The rumors about the death of Indiana basketball have been greatly exaggerated, we think. For the first time in over a year, the Hoosiers are on a three-game winning streak against high-major competition.
Indiana started fast with an 8-0 run to open the game. They did fall behind 23-18, but closed the first half on a 12-2 run. After trading baskets to open the second, the Hoosiers pulled away in convincing fashion. A 26-12 stretch over 10 minutes of the second half proved decisive.
Let’s take a deeper look at how IU won 70-58 with another edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (17-13, 9-10) will next host Michigan State on Sunday afternoon.
COACHING (A)
We’ll keep saying it here because it’s true — despite having virtually no chance to make the NCAA Tournament, Mike Woodson is pulling the right levers when it comes to getting his team to play hard each game.
The Hoosiers started the game sharp and focused, but things appeared to be slipping away in the first half. That was especially true with IU down 19-16 with 8:47 left in the first half. That’s when Kel’el Ware picked up his second foul. Woodson has often benched players with two first half fouls, and Malik Reneau was already riding the pine in that situation. Benching Ware for the remainder of the half could have proven disastrous, but Woodson left his big man on the floor with two fouls. Ware scored six points and grabbed four rebounds in a five minute span before Woodson did pull him. At that point IU led, 28-23.
His hand was somewhat forced by an Anthony Walker injury and a third Reneau foul, but Woodson played Mackenzie Mgbako at power forward, at that’s when he made three 3-pointers in three minutes to help IU pull away for good.
Indiana made adjustments to counter the hard hedging on high ball screens that was giving the Hoosiers trouble in the first half. That included slips to the rim and abandoning ball screens and just driving with isolations.
OFFENSE (B-)
Indiana shot the ball well — 54.5 percent overall, 62.5 percent from three, 71.4 percent at the stripe.
IU registered an assist on their first 21 made field goals of the game and finished with a season-high 28 assists on 30 makes. The assist total marked the most by a Hoosier team on the road in 19 years, and the most by any Big Ten team in a conference game on the road in 26 years.
The Hoosiers once again used tempo to their advantage and scored 19 fast break points, although some of that was fueled by 18 Minnesota turnovers.
On the downside, Indiana registered 14 turnovers, including 10 by their guards. Only two of the guard turnovers came in the second half after IU made the adjustments for Minnesota’s hedging. The Hoosiers also only registered four offensive rebounds and only got to the free throw line for seven attempts.
Overall IU scored 1.02 points per possession.
DEFENSE (A)
It feels a bit disingenuous to fully credit Indiana for Minnesota’s miserable evening shooting the basketball. The Gophers started the game 2-of-21 from three (9.5 percent) and 11-of-39 overall (28 percent) before improving a bit after the game had transitioned to garbage time, or desperation mode if you prefer.
But IU clearly had a significant role in the poor shooting, along with 18 Minnesota turnovers that included 12 steals by the Hoosiers. None of those numbers happen by chance. And the Hoosiers did a reasonably good job limiting Minnesota free throw attempts (14) despite some frontcourt foul trouble.
Indiana did struggle a bit with allowing offensive rebounds. Minnesota had 13, although their volume of missed shots is part of the story there.
Minnesota’s .847 points per possession were the second least against IU this season, and the Gophers’ 26.3 percent turnover rate was the highest by an opponent this season.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Mike Woodson’s comments and body language in Minnesota displayed self-confidence, and Indiana’s late-season turnaround is backing it up
- Mike Woodson has no comment on his return for 2024-25 season
- Watch: IU basketball’s Ware and Galloway discuss win over Minnesota
- Watch: Mike Woodson discusses win at Minnesota
- IU basketball: Indiana 70 Minnesota 58 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
- Mike Woodson will return to Indiana for 2024-25 season
THE PLAYERS
*Trey Galloway (A-) Galloway just looks comfortable running this basketball team. He logged his first career double-double with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 11 assists, five steals, four rebounds, and one block. He is one of four Hoosiers to produce at least three games with 11-plus assists in a career. Galloway improved from a turnover standpoint in the second half.
*Mackenzie Mgbako (A) For a long time Indiana has needed a shot maker on the perimeter, someone who could step into tough, contested threes in key moments. The freshman is proving to be that guy. And his addition of an inside scoring game has really rounded out the threat he poses offensively.
*Malik Reneau (C) It was encouraging to see IU win on the road despite a relatively poor performance by Reneau. He committed unnecessary fouls, which limited his time on the floor, and he made multiple poor passes.
*Kel’el Ware (A) Ware was good from the start and he put together a dominant performance. He is one of four Division I players this season to post a stat line of at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, and two made 3-pointers. A locked-in Ware makes IU very tough to beat, and he did a good job avoiding additional fouls after early trouble.
*Gabe Cupps (C) The freshman guard continues to struggle to make an impact. He did deliver a steal as part of IU’s defensive effort.
Anthony Leal (A-) The senior guard quietly stuffed the stat sheet with four assists, three rebounds and two steals in an important 23 minutes. He’s clearly become someone Woodson trusts, and Leal is delivering on that trust.
Xavier Johnson (C) Johnson really struggled with ball security in the first half but got that sorted out after the break and helped contribute to IU’s strong defensive effort.
Anthony Walker (A-) The veteran forward gave the Hoosiers important minutes as the fouls stacked up in the frontcourt. He left with an early second half knee injury. Woodson didn’t know the extent of his injury after the game.
C.J. Gunn, Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks saw limited action.
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Jakai Newton (knee) is out long-term.
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