The benching of several starters resulted in a significant momentum swing early in Indiana’s loss against Auburn.
ATLANTA — Indiana was on a roll. The Hoosiers were hitting three-pointers. In front of an NCAA Tournament-sized crowd, Indiana surged off to a 22-10 lead over Auburn. Then IU coach Mike Woodson benched three starters – IU’s three best healthy players — all at once. The momentum shifted. IU never fully recovered.
ATLANTA — Indiana was on a roll. The Hoosiers were hitting three-pointers. In front of an NCAA Tournament-sized crowd at State Farm Arena, Indiana surged off to a 22-10 lead over Auburn.
Then IU coach Mike Woodson benched three starters – IU’s three best healthy players — all at once.
Auburn soon tied the game at 26 and went on a 22-4 run to take a 32-26 lead.
When Kel’el Ware, Malik Reneau, and Mackenzie Mgbako returned, the momentum had shifted totally in Auburn’s favor. The Hoosiers were hot on their tail.
Indiana was never the same again. Auburn went on a 19-1 run at one point, led 52-34 at halftime, and cruised to a 104-76 victory over the Hoosiers.
Benching Ware, Reneau, and Mgbako at the same time was far from the only issue for the Hoosiers, but it was a momentum killer that transformed the trajectory of the game from an Indiana double-figure advantage to an Auburn double-figure lead.
“I kind of substitute pretty much the same way every game,” Woodson was quoted as saying. “You can’t simply burn them. Bottom line, when my starters returned to the game, it was most likely a close, tight game. And the same players that were on the court when we started the game switched sides.
“That made all the difference in the game.” So you make a game strategy for 40 minutes. You must use some of your bench players. And I have faith in my bench. So I went to my bench, and it was my bench that helped us win against Michigan.”
The IU bench was crucial in IU’s 78-75 Big Ten away win at Michigan on Tuesday, but it was a different story versus Auburn on Saturday.
Indiana scored only four points between Mgbako’s two free throws at 12:54 of the first half and Ware’s free shot with 5:24 remaining before halftime: Backup forward Anthony Walker and backup center Payton Sparks both made layups.
Indiana went from a 22-10 lead to a 32-26 deficit throughout that time.
With momentum firmly on its side, Auburn went on another run to take a 43-28 lead three minutes before halftime.
It was similar to IU’s game at Iowa three seasons earlier, when Woodson benched all five players at the same time, allowing the Hawkeyes to go on a run that cost IU a road loss.
According to Bart Torvik’s stats, IU’s most impactful players, counting both ends of the floor, entering the Auburn game were, in order, Ware, Reneau, Xavier Johnson, and Mackenzie Mgbako. Johnson (foot) is still sidelined due to injury.
That means Indiana was without any of its four best impact players for a portion of the first half against Auburn.
The IU guards were outscored 63-22, the difference in athleticism in the backcourt was obvious, IU allowed the Tigers to shoot 48 percent from 3-point range (14-for-29), IU was outscored 42-18 from 3-point range, and IU committed 12 turnovers to Auburn’s three.
All of them, for sure. But so was handing up early momentum by putting IU’s three best available players on the bench at the same time.
