resumed before returning as Indiana shut out the Cardinals in the final three minutes of the first half.
The Hoosiers couldn’t sustain it, falling behind by 28 points eight minutes into the second half, and that was without Louisville attempting any free throws in the game’s first 33 minutes.
The Cardinals shot 56.9% from the field, were 10-for-27 on 3-pointers and had 23 assists against 15 turnovers. They had a 30-8 edge in points off turnovers.
The Hoosiers have 24 hours to turn it around.
“It’s tough,” Woodson said. “The games aren’t going anywhere. The games come so quickly. You can’t run from it.
“We’ll see if we can learn from it and if I can get them back going. We have to get our guys making shots and feeling better about themselves.”
Louisville opened with a steal and layup, and then a jumper for a 4-0 lead. Ballo’s layup and dunk produced a 4-4 tie. Five early Hoosier turnovers, plus six straight missed shots, sparked Louisville to a 12-6 lead.
After eight minutes, IU was 3-for-10 from the field with seven turnovers and trailed 16-10. The Hoosiers had an 11-2 rebounding edge, including five offensive rebounds that only led to four points.
IU’s 4-for-17 shooting (including 0-for-7 on layups) slowed a comeback. Louisville hit a couple of 3-pointers for a 22-12 lead. Reneau countered with a 3-pointer.
Layups by Ballo and Reneau, and then a Mackenzie Mgbako 3-pointer, drew IU within 27-22. Reneau’s second 3-pointer — the Hoosiers’ fifth straight basket — cut the lead to four with five minutes left in the half.
Louisville surged ahead 37-27 with 3:15 left. Then both offenses went into hibernation. A Ballo free throw, good Carlyle defense and a Reneau free throw made it 37-29 at halftime.
Reneau led with 15 points. Ballo had nine. Mgbako had five. Rice, Galloway and Carlyle were a combined 0-for-10 from the field with five turnovers.
A 20-8 Louisville run — it made 9-of-11 shots in that stretch — in the first six minutes of the second half put IU in a hole it never overcame.
“Our focus is to play tougher from here on out,” Reneau said.
Added Woodson: “I have to keep working with this team and get it where we compete on all cylinders for 40 minutes.”