BLOOMINGTON, IND. — Fresh off back-to-back home wins, Indiana traveled out west for the first of two games in the Pacific Northwest, hoping to stack another win for its NCAA Tournament resumé with a game against a struggling Washington team.

Indiana was dominant from start to finish, leading for 37 minutes en route to a much-needed victory against the Huskies.

With the victory, Indiana improves to 18-11 overall and 9-9 in Big Ten play.

“We’ve been playing much, much better basketball, and these last three games, these guys have come and showed up,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “You can call it that [playing less stressed]. I call it when you win; it eases the mind.”

Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 78-62 win over Washington.

IU-Washington Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Reneau returns, scores 22

When Mike Woodson went to bed on Wednesday night, he did not know if junior forward Malik Reneau would be boarding Thursday’s 4 p.m. flight to Seattle.

“The main thing was could he fly with the team and not spread whatever he had amongst the players. That was my big concern, so we had talked about maybe flying him out separately,” Woodson said postgame. “But our good doctor, doctor Rink suggested that it would be okay, so it all worked out.”

After being sent to the emergency room prior to the Penn State game, Reneau picked up where he left off from his perfect 7-of-7, 15-point performance against Purdue last Sunday afternoon.

The junior came in off the bench, scoring a game-high 22 points in Indiana’s 78-62 victory over Washington on Saturday night in Seattle.

Reneau finished 10-of-13 from the field, pushing the Miami native to 17 of his last 20 from the field. Reneau made his first six shots of the game, extending his streak to 17 straight made field goals spanning back to the second half of the UCLA game.

2. Goode stays hot from deep, scores 18

In addition to Reneau’s superb performance, Indiana got a boost from forward Luke Goode. 

Goode has been playing the best basketball of his career when his team has needed him most. The Fort Wayne native drilled a team-high five triples en route to an 18-point outburst. 

As a team, Indiana continued its hot stretch from behind the arc, making 9-of-23 shots from deep. The Hoosiers have shot 50% (19-of-38) in its last two games, a potential sign of good things to come as the year winds down.

Goode has been nearly automatic from deep in conference play, shooting 46% in Big Ten play. In his last five games dating back to the UCLA loss, the Illinois transfer is shooting 13-of-31 from behind the arc, helping his team to a 4-1 record in the stretch.

In his postgame interview with Indiana radio’s Don Fischer, Associate Head Coach Kenya Hunter pinpointed why the team has succeeded without two bigs on the floor.

“It’s because of Luke Goode,” he said.

3. Osobor held to zero field goals

In order to escape with a victory against Washington, Indiana was going to have to shutdown the Huskies best player, forward Great Osobor.

“He’s a load, man, in terms of what he does offensively, and we knew that coming in,” Woodson said of the Utah State transfer. “We just tried to take some things away from him.”

Leading his team in almost every major category, Osobor entered Saturday night averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game on 47.3% shooting while also adding 8.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Indiana made life difficult for Osobor, holding him to four points, all on free throws, and a bleak 0-for-4 outing from the field. The Hoosiers made the elite big a non-factor, holding Osobor to only four rebounds and one assist.

“We double-teamed him some and tried to keep it out of his hands as much as we could. I thought for the most part, we did that.”

2 Important Observations

1. Indiana continues to look like a complete team

It took much longer than most wanted it to, but Indiana is morphing into the team everybody thought it would be in the preseason.

Following Saturday night’s victory in Seattle, Indiana has now won four of its last five games, including top-15 victories at Michigan State and vs Purdue.

“I call it when you win, it eases the mind,” Woodson said. “You do things that you think you’re accustomed to doing, and when you lose, you’re looking over your shoulders.”

The last three games have been everything that was expected of this year’s team, and has given fans what they’ve longed for all season long: consistency.

Turnovers are down, three-point percentage is up, and Indiana is winning road games by double-digits for the first time since 2019.

It has been a grueling season, but amidst all the adversity, Indiana is putting itself in prime position for its third NCAA Tournament in four seasons.

“We need right now to support these players, man, because they are playing hard,” Woodson said. “They are trying to win basketball games. So that’s how I look at it.”

2. The black jerseys were immaculate

During pregame warmups, it was revealed that Indiana was going to be wearing black jerseys for the first time in program history, and they did not disappoint.

The script Indiana in red with the white outline was what Indiana fans have been yearning for for years now.

It is unknown as to why Indiana waited until the penultimate road game of the year to break out the new kits, but now that they have, fans may want to see them more.

When asked about the jerseys, Luke Goode echoed the desires to wear the alternates more often.

“I think they’re great. They’re sweet and I like them a lot,” Goode said. “I think we should wear them more.”

1 Lingering Question

Is the bubble breaking Indiana’s way?

Saturday was a raucous day for teams on the bubble.

Arkansas was blown out by a horrendous South Carolina team, Nebraska lost at home to Minnesota, Oklahoma missed its opportunity against Ole Miss, and Texas lost at home to Georgia. All while Indiana took care of business in Seattle.

With two regular season games left, Indiana is in firm control of its destiny and a win in Eugene could solidify the Hoosiers chances amongst an incredibly weak bubble.

“Can’t win two games until you get the first one, so we were able to win tonight and the Oregon team is a tough team, man, they play extremely hard and we gotta go in with our ‘A’ game and see where it leads us.”

As expected, Indiana will stay overnight in Seattle then drive four hours south to Eugene in preparation for Tuesday evening’s clash with the Oregon Ducks.

“We’ll have dinner tonight as a team, and tomorrow we’ll get up, practice, and get ready for Oregon.”

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Indiana will be playing the rest of its schedule with its back against the wall — and in their first test, the Hoosiers passed with flying colors.

“It's always special when you beat Purdue,” Mike Woodson said postgame. “I've had a history and a lot of experience dealing with Purdue over the years. The games are always tough, you know what I mean, regardless of how much talent each team has. Who has the most talent in those particular games is always pretty tough.”

After a spirited start to the game, Indiana found itself in a hole, trailing Purdue by a dozen at the start of the second half. 

Indiana swiftly erased the Boilermaker lead, starting the half on a remarkable 28-3 run in the first eight minutes, mainly due to stifling defensive pressure. Within minutes, a 12-point deficit became a 13-point lead.

During the eight-minute stretch, Indiana made more field goals (12) than Purdue had attempted (8). 

After stretching the lead to double figures, the Hoosiers never relinquished the double-digit advantage, leading their arch-rival by as many as 18.

The Hoosiers shot 28-of-54 from the field, including a 64 percent clip in the second half, while holding Purdue to 20-of-47 overall and 30 percent in the final 20 minutes.

“We did everything from a defensive standpoint that we worked on these days that we had to practice. It was a nice carry over,” Woodson said. “I thought the second half, our defense really picked it up and we were able to get stops and we started to make shots.”

Malik Reneau went a perfect 7-of-7, scoring 15 points. His second-half dunk brought his career total over 1,000 points, making him the 55th Hoosier all-time to eclipse the 1,000-point threshold.

“It's super special. Thank the Lord,” Reneau said of the milestone. “That's all I can say pretty much. It's a special moment for me.”

Four different Hoosiers also scored in double figures in the victory, forcing Woodson into a six-man rotation in the second half.

“I'm a big believer in guys, that's what you do when you get in the game and you make the most of it,” Woodson said. “You know, it was seniors that carried us tonight and I refuse to change up anything much throughout the course of the second half. You know, they will be back in there and Mac will get an opportunity to possibly be back in there, as well.”

Everything Woodson has done in the last two seasons has been under the microscope. However, his .500 record against Purdue in its best stretch in  program history should be remembered fondly, especially given his predecessor’s zero wins in seven tries.

Following another quad-one victory, Indiana jumped eight spots to 50th in KenPom. While Indiana will still likely be on the outside looking in on most bracketology websites, Sunday’s victory breathed new life into the Hoosiers’ hopes.

Though they need to jump through many hoops to make the big dance, Indiana still controls its own destiny, making it all the more important for players like Trey Galloway to win for their outgoing coach.

“Obviously this is Coach's last year, and we want to make it special for him. We want to make it special for everyone.”

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But all of that supposed momentum turned into a distant memory right away during Wisconsin’s 76-64 beatdown of Indiana.

“You figure we have a game like we did at Purdue where we really competed for 40 minutes, and then we come in here and we lay an egg based on how we started the ball game,” Woodson said postgame. “You spot teams on the road 20, it’s going to be tough to get back in them.”

Wisconsin put on a 3-point clinic to open the game, making six of its first seven from deep. 

A shell-shocked Indiana team looked lost on both ends and found itself in a 22-point hole, trailing Wisconsin 26-4 a mere six minutes into the game.

“I thought Malik and Ballo did an awful job in terms of guarding the bigs,” Woodson said. “We were terrible in transition early; they got a few there. But you figure if you can take some of those away, you’ve got a game.”

After downing a jaw-dropping nine 3s, Wisconsin eventually cooled from deep, gifting Indiana a chance to work out of the gargantuan hole. 

To its credit, Indiana fought back in the closing minutes of an otherwise dreadful first half of basketball. The Hoosiers grasped some momentum, slicing its deficit by a dozen to trail by just 12 heading into the halftime break.

Wisconsin went on a run to open the second half, providing an early kill-shot, ending whatever hope Indiana had left.

Both teams spent the final 15 minutes going through the motions, which allowed Indiana to once again narrow the margin of defeat to look much better than how the game actually felt.

Despite a 1-of-7 performance from 3, Mackenzie Mgbako led all Hoosiers with 15 points. Luke Goode and Myles Rice were the only other Hoosiers to amass double figures.

Following Tuesday’s blowout defeat, Indiana dropped its sixth in seven tries, fell to 0-2 in the month of February, and is swiftly slipping out of consideration for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. 

“We’re running out of games,” Woodson said. “I have to figure these next eight games out because it’s going to be very pivotal for our basketball team in terms of making tournament play.”

Momentum can very well turn on a dime, but if Indiana is unable to hold serve at home against Michigan on Saturday afternoon, the season will officially be on the brink … if not already barreling over it.

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The Hoosiers, despite a strong surge in the second half led by Myles Rice, fell in heartbreaking fashion to the Terrapins.

“I know those guys in the locker room, I love them to death, and they don't like losing,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “I've just got to help them more. That's what I've got to do.”

With the loss, Indiana drops to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in Big Ten play.

Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 79-78 heartbreaking defeat to Maryland.

IU-Maryland Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Maryland made eight second half 3s

Maryland’s eight second-half 3-pointers in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday afternoon were strikingly similar to Northwestern’s nine on Wednesday night in Evanston. Indiana has now allowed a combined 17 made 3-pointers in its last two second halves — with Maryland and Northwestern combining to shoot 55% from beyond the arc.

"We've just got to get better in that area and guard the three ball," Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. "Early on, we were pretty good in that area, and we had some slippage there as well."

Trailing by a point to start the second half, Indiana snoozed through the first 10-plus minutes, and Maryland guard Rodney Rice hit a triple to place the Hoosiers in a double-digit hole.

A vast majority of Maryland’s dozen three-pointers made were due to miscommunication on Indiana's part.

"A couple times we lost guys, but there were a few times that we were right there," Woodson said "Obviously you're not close enough if guys can just turn and shoot in your face and make them."

Overall, the Terrapins shot 50 percent from behind the line, converting on 12-of-24 attempts from deep.

2. Rice surges in second half to 16-point afternoon

Myles Rice wasn't much of a factor in the first half on Sunday. Indiana's point guard totaled just two points, missing both of his field goals, in the opening frame.

He added a rebound and two assists, but didn't make much of a tangible impact on the game. That changed in a big way come the second half.

All told, Rice poured in 14-second half points, hitting several key 3-pointers. However, Rice was short on his biggest shot of the final 20 minutes.

After Maryland guard Rodney Rice drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Terrapins up by one with 5 seconds to play, Rice was missed a contested 3-pointer with less than three seconds to play.

3. Maryland bigs win the rebounding battle 22-16

Entering Sunday afternoon's affair, the biggest individual matchup was down low between the big men. Whoever won the battle of Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo versus Julian Reese and Derik Queen would have a sizable leg up on their opponent.

