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BLOOMINGTON °®¶¹app“ After Indiana's win over Miami (Ohio) on Friday, Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson was somewhat displeased with his team's defensive performance despite IU holding the RedHawks to 23% shooting in the second half. Woodson thought the Hoosiers missed too many assignments on switches, he said.

Tonight, against Minnesota, it has been the opposite story. For large stretches of the first half, Indiana was letter-perfect on defense, fighting through screens, communicating switches, getting hands in passing lanes, contesting jump shots and diving for loose balls. And for much of that time, the Golden Gophers were scoring anyway as they hit a parade of tough, contested jumpers. 

The visitors made 11 of their first 15 shots and it felt as though the majority of those baskets dropped at least in part by happenstance. Regardless, it was arguably the best Indiana has been defensively this season. In the final eight minutes of the half, Minnesota shot just 25% from the field and the Hoosiers pulled in front, taking a 44-31 halftime lead.

It helped IU's cause that its offense was every bit as connected and together as its defense. Outside of a few turnovers, which continue to pile up mostly because the Hoosiers insist on throwing the ball into traffic into transition, Indiana moved the ball crisply, ran effective offense and created open shots for a variety of players. The biggest beneficiary of IU's offensive efficiency was arguably center Oumar Ballo, who got a wave of opportunities in the post and took full advantage of them, bullying his way to the rim repeatedly. Ballo is too big and too strong for the Gophers to get a handle on and he is playing inspired basketball tonight, scoring 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting.

One of the biggest bright spots for the Hoosiers in the half was the nice run they got from freshman Bryson Tucker. The five-star recruit had a difficult game against Miami, never really getting in rhythm, but he was excellent tonight. The 6-foot-6 wing attacked the basket for an offensive rebound and a feathery putback as soon as he entered the game, starting him on a course that saw him score 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting with three rebounds in just eight minutes. On defense, Tucker was as good as he's been all season, fighting through screens, helping and recovering and blowing up several actions Minnesota tried to run. 

Indiana used a 16-1 run to pull in front by as many as 13 at 36-23, sending the Assembly Hall crowd into a relative frenzy. It was some of the best basketball the Hoosiers have played this season, showcasing the immense amount of talent coach Mike Woodson has assembled Bloomington. If Minnesota had not made a series of contested jumpers early, IU could be up 20. Now, the Hoosiers need to bury the Gophers. Don't let them back in the game, as IU has done so often this season. Another solid 20 minutes will be plenty to win this one.