Don’t count these Hoosiers out yet.
The first half was close throughout but led most of the way by Ohio State. The Buckeyes led 35-29 going into the break, as neither offense was clicking. But IU controlled the first 15 minutes of the second half, and took a 68-58 lead with 5:12 left. OSU stormed back to force overtime. A Luke Goode three with 1:07 left sealed it for the Hoosiers.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana won 77-76 in overtime with our latest edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (14-5, 5-3) will next travel to Northwestern on Wednesday.
COACHING (B)
Mike Woodson is deserving of major credit for simply having his team bought in and ready to play following a tumultuous few days of outside noise. He was in no mood to talk about that after the game, but it’s clear his team isn’t throwing in the towel on the season. And Woodson made a change to the starting lineup by inserting Anthony Leal. It isn’t clear how much that changed the game, but it shows a willingness to change and search for answers.
Woodson is prone to sit players with two fouls excessively, and he did that with Myles Rice, who only played five first half minutes. IU was plus-9 with Rice on the floor and could have used him more.
Indiana had a major advantage on the inside with Oumar Ballo, and they never lost sight of that and played him 40 minutes.
Indiana also bounced back in overtime after giving away their late lead.
OFFENSE (B)
IU scored 1.08 points per possession, and they got there by generating second chances and limiting turnovers.
In 45 minutes, IU turned it over just 10 times, with three of those coming from Ballo. But he had eight of Indiana’s 14 offensive boards. The Hoosiers got 17 second chance points from those, including Ballo’s game-winning offensive rebound and assist to Goode.
The Hoosiers also earned trips to the free throw line and converted at respectable rate, going 17-of-23.
There was nothing highly efficient about Indiana’s shooting splits from the field They made 42.2% overall including 30% from three. The Hoosiers ran a lot of high weave and ball screen actions, along with post entries to Ballo. It was ultimately Goode’s shooting and Ballo’s inside dominance that ruled the day.
The Hoosiers didn’t look ready to deal with a press late in the second half, and that helped spur an OSU rally.
DEFENSE (B-)
Ohio State’s starting guards and wings gave IU all kinds of trouble. The combination of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley and Micah Parrish were able drive on IU with regularity. They got Indiana’s guards in foul trouble. The Buckeyes made 20-of-39 from two despite no real post scoring. OSU coach Jake Diebler did say, however, he thought the IU guards were able to impact those drives with their physicality.
And IU lost track of Mobley and his high-level three-point shooting. He made five threes in the second half, and that was a major reason why the Hoosiers were unable to put the game away in regulation. Mobley kept getting good looks from long range.
Indiana kept the Buckeyes off the free throw line for the most part, and they limited their offensive rebounds.
OSU scored 1.07 points per possession, which is right on the margin typically when it comes to winning or losing.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Watch: IU basketball’s Woodson, Ballo and Goode discuss OT win at Ohio State
- IU basketball: Ohio State 76 Indiana 77 (OT) — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Mackenzie Mgbako (D) Mgbako’s prolonged shooting slump continued. He didn’t rebound at a high rate either. But Mgbako was on the floor for some of IU’s better stretches, and he didn’t seem to suffer the defensive lapses that have been an issue at times.
*Myles Rice (C+) Rice couldn’t stay on the floor due to foul trouble. He had positive moments and IU was plus-nine with him in the game, including a run to stretch the lead out to 10 points late in the second half.
*Anthony Leal (B) Leal made the biggest defensive play of the game as he got a block on Ohio State’s final possession. Mike Woodson clearly trusts his defense, as he had Leal start and guard OSU star Bruce Thornton. Leal wasn’t a threat to score, but he moved the ball and defended.
*Luke Goode (A) With a career-high 23 points, this was likely the best game of his career. In addition to four threes, Goode did a nice job of not allowing himself to be limited to just being a three-point shooter too, as he drove the ball and drew fouls.
*Oumar Ballo (A) Ballo was completely dominate. He fought through fatigue while playing the second most minutes he’s ever played in a game and produced 21 points and 15 rebounds. The effort was there, as he hunted boards out of his area, and impacted the ball on help defense. He made free throws too. But he does struggle with turnovers when he puts the ball on the floor.
Kanaan Carlyle (B) Carlyle was critical in this game with Rice in foul trouble. Indiana needed someone to be able to bring some speed to the game, and a got free in transition a couple times for scores. Carlyle was able to get some scores at the rim, and he didn’t turn the ball over.
Trey Galloway (C+) Mike Woodson told the television crew he benched Galloway to get his attention. Did it work? He had a major role off the bench, playing 35 minutes. He had six assists to three turnovers, but struggled to find efficiency from a scoring standpoint.
Langdon Hatton (B) Hatton played well in a limited role. But Ballo was too good to pull in the second half.
Jakai Newton and Dallas James did not play, coach’s decision.
————————
Malik Reneau and Bryson Tucker were out with injuries. Gabe Cupps is out long-term.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