In the first half, it was the Terrapins' set of bigs that had the slight upper hand.

Reneau and Ballo accounted for two and 10 first-half points respectively, while the former played just six minutes in the opening due to early foul trouble. Ballo grabbed six rebounds in the first 20 minutes of the game, with two coming on the offensive glass. On the flip side, Reese and Queen combined for 14 first-half points, as well as 12 rebounds.

The second half was more of the same. For Indiana, neither Reneau nor Ballo were anything special. They each had their moments, but neither was dominant. The paring combined for 12 points and 11 rebounds in the second frame.

For Maryland, Reese and Queen weren't much of a factor in the second half. The duo combined for seven points and nine rebounds in the final 20 minutes.

Overall, Maryland won the rebounding battle over Indiana on Sunday, 35-32.

2 Important Observations

1. Assembly Hall was rocking

Though the crowds have varied throughout the peaks and valleys of the 2024-2025 season, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was on fire on Sunday afternoon.

A mostly positive crowd filled the 17,222 seats and were lively from the opening tip.

“This place and these fans reward tough plays and hard plays, and they notice when we're out there playing as hard as we can,” Leal said. “They reward us with energy, and it becomes contagious. That's what makes this game so special.”

The loss left fans deflated as chants of ‘Fire Woodson’ rung throughout the south lobby.

2. Goode has been fantastic as of late

Luke Goode had his fair share of struggles in his first couple months with his home state team. However, the Fort Wayne native has been lights out from deep since the calendar flipped to 2025.

Goode made a pair of triples on three attempts in Sunday’s loss, finishing with eight points in 17 minutes.

The sharpshooter is now 22 for his last 38 from 3-point range, beginning with the Rutgers game on January 2nd.

Goode is averaging 10.9 points per game in conference play and is shooting 51 percent from deep halfway through the conference slate.

If Indiana is going to get itself out of the hole in the season’s final 10 games, then Goode will need to have more offensive sets run through him.

1 Lingering Question

Did Rodney Rice put the dagger in Indiana’s season?

As Rodney Rice’s left wing 3 swished in to cap off a thrilling victory, it may have put a dagger through the heart of Bloomington.

Sunday’s game was strikingly similar to kill shots of seasons in the past, but it felt much more heartbreaking.

Indiana fell to 2-6 in quad one games with 10 games left and time is quickly slipping away on the season.

Although it seems far-fetched, especially after a devastating defeat, Indiana still has an attempt to turn its season around. Opportunities are plentiful, but Indiana will need to shift from being the cat to the mouse as it faces rival Purdue on the road in West Lafayette on Friday.

“Those are golden opportunities for us to get over the hump a little bit,” Anthony Leal said. “Figure it out, and just continue learning how to win.”

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Indiana Basketball traveled to Evanston on Wednesday evening to face off with Northwestern in a game that both teams needed for resumé purposes.

Indiana had the lead at the half, but allowed 54-second half points, dropping its fifth-straight to Northwestern 79-70.

“We had a hell of a defensive half, and then we come out and we give up 54 points and we pil…

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COLUMBUS — Indiana Basketball traveled to Columbus on Friday evening to face off with the Ohio State Buckeyes in a game that both teams desperately needed.

After seeing a 10-point second half lead disappear, Indiana found a way to earn a victory in overtime with a 77-76 win, advancing to 14-5 and 5-3 in Big Ten play.

“We’re sitting here, we’ve won 14 games, man. 14-5. It’s not like it’s 5-14. We’ve played some pretty good basketball and had some good stretches,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “The two games we just didn’t … we got our asses beat those two games. Ain’t nothing you can do about it now. We just got to try to stay away from games like that, hopefully we’ll get Malik back soon.”

With the win, Indiana improves to 14-5 and 5-3 in conference play.

Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 77-76 victory against Ohio State.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Ohio State Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana trailed by 6 at the half

Myles Rice picked up two quick fouls in the game's opening minutes, leaving the Hoosiers without their starting point guard for three-quarters of the first half.

Indiana shot 33 percent from the field, including a bleak 1-of-9 clip from behind the three-point line, and went into the locker room with just 29 points.

However, the defense kept Indiana in the game. After surrendering 60 first-half points on Tuesday against Illinois, the defense — spearheaded by a spirited effort from Kanaan Carlyle — held the Buckeyes in check.

The Buckeyes shot 46.2 percent from the field in the half, but Indiana forced six Ohio State turnovers, leading to a dozen points for the Hoosiers.

The defense did a massive service to the struggling offense, keeping the team within striking distance heading into the half.

2. Ballo played 40 minutes

There has been a lot of noise about Oumar Ballo in his first season in an Indiana uniform, both on and off the court.

Ballo’s effort has been questioned at times in the first three months of the season; however, the Arizona transfer played a complete game on Friday night.

The 7-footer tallied 40 minutes on the floor, marking the second time in his five-year career that the Malian reached that threshold.

Though it was more minutes than he usually sees, Ballo would not be deterred, scoring 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Hoosiers’ second road victory of the month.

“My teammates did a good job finding me,” Ballo said. “We knew they were gonna double. Early they didn’t double and I made some shots and started being doubled and I was finding Luke on the weak-side and some guys were making shots. I’m just happy we got the win.”

3. Indiana finishes with 10 turnovers

A common theme in Indiana's four losses has been the painful amount of giveaways. In the losses, the Hoosiers have turned the ball over an average of 17.8 times.

Indiana’s ball security was a departure from the past two games, turning the ball over just 10 total times in the 45 minutes of play.

Myles Rice’s foul trouble left Indiana without its starting point guard for two-thirds of the game. However, Kanaan Carlyle, Trey Galloway, and Anthony Leal took care of the basketball in the backcourt, not allowing many opportunities for the Buckeyes to get points off turnovers.

Carlyle’s struggles have been evident since the turn of the year, but his 13 points in 36 minutes were much needed, especially without Rice. Carlyle finished with zero turnovers, something Woodson was excited to see.

“I just hope he bottles it up and, you know, carries it forward. You know, these games are coming awfully quick, and you can’t run from it,” Woodson said. “I’m gonna need Kanaan and the supporting cast to play at a high level, man, because that’s how you win on the road, and then you’ve got to go take care at home.”

2 Important Observations

1. The second half was a microcosm of Indiana’s season

Though it trailed by six to open the second half, Indiana got off to a strong start and ultimately build a commanding lead.

Following Luke Goode's jumper to extend Indiana's lead to 68-58 with 5:12 left in the game, Ohio State fans were headed toward the exits.

The Hoosier bench was full of swagger, and it appeared as if Indiana was going to erase a six-point halftime deficit to get an all-important conference victory on the road.

However, the Indiana offense went ice cold, not scoring a single field goal in the final three minutes of regulation.

The Buckeyes offense battled back, finishing regulation with on a 13-3 run capped off by a John Mobley Jr. triple with less than a minute left, erasing a ten-point Indiana lead.

Oumar Ballo missed two shots from point-blank range in the waning seconds, sending Indiana to its first overtime period of the 2024-2025 season.

2. Goode and Leal played hero in overtime

After Tuesday's debacle in Bloomington, Luke Goode and Anthony Leal spoke to the media, explaining that Indiana needed to play with pride to turn the season around.

The overtime period was back and forth, but Goode nailed his fourth triple of the game to give Indiana a 77-76 lead with 67 seconds left in the five-minute frame.

The scoreline remained unchanged for Ohio State's final possession when John Mobley Jr. was blocked by Anthony Leal ahead of Bruce Thornton's miss at the buzzer.

Leal played hero last year in Columbus on offense, but this year, his defense led his team to its second road victory of the month.

“We got a group of guys in that locker room with a lot of pride. They wear that jersey with pride, and sometimes things don’t go according to plan,” Woodson said. “I thought tonight, considering where we’ve been the last two games, they fought their asses off to help us win this basketball game. It was a total team effort, man.”

It was fitting that the two Indiana natives who called their team out on Tuesday solidified the victory three days later.

1 Lingering Question

Can Indiana ride the wave of momentum?

Wednesday morning’s question was where Indiana was headed after a second-straight 25-point defeat. Today’s question has us doing a complete 180.

Friday night’s victory provided a much-needed breath of fresh air to the Indiana basketball program, which was booed off its own floor a couple of nights before.

It’s always tough to win on the road in the Big Ten, so squeaking out a one-point victory on the road can create momentum. But how far can the momentum of a thrilling win take a team that has had extreme peaks and valleys this season?

The next time the Hoosiers will take the floor is on Wednesday in Evanston against Northwestern. Welsh Ryan Arena is starting to become similar to the Kohl Center in Madison as a house of horrors for Indiana. It will be a tall task, but a win on the road in the Windy City — which would represent Indiana’s third Quad 1 road win — very well could change the direction of the season.

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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA. — In its penultimate non-conference game of the regular season, Indiana hosted Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington.

The game began as a track meet, with both teams well into double figures by the first media timeout. The two teams combined to shoot 52% from the field, and the Hoosiers led the Mocs 41-38 into the halftime break.

Indiana struggled offensively in the second half, but the defense held Chattanooga to 27 second-half points to stave off the upset bid with a 74-65 win.

“Tonight we started down that same road again, you know, looking, and not being sharp offensively,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. As a coach, I got to get us over that hump, get them comfortable knowing you're going to be in close games and you got make plays coming down the home stretch.

Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako led Indiana with 14 points as nine different Hoosiers scored.

With the victory, Indiana moves to 9-3 and will have a few days off for the Christmas holiday before its final non-conference game against Winthrop.

Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 74-65 victory against Chattanooga.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Chattanooga Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. 9:00+ Minute FG Drought Nearly Costs Indiana.

As Indiana's defense picked up in the final period of play, the offense vanished. At one point in the second half, Indiana went nearly seven minutes without a point and nearly 10 minutes with a field goal.

Freshman Bryson Tucker hit a pair of free throws with 10:46 to play in the second half. Indiana didn't score again until Trey Galloway went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe six minutes and 23 seconds later.

In the field goal department, Indiana failed to convert a basket for nine minutes and 47 seconds between a Malik Reneau dunk and a Mackenzie Mgbako layup.

"That's two games in a row we've had stretches like that," Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. "I don't know if guys are just looking over their shoulders based on the Nebraska game. We didn't play bad in Nebraska. Just that last six-minute mark couldn't make shots."

2. Indiana bench scores 25

In the season’s first two months, Indiana’s starting five has carried the bench.

Roles were reversed on Saturday afternoon as the Indiana bench was well balanced, out-scoring the Chattanooga bench 25-15. 

Though he’s happy with the production of his bench, Woodson was displeased with the play of his starters.

Woodson told Don Fischer postgame that his first five were “atrocious” all afternoon long.

“Hell, our bench was pretty good tonight for us,” Woodson said. “They came in and played solid I thought. Probably should have played them the whole game and sat the starting unit down.”

The Hoosiers have yet to reach that perfect storm of consistent play from both the starters and bench, and now they have one game to right the ship before conference play restarts.

3. Indiana shoots 20 threes

A depressing three-point performance on the road in Lincoln was followed up by another uninspiring effort from behind the arc for the Hoosiers.

Indiana shot 5-of-20 from deep on Saturday, failing to convert on open looks all afternoon long.

“At the end of the day, I got to get all guys that are -- get them all clicking when they're on the floor playing,” Woodson said. “It's a work in progress still, but we still have a long way to go. I got to keep pushing.”

If Indiana continues to be poor from three into conference play, the Hoosiers won’t come out on the winning end of many games this season.

2 Important Observations

1. Defense guided Indiana across the finish line

Most teams find themselves trailing after going nearly ten minutes without a bucket, but Indiana's defense remained stout throughout that stretch, never allowing the Mocs to get within one possession. 

When Mackenzie Mgbako eventually broke the seal with a driving layup at the 2:50 mark, Chattanooga had only mustered up 13 points in ten minutes, missing a golden opportunity to capitalize on a dreadful stretch of play from the home team.

Reneau, who had three of the team's four steals, knows that long stretches without a basket are unsurvivable if not for a focused defensive effort.

