PISCATAWAY, NJ — Senior Indiana forward Miller Kopp had a big night, hitting five three-pointers, but the rest of his teammates struggled in a 63-48 loss at Rutgers to open the Big Ten season . Kopp ended the evening with a season best of 21 points.
It was the first loss of the year for the Hoosiers (7-1) but it was their sixth consecutive loss to Rutgers, who now appear to own that streak.
That’s what Kopp said after the game:
ASK: They get 13 offensive rebounds in the first 13 minutes. Normally you don’t give that up. What do you think happened there?
MUELLER KOPP: “We just received a slap in the mouth to start the game. Our first shot defense was good in halffield but we have to unpack and they just broke down and got extra possession. They did that really well.”
Q: You’ve made a good start in taking pictures yourself. They tried to keep things in the mix. Did you also want to achieve more than everyone else? It just seemed like everyone was getting stuck. You didn’t handle the double team as well as usual.
KOPP: “They make a lot of rubbish. I think it’s safe to say that was part of their plan and they did a good job. For me personally, I was just trying to kick the ball when I was open and the right play “As a team we need to get better attacking and we’re definitely going to do better. They’ve done a good job of getting us up to speed a bit.”
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Q: As someone who tries to read doubles and the way they play the post, could you see anything different in how they reacted to what they were trying to do with that double?
KOPP: “Well a lot of that wasn’t even doubles teams, it was more than that. It was like all five guys almost sinking the paint. Sometimes it came from the cutter, sometimes from the feeder, sometimes from the O side, sometimes from the stern. So they changed it a lot in terms of reading, we just have to make sure our distance is good.
Q: You’ve played really well so far. What do you take away from the loss so that you can fix it as quickly as possible by Wednesday?
KOPP: “More than anything I think it’s just mental. I think it’s a mentality thing. For everyone. Nobody wants to lose but maybe that’s what we needed. Earlier in the season to have something like that, to keep everyone going.” Let everyone know, including me, that anyone can beat anyone. So the lesson is likely, and there’s more too if you watch the film.
Q: How much do you miss Jalen Hood-Schifino and his ability to make plays when things are falling apart?
KOPP: “A lot, he’s such a great player and as you mentioned brings an extra element of ball handling and stability. But at the same time we trust everyone with the ball and I thought Trey did a good job with that tonight. So we really miss him and want him back, but I do – and everyone on the team agrees – we trust everyone.”
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