Three Things We Learned: Texas Southern

On a cold night in Bloomington, the Hoosiers bevy of hot shooting kept things warm in Assembly Hall, as another stellar shooting performance fueled a big win.

ONTO THE LEARNINGS:

• The shooting issues that plagued the Hoosiers last season are no more. With an eFG% of 66.1% tonight, the Hoosiers are showing that the sharpshooting it has demonstrated through two exhibitions and two regular season games is a trend, not a fluke. They were 10 of 15 from distance this evening with five of the eight who played making at least one, including four of the five starters. It was incredible to see how good long-distance shooting can erase an otherwise bad possession. On more than one occasion, as the shot clock ran down, Indiana was able to move around enough to get a shooter some space and drain a trey. Last year, this was hardly ever an option, as the only guy we could count on to find an open shooter with regularity was also the only guy we could count on to make a three-pointer with any regularity.
• Free throw shooting is, oddly, not up to snuff. They didn't get to a line a ton tonight, but through three regular season halves (the second half against MVSU as the exception), the Hoosiers have shot it very poorly from the foul line. With as many great shooters as the team possesses, it's somewhat surprising to see them struggle in this area. No one's form looks overtly horrible, so it should be a fairly correctable issue, that could just be freshman jitters more than anything.
• Turnover percentage is down, but still not great. The Hoosiers turned it over at an 18.6% clip tonight, which is obviously better than the 23.5% they registered against the Delta Devils. For context, that TO% would be every so slightly below average in the 2014 environment, which isn't great but could easily be lived with based on the benefits Indiana reaps by pushing the ball in transition. You can certainly live with some turnovers for the sake of pushing the ball if that's your identity, but the rate they did it last year and against MVSU is unacceptable regardless of the reasoning.
• BONUS: rebounding is still bad. The Hoosiers were outdone on the boards by an undersized Texas Southern squad, and that is probably alarming. Troy Williams return should help in that regard, but it doesn't take a wealth of basketball knowledge to know that the Hoosiers can't be getting out-rebounded by undersized SWAC teams and expect to compete on the boards in the Big Ten.