"[Defense] is definitely important, especially coming down in this Big 10 stretch we're about to have," Reneau said. "If we're not scoring the ball at a good rate, then we got to be able to stop people and get stops down the stretch when it comes down to these games."

2. Luke Goode needs sets run for him

During the second half, Woodson was seen arguing with Luke Goode about something that happened on the defensive end. After a brief shouting match between the two, Woodson had some choice words and told Goode to stand in the corner.

Goode started and remained in the corner for most of Indiana’s half-court possessions on Saturday.

When Woodson ran plays to get the sharpshooter open, the Illinois transfer converted open looks, gaining confidence.

As previously mentioned, Indiana has struggled from beyond the arc and refusing to allow your best shooter to get going is a recipe for disaster. Because of his veteran status, Goode will be the x-factor in Big Ten play and Indiana has to let the Fort Wayne native to flourish.

1 Lingering Question

Can Indiana use the Christmas break as a reset button?

At the end of the postgame press conference, Woodson outlined what the eight-day break will look like for his program.

“Well, guys have a few days off,” Woodson said. “We come back on the morning of the 26th and we'll practice that evening and get ready for our next opponent.”

The time off will allow everybody, including Reneau, time to hit the reset button before the real season begins.

“We definitely got to improve on a lot of things coming up, but this break will definitely give us a chance to clear everybody's minds,” Reneau said. “Like I said, get back to it and come back with a spark when we come back from that break.

Indiana has a lot on its wishlist, including a few quad-one victories to boost a resumê without a signature win.

To finish on a personal note, I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I am thankful for Jerod and Assembly Call for allowing me to do what I love for the best community around. I can’t wait to see what’s to come in conference play.

LINCOLN, NEBRASKA. — Indiana basketball took a four-game win streak to Lincoln, Nebraska on Friday night, hoping to advance to 2-0 in conference play.

The Cornhuskers put the Hoosiers on their heels right away, opening the game on a 13-3 run. But Indiana bounced back, taking the lead a few minutes later, and ultimately trailing 44-41 at the break.

The second half was back and forth until Nebraska pulled away in the game’s waning minutes, securing their fourth straight double-digit victory over Mike Woodson and Indiana.

“We had no defensive presence to start the game,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “We just gotta keep working to get it fixed, especially because it’s tough winning on the road in the Big Ten because you have to establish yourself from a defensive standpoint.”

Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 85-68 loss at Nebraska.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Nebraska Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana took 35 threes.

The narrative surrounding Indiana basketball is that the team does not shoot enough threes. Entering the tilt with Nebraska, Indiana was in the top-50 in 3-point percentage but sub-300 in attempts pet game.

That more than flipped on Friday night.

The cream and crimson got off to a rocking 5-of-8 start from beyond the arc in the first ten minutes of the game. Open shots were falling, and it appeared that Indiana was finally getting over the three-point shooting woes.

After the hot open, Indiana made 3 of its subsequent 27 attempts from three, finishing the game an abysmal 22.9% from deep.

The Hoosiers completely abandoned the two-point game, taking five more threes than twos on Friday night.

"I thought it played out that we had good looks, just didn't make them." Woodson said. “You could take 30, 40, 50 threes, but you gotta step up and make them.”

2. Nebraska shot 61% from the field

The three-point shooting wasn’t the only dreadful stat in the loss.

Nebraska scored just 52 points in a 37-point loss to Michigan State last weekend. But last night, the Huskers scored 85 points on 30-of-49 shooting, while making 8-of-14 attempts from deep.

“They made tough shots,” Woodson said. “But we have to be better defensively.”

Brice Williams averaged 18.7 points per game in Nebraska’s three wins against Indiana last season. Williams picked up where he left off, scoring 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

"Getting downhill, getting to the free throw line. He made a couple of tough shots,” Woodson said. “Once he got going, he's tough to shut down."

Indiana’s defensive effort was far from perfect, but Nebraska was getting tough shots to fall. The combination of careless defense and tough shots falling almost always ends in a loss, especially on the road.

3. Indiana finished the game 1-for-18

As was seen on Monday against Minnesota, Indiana struggles to finish games strong.

Friday night was no different as the Hoosiers went ice cold late, missing 17 of its final 18 shots of the evening, including a dozen straight misses to end the game.

The moment Indiana stopped scoring is when they went away from Myles Rice. He took a deep three early in the shot clock in a tie game with just over nine minutes left on the clock, and the Hoosiers barely went back to their leading scorer the rest of the night.

From that point, Nebraska finished the game on a 21-4 run to seal the victory.

“Tonight [Nebraska] had it both ways,” “They made shots and we weren’t very good defensively.”

2 Important Observations

1. Myles Rice couldn’t do it on his own

One ill-advised shot cannot take away from what Myles Rice did for his team on Friday night.

Rice led all Hoosiers with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, scoring 14 points in the second half alone. Thirteen of those second-half points came in a three-minute span when Indiana’s point guard went a 13-4 run of his own to tie the game at 62.

“When we were in transition, they were running with their backs turned, it was a chance for us to get easy shots and easy looks at the rim,” Rice said. “I thought before the game that it was right there for me to attack downhill and take advantage of the opportunities they presented us.”

Although Rice was fantastic, one guy can only do so much on his own to win on the road in the Big Ten, and tonight proved that it is impossible to win on the back of one player. No other Hoosier matched the intensity of Rice on Friday night and the result was worthy of the performance.

2. Indiana couldn’t buy a second-chance bucket

As is the case in almost every game it plays this season, Indiana had a size advantage over Nebraska.

With the misses piling up, it allowed Indiana to dominate the offensive glass, hauling in 15 offensive boards. But the problem was what the Hoosiers did — or didn’t do, for that matter — after earning the second chance.

Indiana finished the game with just 10 second-chance points on its 15 offensive rebounds. Shying away from shots in the paint and dishing the ball out for another three wasn’t working, yet Indiana continuously went back to that method.

1 Lingering Question

Why does Indiana continue to struggle in the middle ten minutes?

Coaches nationwide preach the importance of winning the middle ten minutes of the game. The final five minutes of the first half and the first five of the second half make or break games, and Indiana has had its woes during this stretch of play all season. It was no different on Friday

With five minutes left in the first half, Indiana was leading 35-32. The Hoosiers proceeded to go cold to finish the half and trailed at the break. After five minutes went by in the second half, Indiana was trailing 54-49. A minus 8 in the middle ten minutes.

Much like finishing games, it takes mental and physical stamina to finish and start halves. Indiana lacks the ability to finish a half strong and it tends to spill over into the second half.

It will be an amazing revelation when Indiana finally finds a way to finish a first half strong and carry it over into the second half. Perhaps that’s something the Hoosiers can focus on with two sub-150 opponents next up on the schedule before Big Ten play begins for good.

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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA. — In its first conference game of the 2024-2025 season, Indiana hosted the Minnesota Golden Gophers on a Monday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The game got off to a back-and-forth start full of offense, before Indiana used a 16-1 run in the first half to take a commanding 13-point lead into the break.

Indiana never let the lead dip below a baker’s dozen in the second half, earning its first Big Ten victory.

Oumar Ballo led all scorers with 18 points as five Hoosiers reached double figures.

“I thought we played great the first half. The ball moved,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “We’ve got to build on this game but those are areas that we can fix. And when you get a team down 15, 20 points, you’ve got to remember how you got them down and continue to do the same things that got you the lead and I don't think we did that coming down the stretch.”

With the win, Indiana improves to 8-2 and 1-0 in Big Ten play.

Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 82-67 victory against Minnesota.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Minnesota Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Tucker turns it around, scores 16

After a scoreless outing on Friday against Miami (OH), freshman Bryson Tucker broke out in a big way, scoring 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

The freshman scored 11 points in only eight first-half minutes, providing a spark in Indiana’s dominant first 20 minutes.

Tucker used athleticism to blow by defenders, but rather than pulling up for jump shots, the Bowie, Maryland native continued downhill momentum for easy buckets inside. Although his midrange game is his trademark, Tucker used his acceleration to get past a defender and convert easy layups.

“When we recruited him, we thought he would be a big piece to the puzzle, and he is, and we’ve just got to keep steering him in the right direction and pushing him to play at a high level, play harder and smarter and do the things that we need him to do on the floor,” Woodson said of the freshman’s performance. “I thought tonight he came in and played a solid ball game and hopefully that will be a nice carryover into our next game against Nebraska.”

The 16-point outburst marked a new career-high for Tucker, and he was one of the five Hoosiers to amass double figures.

“I would say it's definitely a lot for any player, but after that game, I just had to keep my mind right and know that there's plenty of games to come, so if I have a bad game one game, I know I can change it,” Tucker said of the bounce-back. “I know everything can change the next game. So I just have to stay focused and keep my mind right and keep going.”

2. Indiana scores 42 points in the paint

If there was ever a game in which Indiana had to rely on Ballo and Reneau, it was Monday.

Minnesota’s roster wasn’t built with much size or athleticism in the frontcourt, and Indiana attacked those vulnerabilities from the jump. Ballo and Reneau ran the floor and got easy buckets in transition.

Both bigs reached double figures as it was a focal point for Indiana to get the ball to the bigs.

The Hoosiers won the rebounding battle by a considerable 35-22 margin, hauling in a dozen offensive boards.

Ballo and Reneau had a matchup nightmare with Dawson Garcia being an athletic big who could also hit the outside jumper. Garcia finished with 20 points, but the Indiana bigs handled it well enough to secure a victory.

3. Hoosiers shoot 67% from two

In its post-Bahamas games, Indiana has had an offensive resurgence, taking and making high-percentage looks. Since returning to the states, Indiana has been tremendous inside the arc, converting 75-of-113 two-point shots in its last three games.

Monday night was no different as the Hoosiers shot 60% from the field as a whole.

Of the 27 shots Indiana made, 24 of them were two-point attempts. The Hoosiers finished an impressive 67% from inside the arc.

In the early season, Indiana has left no doubt that they they will dominate the paint and play inside the arc — but more consistently taking and making 3-point shots could go a long way for Indiana's chances in conference play.

“We knew the first Big Ten game we have to make a statement,” Tucker said. “I mean, yes, we definitely could have done better, but I think we did a good job just coming in and staying focused and working super hard.”

Every game will be different, but shooting better than 50% from the field will win Indiana a lot of games this season.

2 Important Observations

1. Indiana has missed Carlyle

Following a brief three-game hiatus due to injury, Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle made his return off the bench and immediately lit a fire.

It was obvious when Carlyle was on the floor on Monday night. From tough defensive plays to a few audible yells after big plays, it was something that Indiana had desperately lacked — an energetic player off the bench

“On defense, just energy playing well and just picking up 94 feet,” Carlyle said. “I feel like that gets my whole game going, just my defense, my energy, so I feel like that's what I need to bring every single night because that's also what gets my offense going.”

Despite starting the game on the bench for the first time this season, Carlyle finished with 14 points, making three triples and providing valuable minutes off the bench. Although the staff brought him to Bloomington to be a starter, Carlyle remains flexible with his role as he returns to action.

“I'm perfectly fine with coming off the bench. I want to win games, whether it's being the sixth man, eighth man, tenth man starting two guard, I don't care,” Carlyle said of the new role. “As long as we win, I'm here to do my job, to play defense and provide what I can on offense. That's it.”

2. Indiana played its most complete game of the season

Although it started as a track meet and defense appeared optional in the first ten minutes, Indiana put together its best all-around performance on Monday night.

The offense was firing on all cylinders, scoring 42 first-half points on their way to a final count of 82.

Outside of the final couple minutes being sketchy from a focus standpoint, Indiana was mostly attentive and locked in for 40 minutes, something that had yet to happen up to this point.

There is no shortage of motivation when Big Ten play comes around, but Indiana played like a team on a mission on Monday. Now, it is about being consistent with positive outputs.

1 Lingering Question

Will Indiana ever figure out how to properly switch a screen?

At moments throughout Monday night’s victory, Indiana looked like a competent team defensively — the other times, it was not pretty.

