How Did the Indiana Hoosiers Stifle Iowa and Caitlin Clark?

In a raucous nationally televised game, the Indiana Hoosiers secured their most notable win of the season, beating the Iowa Hawkeyes 86-69 in Bloomington. The win was all the more impressive considering it happened coming off of a disappointing loss to Illinois on Monday evening.

Iowa has been held under 70 points just three times this season, 1-2 in those game, the Hoosiers also holding them below 40% shooting on field goals.

Hawkeye star Caitlin Clark finished with 24 points, but struggled from the field, 8/26 from the floor and 3/16 from deep. How did the Hoosiers put the clamps on Iowa and Clark?

It's worth noting that the Hawkeyes missed some shots that they'll make more often than not, but that's part of the game. On top of that, Indiana's gameplan undoubtedly played a factor in many of those misses.

Ironically, starting off with the offensive end is perhaps the most key part in appreciating what the Hoosiers did last night. Indiana scored 86 points, shooting 32/63 from the floor (51.6 percent), the best an opponent has shot from the field against Iowa. Iowa isn't exactly known as a defensive stalwart, although they're better on that end this season, but it's so much less about scoring and more about stealing time.

Most think of Iowa with respect to shooting, floor-spacing, and logo threes, which are all crucial parts of what make the Hawkeyes amongst the Nation's best. However, what I feel makes Iowa and Caitlin Clark elite is the quickness in decision-making they play with. You do not get time to breathe when you play against Iowa; they maintain the 2nd most efficient offense in Division 1 and 13th highest pace of play per CBB Analytics.

Scoring as well and effectively as the Hoosiers did opened the door to get funky on defense, allow them to set their defense in the halfcourt, and have a modicum of control with respect to pace of play. 

The hardest part in playing Iowa for most teams is rarely defending in the halfcourt, it's stopping Iowa on the break or preventing those runs entirely. Caitlin is amongst the best I've ever seen in the game at hunting early opportunities, and given that she is a threat from everywhere all the time, that can lead to close games becoming out of hand quickly if your offense stutters.

Runouts after a miss at the rim are the spin cycle with which the Iowa Hawkeyes wash, rinse, and repeat.

Many teams opt to try and pressure Clark full court, but that can backfire getting Iowa on the speed they prefer and with an odd-player advantage. The Hoosiers spent much of last night extending their pressure to just beyond halfcourt, and my favorite twist was Indiana looking to try and keep her to one side of the floor.

She would get picked up just prior to the center line and anytime she started to stray towards the middle, Indiana would stunt with an off-ball player to try and force her back to a side.

It wasn't every possession of the game, but the Hoosiers also employed a box & one/diamond & one, which greatly threw off Iowa's halfcourt offense.

It was an aggressive change-up, one that was crucial in slowing the Hawkeyes in the halfcourt and keeping them out of rhythm. 

This coverage was huge in dragging Iowa out of early offense and into using up more time. Much of playing a Box and One type defense is to get the ball out of the hands of an incredible player, forcing others in the offense to initiate. That can gum up actions while simultaneously making them hit in ways they don't typically. The denial and pressure from Sara Scalia and Chloe Moore-McNeil on Caitlin was phenomenal. While Caitlin is often thought of strictly for her on-ball exploits, the way Iowa utilizes her off of screens, as a screener herself, and attacking with her shooting gravity as a pressure point for the defense is a significant factor in what makes her and Iowa so effective and difficult to guard.

The way Lisa Bluder and the Hawkeyes staff blends the post and guard screens has been a staple, and one of their best sets of actions. You take an efficient post and a movement shooter as a screener, and you have the opportunity to open up a world of hurt in the post or outside the arc, opening up an easy basket or something off of how the defense reacts. Indiana essentially took away these chances last night with how well they defended and were attentive to those actions.

Watch how Moore-McNeil and MacKenzie Holmes essentially deny this screening action from happening. Moore-McNeil keeps her back to the ball, stapling herself to deny a catch/entry. Holmes keeps a hand on Hannah Stuelke while also shading to give Moore-McNeil wiggle room with Clark, crowding her space.

Again, this slows down the offense, stops an action, and allows the defense to reset.

So often, the question that arises with Clark is "What's the one way to stop her?" and honestly, last night was further proof that there isn't one way to stop her. Indiana mixed, junked, and blended coverages at a high level. The team communication at large was fantastic, a huge part in how they were able to stay attached to Caitlin while also not losing players off of screens or off the ball. They were not perfect by any means, it's impossible to pitch a perfect game defensively, but the collective effort was one of the best defensive showcases in the country this season given the moment.

The way this team switched, and particularly jump switched, was awesome to watch unfold all game. Try all you might to stay attached, but Iowa will throw every screening angle and variation in the book to get Clark open. Jump switching is used to work to deny any penetration; it quite literally is jumping in some cases... as soon as the on-ball defender is starting to slip, the next defender jumps out to meet the new assignment.

Some switches result in a foul, some in a still made basket, others forced a turnover or a full on miss. As a whole, it worked like a charm in keeping Clark from getting into the paint for stretches of the game.

That's the kind of game that's worth sitting back and just smiling, appreciating a well implemented and well executed gameplan. That Hoosier team played with a level of connectivity and focus that was absolutely special, the kind of performance that can shift the course of a program's season.

Every player did their job; the aforementioned Scalia and Moore-McNeil, MacKenzie Holmes making big plays at the rim and communicating backline, Yarden Garzon roaming off her assignment to stunt in the lane and crowd passing lanes, and Sydney Parrish making key rotations into the lane and on switches as well. The bench came in and played huge minutes as well.

What a performance from the Indiana Hoosiers, and what a response after struggling earlier this week.