Indiana took care of business in what was effectively a final tune up before things get real.
The Hoosiers were very sluggish out of the gate, and fell behind 22-12 midway through the first half. But they closed the first half with a 26-16 stretch, and opened the second with a 27-14 first 12 minutes. That created enough margin to put the Trojans away.
Let’s take a deeper look at how IU won 82-69 with our latest edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (13-3, 4-1) will next travel to Iowa for a Saturday evening contest, the first of 11 straight games that are likely to end up being Quad-1 games according to the NCAA NET rankings.
COACHING (B)
IU coach Mike Woodson acknowledged his team was sluggish to start this game. And it wasn’t the first time they’ve been slow out of the gate. That’s a riddle that has to be solved, as there will be nights when the early hole is too deep.
And they did find answers, as IU outscored USC 53-30 over a roughly 22-minute stretch that spanned halftime.
Woodson and his staff seemed to figure out that getting Myles Rice and Trey Galloway going downhill to the paint was the way to attack what seemed to be an effective USC defense early on the game. Because it was a staple from about midway through the first half on, and it worked.
The staff continues to be creative with Oumar Ballo, utilizing him both on the perimeter and in the paint to create good scoring opportunities.
In a game where leading scorer Malik Reneau didn’t play and another top scorer was went scoreless in Mackenzie Mgbako, Woodson and crew have this team in a place where they still put 82 on the board.
OFFENSE (B)
IU started the game by making just 4-of-17 from the field. But things trended favorably from there. The Hoosiers made 51% of their shots the rest of the way. Similarly, Indiana started 1-of-7 from three but shot 35.7% the rest of the way. The flip switched about midway through the first half. And an emphasis by Myles Rice and Trey Galloway on getting to the rim seemed to unlock the offense. And the floor was spaced to facilitate actions emphasizing the dribble drive.
Indiana had its lowest turnover percentage of the season at 8.4%. And that now makes three of the last four games they’ve set a new low for the season. Myles Rice had half of IU’s six turnovers, and he didn’t have any in the second half. As a team Indiana only had two turnovers in the final 28 minutes.
The Hoosiers also capitalized at the free throw line, making 18-of-23, including an impressive 5-of-5 from Ballo, a career 56.4% shooter at the stripe. Rice also made 9-of-11.
Offensive rebounds were also a factor for IU, although not as much as some recent games. They grabbed 11 and turned those into eight points.
It all translated to 1.15 points per possession, IU’s best showing in a month. And they improved from the first half to the second in that regard, to 1.29 after the break.
DEFENSE (B)
While USC shot just 6-of-26 from three, this did seem like a night where IU got away with blowing some switches and coverages, and leaving shooters open. The game could have been much closer if a few more of those shots went in. But for his part USC coach Eric Musselman thought his team shot too many threes, so perhaps they played right into Indiana’s hands.
USC is not a big team, and IU was able to limit them to seven offensive rebounds and controlled the overall rebounding advantage, 40-33.
The Hoosiers don’t force many turnovers anyway, and this was their least disruptive game of the season. USC had just a 11.2% turnover percentage.
USC is very good at earning their way to the free throw line, and they make them when they get there. But they only took 18 attempts on the night, which limited a major part of their game.
The Trojans scored .97 points per possession, only the third time they’ve been held under a point per trip. And that’s typically a winning number for IU.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Watch: IU basketball’s Woodson, Galloway and Goode discuss win over USC
- IU basketball: Indiana 82 USC 69 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Mackenzie Mgbako (D-) Woodson probably wouldn’t have benched Mgbako merely for having a poor shooting night. But he wasn’t rebounding and just generally did seem to have good energy. It was disappointing to see after such a good game at Penn State. Mgbako has to find a level of consistency.
*Myles Rice (B+) Rice continues to be a bit below where he needs to be from an efficiency standpoint, but he’s doing everything else. He had an elite game rebounding from his guard spot, facilitated at a high level, and was solid scoring from two. And Rice is a very reliable asset at the free throw line.
*Trey Galloway (B+) Galloway played an integral role in Indiana’s strong start the second half, scoring nine points in the first six minutes plus. He once again facilitated and read the defense at a high level. Galloway is stacking good games and seems to be back to his pre-injury stamina.
*Luke Goode (B+) Goode’s job is to make shots, and he’s on a roll. The senior wing has made 10-of-15 from beyond the arc over the last three games. And he continues to be a factor on the glass.
*Oumar Ballo (A) Ballo scored 23 points on just 11 shots. He made nine of those and he was a perfect 5-of-5 from the stripe. And for all the different ways he touches the ball, Ballo played 33 minutes without a turnover, while adding eight rebounds and two blocks.
Kanaan Carlyle (D) Carlyle did get a three to go down, but it wasn’t a good shooting night otherwise. And he’s fouling too much, probably in an effort to compensate for his shooting struggles.
Bryson Tucker (B) Tucker gave IU some much needed production off the bench. Clearly a streaky producer at this point, he was connecting from his preferred spots in the midrange. Tucker has lost track of his man cutting to the basket in each of the last two games.
Anthony Leal and Langdon Hatton had limited roles.
Dallas James did not play, coach’s decision.
————————
Malik Reneau was out with a knee injury. Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton are out long-term with injuries.
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.