The Hoosiers allowed more points (22) in the game’s opening eight minutes than they did in the entirety of the second half of Friday’s game against Miami (21).

Indiana’s ball-screen defense continues to be a cause of concern, allowing open looks for Minnesota. Luckily for the Hoosiers, Minnesota is a mid-major team wearing Big Ten uniforms, so the Gophers weren’t always able to capitalize on the openings IU provided. That could be a concern for a team with Big Ten title aspirations.

Other Big Ten teams will make shots that Minnesota didn’t make, and it will be the difference between big wins and heartbreaking losses. Indiana will have an opportunity to sure up its defensive woes on Friday in Lincoln against Nebraska.

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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA. — In its first game back home, Indiana hosted Sam Houston State on a chilly evening in Bloomington.

Indiana got off to an early lead and never relinquished it, beating Sam Houston State by 26 points.

“I thought it was a total team effort on everybody's part,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “I'm pleased with our play on both ends of the floor.”

Myles Rice led all scorers with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting as four Hoosiers reached double-figures.

Anthony Leal’s strong play off the bench was a big storyline coming out of this game, which the guys covered in depth on the postgame show.

Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 89-71 victory against Sam Houston State.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Sam Houston State Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Luke Goode scores 13 first-half points

There weren't many highlights in last week's trip to The Bahamas, but Illinois transfer Luke Goode's confidence was trending upwards after a relatively productive week in paradise.

The confidence Goode gained at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament carried into Tuesday's game in Bloomington.

After missing his first three-point attempt, Goode rattled home four consecutive makes on the way to a 13-point outburst in the first half.

For the first time this season, Indiana was running plays to get the sharpshooter open, and more times than not, the shots fell for Goode.

The Fort Wayne native finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Goode has been a vocal leader this season, impressing his teammates with hard work in practice and games.

“He's the one in the huddles, the meetings. He's always saying something to us, giving encouragement to the guys. It's been that way since the summertime. He's been trying to put us in the right position,” Malik Reneau said postgame. “He just knows what it takes to get to that stage. So just having Luke Goode as one of our leaders on the team just helps us out a lot.”

2. Indiana was +34 with one big on the floor

The Indiana offense has had its struggles in the early going, with the most glaring issue being a lack of flow and consistency when Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau are on the floor together. (Those two playing alongside Mackenzie Mgbako hasn’t been great defensively, either.)

The duo was on the floor together for 12:51 of game time last night. During that time, Indiana was -8 in point differential while committing 75% of its turnovers.

On the flip side, Indiana was a +34 when one of the two was on the floor alone without the other during the remaining 27:09 of the game.

The offensive flow was much smoother and there was more room for guys like Myles Rice and Luke Goode to find open space and shots.

“When there is one big out there, it flows better, more space out there for shooters and open up the floor,” Reneau said. “Me and Ballo definitely got to work on the two-big lineup so we can be a better presence with the two-big lineup, too.”

Time will tell if Woodson and his staff will continue the trend of playing one at a time, but they have a few games worth of sample size to determine which works best for the offense.

3. Indiana shot 62% from the field

Indiana's unfortunate showing in The Bahamas was spearheaded by an inability to make layups. They were often taking wildly out-of-control layups in transition, leading to fast-break opportunities the opposite way.

Tuesday night provided a much different look for Mike Woodson's squad. Not only were the Hoosiers taking higher percentage shots, they were converting at a stellar rate.

Indiana converted on 18-of-24 layups, most of which were high-percentage looks within the offense. As a team, the Hoosiers finished the game shooting 34-of-55 from the field and 7-for-15 from deep.

The combination of taking and making the right shots within the offense was a recipe for offensive success all night for Indiana.

On the backs of Goode’s 18 points, Indiana’s bench outscored Sam Houston State’s bench 36-10, which Woodson was very pleased with postgame.

“It helps when your bench come off and play the way they did,” Woodson said. “Goode was fantastic tonight, but everybody off the bench played well.”

2 Important Observations

1. The middle ten minutes continue to plague the Hoosiers.

With just over five minutes remaining in the first half, Indiana held a 22-point advantage, and it appeared that the Hoosiers were in for a comfortable rout of Sam Houston State.

Less than ten minutes later, the lead had evaporated to 9, and the momentum was on the Bearkats’ side.

Far too often in the early season, Indiana has collapsed in the middle portion of the game, and it cost them against both Louisville and Gonzaga last week.

After the lead dipped under double-digits last night, Indiana hit the gas again, ultimately winning the game against an overmatched opponent by a comfortable 26-point margin.

But as we just saw last week, Indiana can ill-afford a collapse in the middle of the game against better competition — especially during conference games because it can often be the difference between wins and losses that have tournament implications.

2. Indiana looked like a complete team.

There have been doomsday moments on social media since Indiana was run off the floor by Louisville eight days ago — some understandable and some a bit hysterical.

But as stated in our last Postgame 3-2-1, the poor performance in The Bahamas — while a major missed opportunity — doesn’t have to be a death knell for Indiana’s tournament hopes.

Indiana is one of the most talented teams in the country and, as shown Tuesday night, has offensive firepower up and down the roster.

Although still an inferior opponent, Sam Houston State was the toughest of the buy game opponents, sitting in the 120’s entering Tuesday night’s contest. With the victory, Indiana is back in the top 45 in KenPom and just five spots lower than they were heading into the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Indiana looked the part of a high-caliber team in a 26-point victory and will have one more opportunity to gear up for a week of conference play with Miami (Ohio) on Friday night.

1 Lingering Question

What can Indiana do to keep Myles Rice going?

Entering the season, Myles Rice was predicted by everyone to be a key figure for this Indiana basketball team. He was supposed to move Indiana beyond the point guard volatility of the last few seasons.

And although he has shown flashes in an Indiana uniform, he was non-existent for the entirety of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

Last night, Rice finished with 19 points, with 15 coming in the second half. Rather than settling for contested jumpers, he got downhill, converting on easy layups.

These breakout performances against sub-100 KenPom teams are great for confidence, but Indiana needs these performances from Rice in games against quality opponents.

“Myles is still trying to figure out the surrounding pieces, you know what I mean? He's a good pick and roll guy that can get downhill as you saw today. He's capable of making shots,” Woodson said. “He struggled in the Bahamas. You know, to see him come back tonight and play the way he did, I'm proud as hell of him. We just got to keep him headed in the right direction.”

Indiana’s success in conference play will depend on the point guard’s play. The sooner Rice can become a consistent threat at all three levels, the higher the likelihood that the Hoosiers are competing for a Big Ten title.

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PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS . — After an uninspiring effort in its final tune-up game ahead of the break on Thursday against UNC-Greensboro, 14th-ranked Indiana was thumped by Louisville in its first game in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

The Hoosiers turned the ball over repeatedly right from the tip. The Cardinals took an immediate lead, never relinquished it, and ended up beating the brakes off Indiana 89-61 on Wednesday afternoon.

“Tonight we just went backwards,” Woodson said postgame. "We just got out-toughed, and that's unacceptable to me." 

Junior Malik Reneau was the lone bright spot for the Hoosiers, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a pair of first-half triples. 

With the loss, Indiana falls into the losers bracket and, surprisingly, will play 3rd-ranked Gonzaga tomorrow in the consolation semifinal at 2:30 p.m. EST.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Louisville Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Carlyle and Rice combine to shoot 1-for-13

Guard play was the emphasis for Woodson and his staff this summer. That’s why going out and plucking Kanaan Carlyle and Myles Rice from the transfer portal was a big deal.

However, Indiana got nothing from its transfer guards in Wednesday’s defeat.

The Hoosiers didn’t get a basket from a player classified as a guard until Rice hit a three with 6:32 left in the second half.

Indiana has found success so far this season when Rice has been in control of the basketball. In his prior two outings, Rice totaled 43 points on 62.5% (15/24) shooting from the field. Rice went an abysmal 1-of-11 from the field while only dishing out one assist on Wednesday.

Carlyle has struggled in his first handful of games in an Indiana uniform, but his four-turnover performance was a small piece of what was an out-of-control effort from the Stanford transfer.

Even in their worst games, guards need to have composure and poise to keep the team afloat. Carlyle nor Rice were able to do so and their team struggled as a result.

2. Indiana had 23 turnovers

Entering Wednesday’s contest, Indiana averaged just over 13 turnovers per game, which put them in a decent spot considering the desire to push the pace offensively.

Yesterday, the Hoosiers turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 30 Louisville points.

At his Big Ten Media Day press conference, Mike Woodson preached that turnovers happen when trying to play fast. He has a point. But many of Indiana’s nearly two dozen giveaways were in the half-court offense and were the byproduct of lazy passes or lack of awareness with the basketball.

“Those opportunities you gotta give yourself a chance to score. And we just didn't do that,” a frustrated Woodson said. “But 23 is just way too many. You're not going to beat very many teams in college basketball doing that.”

What makes matters worse for IU was that they finished Wednesday’s game with more turnovers (23) than made shots (21) for the first time since losing to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in December of 2022.

3. Hoosiers tallied 23 second chance points.

A silver lining in a poor effort was that Indiana controlled the offensive glass yesterday.

Led by Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau, the cream and crimson hauled in 22 offensive rebounds and looked solid in the rebounding department for the first time this season.

There have been lackluster outings in the early going from Ballo and Reneau regarding rebounding, but Wednesday was much different.

The duo single-handendly kept their team in the game in the first half and were the only two that seemed at least somewhat invested in the game.

Just as crucial as the combination of Carlyle and Rice is to the flow of the offense, Ballo and Reneau must continue their dominance on the glass to give the Hoosiers a chance at victory as the season goes on.

2 Important Observations

1. The Hoosiers were out of control in transition

Indiana and Louisville were complete opposites on Wednesday, but the most glaring facet of the game that the Hoosiers were out-matched in was transition.

The Cardinals had 14 fast break points and were in complete control even when pushing the pace.

On the other hand, Indiana had just 4 points in transition and went a woeful 4-of-19 on layup attempts. Most of those 15 missed layups were when a Hoosier would dribble out of control toward the basket and throw a prayer at the basket.

Not once during Wednesday’s loss did Indiana look like a cohesive team. Everything was disconnected, and it resulted in individuals trying to play hero ball.

“I mean that only makes the game worse for us,” Reneau said of the disconnect. “People trying to do it by themselves, it just only causes more turnovers. I mean, you may get a couple buckets here and there, but our focus as a group is just trying to play together from here on out and keep going from there.”

The broadcast caught the lack of togetherness during a timeout. The cameras showed a spirited Luke Goode appearing to argue with Mackenzie Mgbako while Woodson looked on from the outside.

The transition issues are just a microcosm of what was, overall, a performance resembling a runaway train effort by the program on Wednesday.

2. Another showcase game goes bad for Woodson and Indiana.

Indiana losing on a neutral floor has become clockwork.

Wednesday afternoon’s beatdown was another in a list of showcase games that Indiana was dominated in.

The last four losses Indiana has suffered on a neutral court have been by 20 points or more, with Wednesday afternoon’s 28-point drubbing matching the worst of the bunch (104-76 last year vs Auburn in Atlanta).

Far too many times in the last four seasons, Indiana has gone to a neutral site to get its teeth smashed in. This is a direct indictment on Mike Woodson and his staff to not have his team ready to play in front of a national audience.

Indiana-Louisville was an opportunity for Indiana to show what they’re made of, and they fell flat on their face.

“Tonight we just went backwards,” Woodson said postgame. "We just got out-toughed, and that's unacceptable to me."

1 Lingering Question

Game Preview: Indiana vs Gonzaga

We are doing something new this week with games coming in such short order. Rather than a lingering question, we will be doing a preview of the Hoosiers’ next game.

Indiana wasn’t the only ranked team that fell in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament yesterday. West Virginia upset the third-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs 86-78 in an overtime thriller.

The Bulldogs are one of the more experienced teams in college basketball, bringing back 81 percent of last season’s scoring, and 71 percent of their rebounding.

Wyoming transfer and familiar name to Indiana fans Graham Ike leads Mark Few’s team in points and rebounding, while star guard Ryan Nembhard leads the way with 9 assists per game.

