Since taking over in 2021, Indiana coach Mike Woodson hasn’t been one to tinker with his lineups and rotations much.
But he made a major change on Friday at Ohio State, inserting fifth-year senior Anthony Leal into the starting five for just the third time in his career. His last start came three years ago when Indiana played at Northwestern and five players on the team were suspended.
Leal has become someone Woodson can trust to execute the gameplan and make the right basketball play. He has the third-highest box score plus/minus on the team according to Bart Torvik’s data.
Leal entered a home game against Kennesaw State in 2023 and helped spark a second half rally. And he had one of his better games a year ago at Ohio State when he capped off the evening with a game-winning shot. It was that latter performance that Woodson said prompted him to insert Leal into Friday’s starting five, and he rewarded his coach with a dramatic block on Ohio State’s final possession in overtime.
Leal replaced his longtime friend and teammate Trey Galloway in the starting lineup. On the FOX television broadcast it was reported Woodson wanted to get Galloway’s attention by having him come off the bench after back-to-back disappointing performances.
Woodson reinforced that after the 77-76 win over the Buckeyes.
“I got to get Gallo back playing at a high level, he and Mackenzie (Mgbako) are really two big pieces of this puzzle man,” Woodson said. “They’ve been struggling as of late. I got to get them back going.”
Mgbako has made just 4 of 29 shots over his last four games. Woodson hinted there would be lineup changes ahead of the Ohio State game, and Mgbako looked like another candidate to at least temporarily lose his starting job. But while he continued to start on Friday, his role has suffered. Mgbako is averaging less than 20 minutes per game over the last four contests.
One player clearly benefitting from Mgbako’s reduced minutes has been Luke Goode, who is over 32 minutes per game over his last four. Goode scored a career-high 23 points in Columbus, and his box score plus/minus is the fourth-highest on the team. Leal and Goode only trail Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau according to that measure.
So what does the future hold for Woodson and Indiana as they hit the back third and most challenging portion of the regular season?
“It’s all by feel, in terms of where I’m going and what I’m going to do moving forward,” Woodson Friday evening of his prospective lineup plans.
And as the Hoosiers head back to Northwestern Wednesday, there’s another wildcard. Leading scorer Reneau participated in Indiana’s shootaround at Columbus and appears to be nearing a return. He’s missed the last five games due to a right knee injury. His status will be worth watching as that game in Evanston approaches.
It looked like Indiana might be turning a corner with Reneau out and Woodson utilizing a smaller lineup. They won three straight Big Ten games without him, before suffering the blowout losses to Iowa and Illinois, only to turn around and beat Ohio State on the road.
Obviously winning without Reneau isn’t an indictment of the junior starter. But it does create reasonable questions on how he’s utilized, especially when paired on the floor with Ballo. Indiana has had success with Ballo surrounded by four guards/wings, although that concept seemingly came crashing back to earth in the losses to Iowa and Illinois.
Adding to the rotational uncertainty is the status of freshman wing Bryson Tucker, who had his right pinkie finger bandaged on Friday evening. He was unavailable for the game, and the FOX crew said he dislocated the finger in practice.
And then there’s the enigmatic Kanaan Carlyle, who has rarely approached his very high ceiling but had one of his best games of the season at Ohio State.
Woodson’s feel for the lineup and rotations will be critical on Wednesday against a team that has given him nothing but headaches.
Northwestern is the only Big Ten team Woodson hasn’t defeated during his tenure as IU head coach, save for the new West Coast additions. Woodson is 0-4 against Chris Collins’ Wildcats. Indiana’s last win in the series came in 2021 when Archie Miller’s squad won in Evanston in double overtime.
Indiana and Northwestern tip Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET (BTN). The Wildcats will be a tough out for the Hoosiers, even with plenty of red and white in the stands at Welsh Ryan Arena. But Northwestern has lost four of five games, all against some of the Big Ten’s best. They can be had.
If Indiana wants to salvage a wobbly season, finally beat the Wildcats, and enter their name on that list of the league’s top teams, Woodson needs to find a lineup and rotation that delivers every night.
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