As a team, Gonzaga is averaging nearly 91 points per game this season, shooting 36 percent from downtown in the early.

The Thanksgiving showdown with Gonzaga gives Indiana a mulligan, of sorts, and an opportunity to earn a marquee victory in the early season.

The top-15 showdown will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli on the call, while Austin Render and Errek Suhr will be on the hometown call for the IU Radio Network.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — In its final tune-up before heading to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, Indiana defeated UNC Greensboro on a snowy Thursday evening in Bloomington.

Myles Rice led all scorers with 20 points while Bryson Tucker notched a career-high 14 points.

“We've had some good moments, we've had some bad moments. Against really good teams, you're going to have to have a lot of good moments to die away the bad moments if you're going to be a good team, and I think we can, but only time will tell,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson postgame. “I've just got to keep working with this team to get them where I want them, but we're not there yet.”

With the win, Indiana is now 4-0 in the young season and are island-bound.

Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 69-59 victory against UNC Greensboro.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-UNGC Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Myles Rice Dazzles Again, Scores 20 Points

Although it took two games to do so, Myles Rice has found his form and solidified himself as Indiana's top offensive threat in the month of November.

Rice followed up Saturday's 21-point performance against South Carolina with another impressive showing - scoring 20 points on 8-14 shooting including two three-pointers in the first half.

After dishing out just three assists on Saturday, it was an all-around performance for the redshirt sophomore, who added 6 assists and 5 rebounds in the victory.

“Well, that's what he's supposed to do,” Woodson said. “That's what we brought him here for.”

The dual-threat nature of his game could potentially turn Rice into one of the best guards in the Big Ten, if not the entire country.

2. Bryson Tucker breaks through with 12 second-half points

Despite an uninspiring game from the bench as a whole, freshman Bryson Tucker stepped up and delivered when Indiana needed someone to take over. The lone member of Indiana's freshman class dazzled in the second half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Tucker used his quickness to get to his midrange spot and rise above his defender for easy jumpers.

“Tucker came in, and he shined for a freshman,” Woodson said. “He looked -- you've seen him play since he's been here. He's a guy that can help us. I leaned on him tonight, and he came through and did some positive things.”

The Bowie, Maryland native's near-perfect second-half offensively was just a small piece of the pie. Tucker was spectacular defensively, collecting a steal and forcing tough shots and bad passes throughout the second half.

The McDonald's All-American finished with 14 points and 3 rebounds in his 25 minutes on the floor in Thursday night's victory and will likely play a large role in Indiana's success next week in the Bahamas at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

3. UNCG Grabbed 17 Offensive Rebounds

Woodson was frustrated with his team’s intensity and credited UNCG for simply wanting more than his guys did.

“I've got to give this Greensboro team a lot of credit,” an irate Woodson said. “I thought they played harder than we did. We didn't play hard, and that's unacceptable. That's on me.”

The lack of intensity led to the Hoosiers allowing the Spartans to control the offensive glass all night long to the tune of 17 offensive boards.

Indiana had the two best bigs on the floor and solid rebounding guards, but still could not figure out how to control the glass. Long shots tend to lead to long rebounds, which was a disadvantage for IU, especially since UNCG took 32 threes.

The Hoosiers still need to find a way to clear and avoid allowing second-chance opportunities.

2 Important Observations

1. Scoring droughts continue to be an issue

When Woodson went to the bench for the first time, he brought in Bryson Tucker and Trey Galloway. It also started six-minute scoring drought for Indiana.

From Langdon Hatton’s layup to push the Hoosier lead to 21-5 at the 11:07 mark to Kanaan Carlyle’s triple with 5:03 left on the first half timer, offensive possessions were tough to watch.

What was once a 16-point advantage evaporated to just six, and Indiana never got the momentum back until midway through the second half.

Scoring droughts seem as Indiana Basketball as Martha The Mop Lady at this point. It has become a nightly occurrence and has cost the program victories in the process. Going lifeless offensively didn’t cost Indiana the win last night (though it didn’t help with the analytics), and it surely won’t work in tougher games later in the season.

Whether it be changes in the rotation or something different, Woodson and his staff have to figure this out soon before it costs them down the road.

2. Empty Seats Filled Assembly Hall

It was another poor showing from Hoosier Nation on Thursday night as there were thousands of open seats at tipoff.

Maybe it’s because of the first snow of the season, or Thanksgiving break being on the horizon, or even Indiana Football being less than 48 hours from its biggest game in program history … all of those reasons could be valid.

But as my father would say, it didn’t used to matter what the conditions were; Assembly Hall was always full.

Credit to those who braved the elements, but they didn’t have the energy that even the lightest Indiana crowds bring to Assembly Hall. There was restlessness and murmurs when the team was struggling. Some boos even reigned as UNCG tied the game at 40 in the second half.

Who can blame them at this point? The truth is that the product they’re seeing is far from the traditional standard, and they expect better basketball. Most fans saw exactly what the coach did.

Hoosier fans have become hardened by recent struggles and are dying for their team to be a consistent basketball program again, rather than one that struggles with the likes of a team that was picked to finish sixth in the SoCon.

A win is a win, and Indiana is 4-0 with an analytical profile that has improved since the season began. There is a lot to feel good about, especially in relation to last season. But it may take Indiana scoring a meaningful result against a well-regarded opponent for many fans to fully embrace this season.

1 Lingering Question

Why does Indiana continue to play down to their opponent?

Another buy game, another lackluster performance from Indiana. Far too many times in the Mike Woodson era, that his team has played down to an opponent in a game that should be won by a comfortable margin.

It appeared that Thursday would be different for Indiana, leading by as many as 16 in the first half. But that lead evaporated quickly in large part due to the Hoosiers looking completely lost at times offensively.

“We were up 19-3 when I started subbing,” Woodson said. “and that was after guys had played a deep seven, eight, nine minutes straight. And once they got rolling, we gave them hope, and they played a solid game all the way through.”

Competition will stiffen, and Indiana will compete with the best of the best, but it’s time to question why Indiana continually plays in close games against sub-150 KenPom opponents.

It could become the difference in seed lines come March.

Wednesday against Louisville marks the next step up in competition, and it is a crucial opportunity for Indiana to set itself up for a productive tip to The Bahamas.

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As with Wednesday’s opener against SIUE, there were a few clenched-fist moments during yesterday’s Indiana basketball game.

In fact, after one half of play, the Hoosiers actually trailed Eastern Illinois 37-36. As you might expect, it was bleak inside of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as the Hoosiers headed to the locker room. An already dormant crowd was lifeless, and there was a severe lack of energy from the home team on the court.

“I thought we were still home in the bed sleep. It was awful,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “You got to give Eastern Illinois credit because they played hard and made shots.”

But in the second half, Indiana turned it around in a big way.

Mackenzie Mgbako once again led the Hoosiers in scoring with 18 points on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting en route to the victory.

Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 90-55 victory against Eastern Illinois.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Eastern Illinois Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana Outscored EIU 54-18 in the Second Half

The second half gave us some of the best basketball Indiana has played since Mike Woodson took over in 2021.

Everything worked for the Hoosiers as they pummeled Eastern Illinois for the entire 20 minutes.

The cream and crimson scored 1.543 points per possession. Meanwhile, the defense stymied the Panthers to the tune of just .500 points per possession in the half.

“I thought our defensive intensity was just lacking the first half. We adjusted the second half and guys came out and got after it,” Woodson said. “Couldn't ask for a better second half.”

The most important stat leading to the lopsided score was the turnover margin in the half. After 8 first-half turnovers, the Hoosiers cut it in half while forcing nine Panther turnovers.

Contrary to Wednesday night, Indiana didn’t have a single lapse of effort in the second half. As soon as they smelled blood in the water, the Hoosiers jumped all over EIU and did not let go.

2. Ballo Breaks Away

There were questions after Wednesday night's game about Oumar Ballo's intensity, or lack thereof. Those same questions were often being pondered at times in the first half when Ballo didn't hustle back on defense after a turnover.

After that, a switch flipped for Ballo.

The Arizona transfer was brilliant from that point forward, finishing the game with 17 points, 9 boards, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.

Ballo's offensive play picked up significantly as his intensity picked up defensively. As an all-American leader, Indiana will thrive when Ballo does.

Indiana will need this version of Ballo to continue showing up towards the end of the month when the competition stiffens.

3. Hoosiers Finish With 31 Fast-Break Points

All summer long, Mike Woodson preached playing fast and pushing the pace. At times, the Hoosiers were playing too fast for their own good. The early minutes of the first half were plagued with careless turnovers.

However, in the latter stages of the half, things started to click in transition, which led to Indiana’s offensive explosion.

Everything was working for Indiana. It helped that Eastern Illinois’ long shots required long rebounds and allowed Indiana to jumpstart the fast break.

In the second half alone, the Hoosiers amassed 20 fast-break points, highlighted by a beautiful touch pass in transition from Trey Galloway that led to a Bryson Tucker slam.

Playing fast will at times have its downsides, but if Indiana can continue its success in transition, then there’s reason to believe the Hoosiers will be a more consistent offensive threat than what we saw in the first half.

2 Important Observations

1. Luke Goode and Myles Rice Emerge as Leaders

Indiana has struggled to find an identity as a team through two games, but Sunday shed light on the leadership qualities of Luke Goode and Myles Rice.

After Ballo gave up on a play in the first half, Goode was the first player off the bench when Woodson called a timeout to get on Ballo for his lack of effort. Ballo listened to Goode’s advice as he went on to have a great game.

On the other hand, Myles Rice was the vocal leader in the huddle right before the second half started. Rice gathered the team at the Big Ten logo just below the free throw line and delivered a spirited speech. The call was heeded, earning Rice some praise postgame.

“Like Goode, obviously won where he's been at,” Tucker said. “He knows where we're trying to get to. He's been one of the main talkers.”

Indiana will need its vocal leaders to help keep the team accountable during games, and it is becoming evident that Goode and Rice will assume the role.

2. Indiana Crowd Suffering From Football Hangover

Noon tips on a Sunday don’t particularly draw crowds en masse, but add in the Indiana football program improving to 10-0 the day before, combined to make an awful crowd at Assembly Hall crowd on Sunday.

As the clock ticked closer to the start of the game, the student section remained sparse, nearly two-thirds empty.

It was a late-arriving general public crowd but nowhere near the standard of Indiana basketball.

In reflection of Indiana’s trip to Ann Arbor in December last year, the Crisler Center was bare, partly due to the Michigan football program playing in the College Football Playoff later that week.

Basketball obviously will take a backseat to football as long as Curt Cignetti’s team keeps winning, but the effect it has on the basketball program is noticeable.

1 Lingering Question

Will Indiana Be Able To Address Shortcomings in Week Off?

With six days in between games, Mike Woodson and his staff will have their work cut out for them as there are a plethora of wrinkles that need to be ironed out before the Hoosiers host South Carolina on Saturday.

From lapses of focus to careless turnovers, it is obvious that Indiana has things to work out.

Game planning for the Gamecocks is inevitable, but how much of the week will be spent watching film and fixing mistakes from the first two games of the season?

While you don’t want to harp on the flaws this early in the season, whole weeks without games are rare during the regular season. They are the optimal time to address flaws.

It will be interesting to see Indiana match up with a lightly regarded South Carolina team (they lost to North Florida in their season opener) on Saturday in the Hoosiers’ first power conference game of the young season.

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[Editor’s note: Josh Pos is on location in Minneapolis covering the Big Ten Tournament this weekend.]

Survive and Advance!

On the back of more late-game heroics from Anthony Leal, Indiana took down a pesky Penn State team in a rock fight in the second day finale at the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis.

The Hoosiers were once again led by Kel’el Ware, who notched a double-double, scoring 18 points and collecting 14 rebounds.

“It was just one of those types of games, an ugly game,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “But we made the plays we needed to make coming down the homestretch.”

With the victory, Indiana improves to 1-0 in the postseason and will take on Nebraska tonight at 9 P.M. ET on Big Ten Network.

Now here are three meaningful stats, two observations, and one lingering question coming out of last night’s game.

IU-Penn State Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana had 32 points in the paint.

For the millionth game in the Mike Woodson era, Indiana dominated the front-court battle.

Like many teams this season, Penn State had no answer for the tandem of Reneau and Ware as the two combined for nearly half of Indiana’s points.

“They're two all-conference bigs,” Anthony Leal said postgame. “I don't think there's many frontcourts in the league that can play with them when they do what they do.”

The 3-point shot continues to take a back seat in Indiana’s offense — but when Reneau and Ware are converting high-percentage looks inside, and the opposition is struggling to score, there is less of need to take shots from behind the arc.

Indiana shot 3-12 from three, but the trio of makes came at quintessential times.

The Hoosiers have found their identity outscoring their opponents in the paint, which has led to five consecutive victories.

2. Penn State shot 27% from the field.

Beyond the ugly basketball being played from an offensive standpoint, the Indiana defense smothered Ace Baldwin Jr. and Penn State for most of the night.

After combining to score 45 points in the two regular season games against Indiana, Baldwin Jr. had a night to forget.

The VCU transfer was hounded all night, scoring just nine points on 3-15 shooting, including 0-7 from deep.

The cause of this rare off-night for Baldwin Jr.? Look no further than Xavier Johnson.

Johnson did not play in the regular season games against the Nittany Lions, and he made it a goal to make Baldwin Jr’s night as difficult as possible.

“That wasn’t happening tonight,” Johnson said. “I take every challenge upon myself to shut people down.”

Outside the first four minutes of the second half, Indiana played suffocating defense, forcing tough shots on almost every possession. A lot of which Mike Woodson contributes to his sixth-year guard.

“Getting [Johnson] back gives us some stability a little bit in the backcourt, and defensively we've picked up,” Woodson said. “Offensively we've made shots. We didn't tonight, but in the previous four games, we've really been shooting the ball extremely well from the 3-point line, and we've been making our free throws.”

3. There were 23 fouls called in the second half alone.

They say there are three things in life guaranteed:

Death, taxes, and Courtney Green inserting himself into a Big Ten basketball game.

The mere idea of nearly two-dozen fouls in a half is absurd, especially when taking into account that there were no late-game fouling situations necessary last night.

In all, there were 40 fouls called in the game. Two guys fouled out, three had four, and another trio had three.

Last night’s debacle from the officials (on both sides) was just one of the many times it has happened, not only in Indiana games, but many times throughout the conference over the season.

The Big Ten hasn’t won a National Championship since Michigan State did it in 2000, and the glaring issue was again present in Minneapolis last night.

It is well past time for the conference to take a deep look from the inside and realize that there is a direct correlation between the inconsistency of their officials and the lack of sustained success in the NCAA Tournament.

Now let’s look at two observations and a lingering question for these red-hot Hoosiers …

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Just when we thought we were out, they pull us all back in.

Senior Days at Assembly Hall often seem to have wacky endings. Yesterday afternoon’s 65-64 victory over Michigan State was no different.

Indiana got off to a hot start to open the game and led by as many as 17 points in the first ten minutes, but Michigan State battled back and cut the lead down to just five at the halftime break.

“I was determined tonight to play the seniors because it was their night,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “X and Leal were going to stay in there no matter what.”

On the back of a 30-point performance from Tyson Walker, the Spartans stormed back to lead by seven in the second half.

But Kel’el Ware and Indiana responded in a big way. The sophomore scored 19 points in the second half to take down Michigan State.

“I think this is a different team going down the stretch,” senior Xavier Johnson said postgame. “The old team of a couple games ago would've probably quit.”

With their fourth consecutive victory, Indiana finished 18-13 in the regular season and 10-10 in conference play. They earned the #6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will play the winner of Michigan/Penn State on Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Now here are three key stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana’s thrilling victory at The Hall.

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana scored 1.030 points per possession in the first half.

Indiana fans were treated to a spectacular opening 15 minutes of the first half yesterday, with the Cream and Crimson scoring 30 points.

The offense was firing on all cylinders, but the Hoosiers’ suffocating defense forced Michigan State into taking tough shots late in the shot clock.

Then Indiana reverted to their February ways and turned the ball over on consecutive possessions.

Despite the lackluster play in the final minutes, Indiana shot 41.9% from the field and 4-10 from behind the arc.

Indiana has had a solid start to almost every game, but it hasn’t often continued past the first two media timeouts.

It is pivotal that IU gets off to a start like yesterday in Minneapolis next week. If they can limit the late half meltdowns and scoring droughts, there is very little that any team can do.

2. Hoosiers shot 42% from the charity stripe.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

If anything was going to prevent Indiana from a senior day victory, it would have been the free throw shooting.

During Indiana’s two-game road trip to Maryland and Minnesota, the Hoosiers shot a combined 19-24 (79.2%) from the charity stripe.

Yesterday, Indiana shot 5-12 from the same spot, which nearly cost them a victory.

Surprisingly, it appears that this year’s Indiana squad is better on the road from the free throw line than they are at home.

Luckily for the Hoosiers, barring an invitation to the NIT, they won’t have to shoot free throws at Assembly Hall again this year.

Indiana wants to make a run to the NCAA tournament, and they are more than capable of charging their way through the Big Ten Tournament, but it is pivotal that they shoot at least 70% from the charity stripe.

3. Indiana had 40 points in the paint.

The game plan for Mike Woodson’s ball club was to impose their will on the much smaller Spartans in the painted area.

That is precisely what happened.

Indiana out-muscled MSU down low, gaining a 40-22 advantage on points in the paint, and an upper hand on the glass, out-rebounding the Spartans 39-32.

Kel’el Ware muscled his way through defenders in the post, scoring 30 points on an efficient 13-19 shooting.

Malik Reneau added 16 points on a much less efficient 6-14 shooting from the field.

Since Mike Woodson arrived in Bloomington, Indiana’s identity on offense has been through the post. It is Woodson’s style and it has led the program to the NCAA tournament in his first two seasons.

2 Important Observations

1. Kel’el Ware is a lottery pick.

Although he is not a senior, there is little doubt that Kel’el Ware won’t play another regular season game at Assembly Hall.

After a dominant 28-point performance yesterday en route to the victory, Ware solidified himself as a first-round draft choice.

It shouldn’t stop there.

The transfer from Oregon is a lottery pick, and that is attributed to his development under Mike Woodson.

Ware collected his 14th double-double last night and has scored 25 or more points in three of the last four games.

“I got to give tribute to our coaching staff and how they work,” Woodson said. “We pushed him, and his teammates believe in him, and I believe in him. He's been phenomenal, been playing unbelievable, which is kind of nice to see.”

Ware’s dominance over the past two weeks has showcased his capabilities to score at all three levels.

Indiana’s success in Minneapolis will depend on Kel’el Ware. It will be intriguing to see if the big fella can step up when the lights are shining bright.

“It's always still more to prove,” Ware said. “I don't feel like I've proven myself just yet.”

2. Indiana is the most dangerous team heading into the Big Ten Tournament.

A little over two weeks ago, Indiana dropped their fourth-straight game with an 85-71 defeat to Penn State in State College.

At the time, there was zero talk about making noise in the Big Ten Tournament. The team was 14-13 (6-10 in conference). It was the lowest point of the Mike Woodson era at Indiana.

That all feels like a distant memory at this point.

It is hard to find a team playing as well as Indiana has in the past couple of weeks.

“We're playing as good as any team in the country right now based on the last four games,” Woodson exclaimed.

After two wins at home and on the road, Indiana earned itself a six seed and in return, have a potentially favorable draw in the Big Ten Tournament bracket — though it’s fair to note Indiana lost twice to both Penn State and Nebraska this season.

Mike Woodson wants everybody to pump the breaks first.

“We got to take it a game at a time, man.”

1 Lingering Question

Why not Indiana?

After taking in the sights and sounds of a thrilling Hoosier victory at Assembly Hall, I found myself thinking, “Why not Indiana?”

Why not Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament? According to Bart Torvik, they’re a top-25 team in the country since the turn of the calendar.

As mentioned, the road to Sunday in Minneapolis will be full of favorable matchups, so why not Indiana?

Indiana has won all four games since Xavier Johnson’s return and is playing with a new kind of moxie, so why not Indiana?

There is no margin for error for Indiana next weekend in Minneapolis. The Hoosiers, at the minimum, will have to make it to Sunday’s championship game. Twenty-one wins could do the trick of getting Indiana onto the fringes of NCAA Tournament consideration.

But if Indiana wants to ensure itself of a spot in March Madness, there is only one thing left to do: Win the whole thing.

Why not Indiana?

Thanks for reading!

Make sure you vote in the postgame polls for Game Ball and Hoosier Hustle Award, and leave your takeaways on last night’s game.

We’ll talk to you again on Thursday after Indiana’s opening game in the Big Ten Tournament.

Go Hoosiers!

Josh Pos

Student Intern

The Assembly Call

[Editor’s note: this email was written by Josh Pos and Jerod Morris. The writing is Josh’s unless otherwise denoted.]

Over the hump at last?

Indiana picked up their second victory in February, a victory over a struggling Wisconsin team in a game that was delayed 15 minutes because of an apparent fire in the building (or at least a fire alarm).

Last night’s victory marked Indiana’s first win in the usually-friendly confines of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall since the January 30th win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

This is Indiana’s first victory over a team that is a projected at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.

“That locker room is happy,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “It's like we got that monkey off our back, so I'm happy for them.”

With the victory, Indiana improves to 15-13 on the season and 7-10 in conference play.

“Tonight was Indiana basketball at it’s best I think.”

Now here are three key stats, two observations, and one lingering question coming out of Indiana’s 74-70 win over Wisconsin.

Did you miss last night’s postgame show? Get caught up here:

IU-Wisconsin Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. +2 from 3P and FT

by Jerod

Wisconsin outscored Indiana from the 3-point line 24-18. Indiana outscored Wisconsin from the free throw line 10-2.

Add it all up, and that’s a two-point advantage for the Hoosiers from the 3-point line and free throw line combined.

It’s late, and I’m basking the happiness of a win, so I have no desire to look up how many times Indiana has been a net positive in these two stats before this season … but my late-night hunch is that it’s not very often.

What this does is clear the way for Indiana’s elite 2-point efficiency to carry the team home, which is exactly what Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau did by going a combined 17-20 from the field.

There have been far too many nights when a massive deficit from 3 or a meaningful deficit from the free throw line has created a hole too big for Kel’el and Malik to dig Indiana out of. Last night was different, both because Indiana was more efficient shooting and because Indiana’s defense harassed many Wisconsin 3-point attempts and gave them nary a free attempt at all.

If Indiana wants to actually win consistently playing this way, this is what the math equation will often have to look like.

2. Trey Galloway had a dozen assists.

It has been a struggle for Trey this season as a shooter, which has made offensive facilitation all the more important.

The senior only had 6 points on 3-10 shooting, including 0-4 from deep, but Galloway’s 12 helpers guided Indiana down the stretch.

“He had a solid game. That's what I expect from him,” Woodson said of the senior. “I told him I was very pleased with his play tonight.”

It is the second time in four games that Galloway has amassed a career high of assists, with the last one being in a losing effort at home against Northwestern.

“We trust when the ball is in his hands he can make basketball plays,” Woodson added. “I thought tonight he delivered for us; made a lot of great plays.”

Galloway doesn’t need to be scoring the basketball to have a good game. Indiana can make a run down the home stretch of the season if they can continually get 6-10 assist nights from him.

3. 11-11 in bench points

by Jerod

Much like the 3-point line and the free throw line, an area where Indiana has been getting killed this season is bench points.

Occasionally a Hoosier or two will step up to supply some help, and often when that’s happened Indiana has notched a victory (remember Anthony Leal against Iowa and Ohio State, CJ Gunn against Michigan, or even Kaleb Banks against Louisville)?

Tonight, the bench production was spread among four players:

• Xavier Johnson returned and delivered five points and an assist (plus five rusty turnovers)

• Anthony Leal scored three points and was a team-high +13 in 17 minutes because of key plays like his blockout on Wisconsin’s penultimate possession.

• Anthony Walker scored two points and delivered some high-energy help and some high-energy mistakes.

• Payton Sparks grabbed a tough rebound and hit a free throw.

Individually, none of those performances were ones to write home about. But this Indiana team will take 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a block off its bench any day of the week. It’s not great production, but it’s meaningful production in a game where the opponent could only muster 11 bench points of its own.

Kudos to each guy for making a positive contribution on the court, and to the starters for ultimately carrying the heaviest production load.

2 Important Observations

1. The fire alarm came at a perfect time.

Through the years, the walls at Assembly Hall have seen unbelievable things happen. Last night’s fire alarm debacle was one of the most interesting events in the 53-year history of the historic gym.

Wisconsin was in the midst of a 12-4 run to tie the game at 54, but suddenly, fans were flocking towards the exits with 10 minutes left— not because they felt that the game was slipping away from the Hoosiers. It was because the fire alarm was going off.

Fans had to evacuate the building, and the game was paused for 15 minutes.

After the brief delay, Indiana regained composure down the stretch and closed strong in front of the fans, who came back into the arena to cheer on their team.

“I want to thank our fan base, the crowd for going through what we all went through and still came back into the game and gave us the support we needed to get over the hump and win the game.”

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard had jokes after the game.

"I thought it was a great timeout for whoever from Indiana pulled the fire alarm cause we were making a run,” Gard said postgame.

Call it what you want, but the game ball should go to whoever pulled the fire alarm because it was indeed the perfect timeout for Indiana.

2. Kel’el Ware is a darn good ballplayer.

We have seen it all year, but it is time to start giving Kel’el the credit he deserves for his effort all season long.

Ware’s 27-point performance was the 8th time the sophomore from Little Rock has eclipsed the 20-point threshold this season.

The Oregon transfer started the game 8-8 from the field, scoring 20 first-half points while collecting 7 boards.

“It was unbelievable. He had a man's game,” Woodson said of his sophomore’s performance. “We needed every bit of it in order to win this game.”

In addition to his offensive dominance, Ware dominated the paint defensively with five blocks.

Kel’el only has a handful of games left in an Indiana uniform. Let’s hope Indiana can make the most of those games and go on a run.

1 Lingering Question

Will we see a performance like this again down the stretch?

by Jerod

I sure hope so. And I sure want to believe …

The reason why everyone felt so positive after this win is because it felt like a legitimate Assembly Hall performance, which resulted in what those types of performances always results in: a win.

It was imperfect-but-tough from Indiana, with some incredible flashes of individual talent and also some of the most extended sequences of coherent team basketball we’ve seen all season.

Mike Woodson had his team ready to play, and they delivered one of their most complete efforts of the season. I tip my cap.

Now can they do it again?

The Hoosiers have three winnable games left on the schedule: at Maryland, at Minnesota, and home for Michigan State. They’ve already beaten the first two, and the latter is struggling enough to find itself closer to the bubble than ever imagined.

But none of us have seen enough consistency from these Hoosiers to have any faith at this juncture in the team going on a run down the stretch.

These Indiana Hoosiers lost the faith of the fan base a few weeks ago — not the support, but the faith. I don’t know many IU fans who felt legitimately confident about IU’s chances against Wisconsin.

That’s why the only path toward rebuilding trust is game-by-game. Last night was a step in the right direction, for the players and the head coach. I’d love to see another one on Sunday and for this team to find a way to end this season with a crescendo, not a whimper.

The base showed last night: we’re still with you!

No one would blame you if you don’t believe. I don’t truly either at this point.

But last night’s game was a reminder to keep paying attention, keep supporting. These are our guys and they delivered a strong performance last night. I’m proud of them, and it was a lot fun.

And if we’re not going to celebrate and enjoy the wins, what the heck is the point of it all anyway?

Now let’s do it again soon, shall we? A single win only satiates for so long …

Thanks for reading!

Make sure you vote in the postgame polls for Game Ball and Hoosier Hustle Award, and leave your takeaways on last night’s game.

We’ll talk to you again on Thursday for AC Radio, and then on the Sunday for the IU-Maryland game.

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— Jerod Morris and Josh Pos

Despite cutting a 20-point halftime deficit to just three in the second half, Indiana was once again unable to get over the hump … and fell to Nebraska for the second time this season.

“When you give up 51 points in the Big 10 in a half, you're not going to beat anybody,” head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “Yeah, we played great the second half to get back in it to cut it to three, but we had no defensive effort I thought the first half.”

After last night’s game, Indiana, now 14-12 and 6-9 in conference play, dropped to 102nd in KenPom.

For reference, this is the lowest an Indiana team has been rated at this juncture since Crean’s second season in Bloomington.

Yes. That season.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Nebraska Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana shot 4-21 from deep.

It has been a dreadful season from deep for Indiana — but up to this point, there hadn’t been a performance this bad from the Hoosiers.

Fans have been pushing for Indiana to take more 3s. They got their wish last night, but the Hoosiers couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.

Mackenzie Mgbako and CJ Gunn were the only Hoosiers to make a three, each hitting a pair of triples.

But the tandem shot a combined 4-15, and some missed badly.

To further exacerbate the basketball math problem Indiana so consistently faces, Nebraska shot 14-33 from behind the arc — including an impressive nine makes in the first half alone.

Jamarques Lawrence came off the bench for the Cornhuskers and shot a perfect 5-5 from deep en route to a 19-point performance.

“We just weren't up to touch.” Woodson said. “They made some tough threes, but you can't have to halves like that.”

2. Nebraska led for 39 minutes.

Of all the wacky preseason predictions made about this team, being swept by Nebraska was almost certainly not one of them.

It’s not just that Nebraska beat Indiana twice this year— it was the way the Cornhuskers dominated the Hoosiers in both Bloomington and Lincoln.

Indiana got waxed on their home floor again last night.

The Cream and Crimson never had a lead on their home floor. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is one of the very few times that this has happened in Assembly Hall’s now-51-year history.

“Figure the road out when you get out there, but you can't lose games at home,” Woodson said. “We lost more games at home this year than we have in the last two years, and that's kind of frustrating.”

If Indiana took care of business and held serve at home this year, there would still be talks of NCAA Tournament chances.

Being dominated at home by the likes of Penn State, Northwestern, and Nebraska is unacceptable.

“You have to win at home in the Big 10. I said that when I first walked through this door. It's always been that way. “

3. Trey Galloway had a career-high six turnovers.

It is easy to look at this statistic and claim that Galloway had a poor night.

While it may be true on the offensive end, Galloway had one of the toughest assignments in the country: follow Keisei Tominaga around the perimeter for most of the night (once Gabe Cupps proved unable to slow him down).

Trey wasn’t perfect, but he worked his tail off for 39 minutes last night and deserves credit for holding Tominaga to just two points in the second half, which helped spark Indiana’s short-lived comeback.

Indiana shortened the rotation to seven last night with Payton Sparks and Anthony Walker not seeing the floor.

“We have to really stick together,” Galloway said of the smaller rotation postgame. “We got five games left, so going to need those guys.”

Wearing down Galloway the next five games may not be the smartest option for Indiana, but at this point, there really isn’t any other option until Xavier Johnson returns.

Now let’s talk more about Nebraska’s scoring and emotional leader, this team’s troubling esprit-de-corps, a lingering macro question about the overall state of the program. (It doesn’t seem good.)

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After a seven-day break, there was a glimmer of hope that a well-rested Indiana would find a way to break through with their first victory over Northwestern in the Mike Woodson era.

The exact opposite happened yesterday as Northwestern stormed into Assembly Hall and dominated Indiana for most of the afternoon.

The closest Indiana got in the second half was cutting the Wildcat lead down to one, but the cream and crimson were unable to get a stop at the game’s most crucial moments.

Malik Reneau was once again a non-factor for Indiana, scoring 9 points before fouling out with over six minutes left.

“Well, I wasn't happy with him after the game,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “The guy has played well this season for our ball club, and being our second leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, we need him on the floor, especially coming down the stretch.”

Northwestern was led by brilliant performances from sophomore Nick Martinelli and Princeton transfer Ryan Langborg, combining for 33 of NU’s points.

Kel’el Ware led the way for Indiana with another double-double with 22 points, adding 16 rebounds.

Following Sunday’s defeat, Indiana drops to 14-11 and 6-9 in the Big Ten.

Now here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from yet another Indiana loss to Northwestern.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Northwestern Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana had two second-chance points.

We know that Indiana wants to win games by using their size advantage against smaller teams.

Yesterday afternoon’s matchup with Northwestern seemed like it would be one in which the Hoosiers could use their size and dominate the frontcourt.

Well …

Not only did Indiana not capitalize on their size advantage down low, they were beaten down by the Wildcats.

Northwestern collected 14 offensive rebounds en route to nine second-chance points. On the other hand, Indiana had just a pair of second-chance points on their six offensive rebounds.

“I thought the 50/50 balls they beat us to tonight and we played smaller,” Woodson said. “We have to utilize our strengths when we're on the floor being big, but didn't help us tonight.”

Northwestern’s smash mouth performance is the first time Indiana was dominated in the paint since the Ohio State game at Assembly Hall.

2. Hoosiers had 19 assists on 27 made field goals.

Despite the outcome, Indiana showed flashes of competent offense in both halves.

Indiana’s offense — like most college offenses — seems to click best when the ball isn’t sticking in someone’s hands.

On top of that, when the Hoosiers run the floor, the buckets come much easier. That was again evident yesterday as IU outscored Northwestern 14-0 in fast break points.

“We got a little bit passive in the first half compared to the second half,” Gabe Cupps said postgame. “We were much more aggressive and not on our heels as much. When you're on your heels you make poor decisions that lead to turnovers.”

Indiana wasn’t able to push the ball too much yesterday because Northwestern took care of the basketball, only turning the ball over three times.

Trey Galloway led the Hoosiers with a dozen of the nineteen helpers.

3. Nick Martinelli logged his first career double-double.

All five Northwestern starters made a significant difference in yesterday’s game, but none bigger than Nick Martinelli.

The sophomore from Glenview, Ill. scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his 38 minutes, hitting shot after shot in the second half, including a three in front of the Northwestern bench to push the lead out even further.

“Nick’s a baller” Northwestern Head Coach Chris Collins said of the southpaw sophomore postgame. “He’s not afraid of the moment.”

In addition to filling the stat sheet, Martinelli was consistently the first player diving to the hardwood for a loose ball.

“He’s just unique,” Collins added. “He’s got that herky jerky game.”

Martinelli and fellow big man Matthew Nicholson combined for 29 of Northwestern’s 38 rebounds yesterday.

A lot of things are wrong with Indiana’s roster, and a guy with the grit of Nick Martinelli would be very nice to have on this team.

Now let’s talk about Indiana’s uniforms, the job Chris Collins has done in Evanston, and the troubling turnaround in the IU-Northwestern series.

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For the first time in 707 days, Indiana lost to Purdue in West Lafayette.

The Hoosiers were dominated from about the midway part of the first half on last night at Mackey Arena, and there was very little fight from a ball club that continues to have massive ebbs and flows in its play.

Things looked okay early. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Indiana actually held a one-point advantage at the first media timeout of the evening and the Hoosiers played well early.

But after that, Mike Woodson’s team disappeared, and the Boilermakers took over on the back of a masterful 19-point performance from Brayden Smith.

“Tonight was just not our tonight,” Woodson said of the blowout loss. “You have to give Purdue credit. They’re a damn good team.”

Following the loss, Indiana drops to 14-10 and 6-7 in Big Ten play.

Now here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question on my mind while trying to come down from the excitement of that comeback win.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Purdue Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. CJ Gunn had 13 second-half points.

It is tough to find positive stats after a game like last night, but CJ had a fantastic second half last night at Mackey.

“I told him after the game in the locker room that I was proud of him,” Woodson said of the Lawrence North graduate postgame.

Gunn led Indiana in scoring with 13 points on 4-6 shooting, including an impressive 3-4 from deep.

CJ Gunn’s evolution will be something worth watching in the final month of season.

He has been unable to score double digits in consecutive games in his career, but with a good week of practice leading up to the Northwestern game next Sunday, CJ has an opportunity to stay hot.

Gunn can use these final seven games to earn his role on next year’s roster.

2. Purdue had 13 points of turnovers.

Last night’s 10-steal performance from Purdue is the first time in conference play this season that the Boilermakers had double-digit takeaways in a game.

One thing that drives coaches wild is live ball turnovers because they lead to easy buckets on the other end.

At one point in the first half, Gabe Cupps threw a bounce pass directly into the hands of Brayden Smith, who had four steals by himself last night.

“Not having X hurt because that puts a lot of pressure on Gabe [Cupps] to get some things down,” Woodson said postgame. “I thought he played okay tonight.”

This is just an example of one of the many errant passes Indiana threw last night.

It is already tough to play in a raucous environment like Mackey, but turnovers leading to transition opportunities make it much more unfeasible to stay in the game.

“We got to take care of the ball on the road,” Trey Galloway said of the costly turnovers. “There is very little room for error and they went on that run.”

Indiana will have to take care of the ball and avoid live ball turnovers if they want to win some games down the stretch and give themselves a puncher’s chance at a run to any postseason play.

3. Zach Edey had one more free throw attempt than Indiana.

There’s no surprise that this happened, especially after watching Northwestern play 8v5 a week ago, but here we are in year four of Zach Edey in the conference, and the officials haven’t figured out how to call the game when he is on the floor.

Edey is a an enormous human being and a tremendous basketball player, but there aren’t many excuses for this stat.

The argument that Purdue played a more aggressive brand of basketball is moot because the Boilermakers only had two more points in the paint than the Hoosiers last night.

“I can’t control the fouls,” Kel’el Ware said postgame. “It’s up to the refs.”

This is exactly where coaching matters. When Matt Painter didn’t like a foul call on his team last night, he let the refs hear it. Woodson did not.

If Mike Woodson isn’t going to stand up for his players and get in the faces of the three referees, then there is no room for griping about the disparity from the charity stripe.

It felt like Woodson and his staff threw in the towel five minutes into the second half, which is very concerning.

2 Important Observations

1. There was a severe lack of interest from the bench during the second half.

On top of the coaches appearing to give up on the game, the guys on the bench had a severe lack of energy when things got tough last night.

No matter how the season is going, the two games against Purdue should be circled on the schedule as games that need energy from the moment you start watching film days before the game until the final horn.

It took Indiana a whopping 10 minutes to lose energy on the bench, and the guys on the floor followed their lead.

“I thought we played well early,” Woodson said postgame. “From the 10-minute mark going into the half we couldn’t score and threw the ball away.”

Losing by 20 is one thing, but losing interest a quarter of the way into a game against your arch-rival is unacceptable, and it’s even more frustrating knowing that it started with the coaching staff.

2. Malik Reneau was a no-show.

In a game full of disheartening play, none was more apparent than Malik Reneau.

The sophomore was stymied by Purdue last night to the tune of 6 points on 3-11 shooting.

The lack of production from Indiana’s most valuable asset stemmed from early foul trouble as Reneau played 23 minutes, his second-lowest total of the Big Ten season.

“He just wasn’t Malik and they had a lot to do with that from a defensive standpoint,” Woodson said. “He was trying to do it himself and just looked out of character.”

Luckily for the cream and crimson, these types of games from Reneau are few and far between; however, it hurts especially bad for him to have this bad of a game against Purdue.

“He’s been pretty solid for us this season,” Woodson added. “Tonight just wasn’t his night.”

1 Lingering Question

How long can Indiana continue to look like this without wholesale changes?

Indiana was flat-out embarrassed by their rival for the second time this season.

During his postgame press conference, Woodson kept reiterating that his team is young.

It is impossible to reason with this argument when the opponent won the Big Ten last year with two freshman guards in the backcourt.

It also cannot be used an excuse in the transfer portal era that allows coaches to reload their team with experience every season.

This season is not over, but the questions surrounding the program once again loom large.

How much longer can Scott Dolson watch his coaching staff give up in the second half of a rivalry game, especially with how the season has evolved up to this point?

Whether you are willing to admit it or not, the NCAA bubble has popped, and Indiana is playing for nothing but pride and an NIT berth the rest of the way.

The big unknown right now is whether or not the coaching staff is auditioning for their positions over the season’s final month, much like guys such as CJ Gunn are vying for their spot on next year’s roster.

With more performances like Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio State, a case can be made that things are still moving in a somewhat positive direction.

But when those performances are balanced by the two losses to Purdue and the home blowout to Penn State, the questions and concerns are obvious.

Thanks for reading!

Make sure you vote in the postgame polls for Game Ball and Hoosier Hustle Award, and leave your takeaways on last night’s game.

The Hoosiers now have a nice long break until next Sunday. We’ll talk to you next on AC Radio this Thursday, then reconvene for the IU-Northwestern postgame show next weekend.

Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday!

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Josh Pos

Student Intern

The Assembly Call

After trailing by a dozen with seven minutes left in the game, Indiana scratched and clawed their way back to win on the road for the first time since beating Michigan in December.

After the Penn State loss, many had doubts about how the team would respond on the road.

“Everybody out there playing tonight knew what was at stake tonight,” Mike Woodson said. “It was our defense and rebounding and making good offensive decisions coming down the stretch that allowed us to come out of here with a win.”

It was ugly for 30 minutes, but the final 10 minutes was some of the most inspiring basketball this team has played in a while.

“We didn’t quit,” Woodson said of last night’s second-half surge. “We just kept fighting and fighting.”

With last night’s victory, Indiana improves to 14-9 and 6-6 in conference play.

Now here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question on my mind while trying to come down from the excitement of that comeback win.

Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?

IU-Ohio State Postgame Show

Box Score

3 Meaningful Stats

1. Indiana collected 12 offensive boards.

When Indiana beat Ohio State a month ago, the Buckeyes nearly out-rebounded the Hoosiers with their offensive boards alone.

Last night was quite the opposite.

“That was the big emphasis coming in,” Woodson said. “At our place it wasn’t even close and we knew we had to come and try and win the rebound game and we did.”

Indiana convincingly beat Ohio State on the glass, 36-30. On top of that, the Hoosiers only allowed seven offensive boards, which pales in comparison to the 22 they allowed last month.

The Hoosiers utilized those 12 offensive rebounds to tally 14 second-chance points. The Buckeyes only scored seven second-chance points after putting up 24 in the previous game against IU.

Indiana hasn’t improved in many areas this season, but since the first meeting with the Buckeyes, the Hoosiers have been much better at grabbing rebounds.

2. Malik Reneau had a career-high 14 rebounds.

This season has been rough for the players, but Malik has quickly become one of the easiest people to root for on Indiana.

As Jerod mentioned on Twitter last night, this is what a sophomore leap looks like. It continued tonight for Malik, as he showed his dominance again with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

Early in the second half, Malik got a technical after an uncalled goaltending. This could’ve spiraled out of control for him, but he told reporters after the game that he apologized to his team and moved on.

“He didn’t stop playing,” Woodson said in high praise of the sophomore’s performance. “He had to move onto the next play and I thought he did that.”

Trey Galloway was incredible, and Anthony Leal made tons of big plays down the stretch, but Malik’s fiery response to get the tech was the first instance of emotion any Indiana player had shown since the Iowa win. It seemed to spark the team in the second half.

“He’s ultra-talented,” Anthony Leal said postgame “He is also impossible to guard.”

It will be difficult to keep Malik off the all-Big Ten first team this season if he continues his dominant play.

3. Kel’el Ware played 10 minutes in the first half.

Given where Indiana stands, fouling out one of your best players because he picked up two fouls in the first half seems misguided.

Indiana might not have been in the hole they were in at the half if Woodson didn’t sit the big fella for so long.

There is nothing to lose at this point of the season.

Ware didn’t have a good night by any stretch of the imagination, finishing with six points on 3-10 shooting and only one rebound. His best games usually come when he starts off the game hot.

And just because Indiana won last night despite sitting Ware so long in the first half while an opponent lead was building doesn’t mean it is advisable moving forward. This cannot happen on Saturday up at Mackey. Ware needs to be on the floor when Zach Edey is on the floor, regardless of the foul situation, for as long as the game is competitive.

Indiana already has all of the cards stacked against them, so there is no reason Ware should be sitting on the bench for 10 minutes in such a big game.

2 Important Observations

1. Trey Galloway and Malik Reneau willed the team back into the game.

After last night’s performance, these two should be the captains for the remainder of the season.

The two mainstay starters combined for 51 of Indiana’s 76 points last night and made massive plays down the stretch to push their team over the hump.

Coach Woodson has talked about getting his team over the proverbial hump and needing his leaders to step up, and last night we saw both happen.

“Our seniors can’t hide,” Woodson said. “I thought Gallo was huge tonight.”

Galloway, who scored 25 points on 9-15 shooting, was playing with confidence and moxie that we haven’t seen since the Kansas game.

“It’s huge coming out with that win.” Reneau said. “I have no words for it, man. It was just a great moment.”

If Indiana wants to use Tuesday’s victory to turn around their season, it will be on the back of Galloway and Reneau having dominant performances like we saw last night.

2. Anthony Leal has earned the opportunity to start at Purdue.

After drilling the game-winning three in last night’s game, Anthony Leal has solidified himself as someone Mike Woodson can trust in big-time situations.

Woodson alluded to the fact that the play wasn’t set up for Leal to take the shot, and that shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody based on how Galloway and Reneau were playing down the stretch; however, when Indiana needed a bucket at the most significant point in the game, it was Anthony Leal.

“My confidence level is he’s on the floor,” Woodson said of Leal’s late minutes. “He delivered for us.”

Leal scored the last five points, including a pair of big free throws to seal the deal for Indiana.

Saturday’s game at Mackey is the biggest game of Indiana’s season, and there is one person in particular who deserves his shot to be a starter in that game: Anthony Leal.

He is an Indiana kid who has proven that he can provide meaningful minutes for his team. It is time to give the hometown hero his chance.

1 Lingering Question

Where has that effort in the second half been all year?

With the effort and fight Indiana showed last night to crawl back from an 18-point deficit, you have to wonder why we don’t consistently see this from the Hoosiers.

It was all about the mentality last night for Indiana. According to Malik Reneau, the Hoosiers set goals for media timeouts in the second half—credit to the players and coaches for setting and reaching those goals last night.

“Just chipping at the lead, slowly but surely,” Reneau said of the second half mentality. “Just taking it one possession at a time.”

This leads to the lingering question: why can’t Indiana consistently play with the same energy and intensity as we did in the final 10 minutes of last night’s game?

Some of it may stem from Indiana having such a narrow path to victory on most nights, especially when Xavier Johnson is injured. On days when things just aren’t working, especially in disadvantageous matchups, the Hoosiers often wilt without a Plan B to grasp onto. That’s what we saw against Penn State.

But last night, Indiana was getting good shots all game long. And Ohio State wasn’t exactly playing with its hair on fire even while building their 18-point lead. The Hoosiers were able to maintain their confidence and connection to the gameplan because it never actually stopped working; they just got locked in and started executing better and converting at a higher rate.

Plus, this team seems to really respond when Anthony Leal makes an impact on the game, like he did against Iowa but was unable to against Penn State.

It shouldn’t have come to it, being down 18 points, but this team could have packed it in at that point. They didn’t, and that’s enough to give any Indiana fan at least some hope that the Hoosiers will be able to go up to West Lafayette and compete for 40 minutes on Saturday night — something that did not happen when the two teams met up in Bloomington.

Thanks for reading!

Make sure you vote in the postgame polls for Game Ball and Hoosier Hustle Award, and leave your takeaways on last night’s game.

We’ll be back to talk IU hoops again with you for sure on Saturday night after IU-Purdue. AC Radio will NOT be held at its regularly scheduled time due to a conflict with the women’s team, so Doing The Work will be live on Thursday night instead.

If we reschedule AC Radio, we’ll let you know.

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Josh Pos

Student Intern

The Assembly Call