[Postgame 3-2-1] What We Learned From Indiana's Victory Over Penn State
Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 83-78 win over Penn State.
BLOOMINGTON, IND. — Coming off its exhilarating victory against Purdue, Indiana basketball wrapped up a three-game home stand by hosting Penn State on Wednesday night in Bloomington
After a sluggish first half, the Hoosiers used another second half surge to defeat the Nittany Lions 83-78.
With the victory, Indiana improves to 17-11 overall and 8-9 in Big Ten play.
“At this point in the season every game is important, but this one is special because we know we're playing for something big. And it was super fun to have our fans backing us up and keeping us in the game to the point that we took over,” Indiana forward Oumar Ballo said postgame. “Anytime we get a home win, super fun.”
Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 83-78 victory over Penn State.
3 Meaningful Stats
1. Oumar Ballo dominates, finishing 20/12/5
Oumar Ballo was Indiana's most consistent player of the first half with his 11-point performance.
Ballo struggled for a large chunk of the second half, missing five of his first six shots.
But he found his groove after converting on a three-point play at the under-eight timeout of the half.
The Arizona transfer wound up finishing with a team high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Ballo added a dozen rebounds and 5 assists for the Hoosiers.
“Whenever you have couple of pounds on the defender, you need to take advantage of that. So I was trying to put my body -- even though I missed some shots,” Ballo said. “but at the end of the day we got the job done. So that's what matters.”
Ballo played 36 minutes in the wake of Reneau's sudden absence from the lineup, providing Indiana with effort and intensity the entire night.
2. Galloway scores 16 (and added 9 assists)
Trey Galloway was struggling taking care of the ball the vast majority of Wednesday night's game, turning the ball over four times in the first half. However, his impact in the final minutes of the game is what led Indiana to a five-point victory against Penn State.
Trailing by two with less than six minutes left on the clock, Galloway hit a right-wing triple to give Indiana a one-point lead.
Just seconds later, Myles Rice was in transition and found a streaking Galloway on the left wing who buried another three to give Indiana a four-point advantage, turning Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall into a madhouse at the timeout.
Galloway hit all four of his attempts from deep, finishing with 16 points and 9 assists.
With his 16 points, the Culver, Indiana, native draws closer to the 1,000-point benchmark, sitting just 50 points away from the milestone achievement.
“Trey's been with me the longest. He's put up with a lot of shit from me,” Woodson said of his fifth-year senior. “At the end of the day I know he's going to play hard and give 100 percent when he's out there, and that's all you can ask for.”
3. Hoosiers make double-digit threes
Three-point shooting has been an issue for the entirety of Mike Woodson’s tenure at Indiana. However, Wednesday night was a sight to see.
Indiana made 10 of its 15 shots from behind the arc, including a 6-of-8 clip in the second half. The 66.7% clip from deep is the second-highest percentage in Woodson’s four seasons.
The three-point outburst was something Woodson has been hoping and praying for a long time now.
“I've been saying that shit for three years. Guys have been getting good looks but hadn't knocked them down, and tonight we made them. It was nice to see. I hope that's a good sign moving forward.
2 Important Observations
1. Indiana is playing with a new sense of urgency
As the season draws to a close, Indiana finds itself squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.
Hopes were bleak ahead of the Purdue game, but two straight wins has the Hoosiers in Andy Bottoms’ most recent bracket.
Finishing games was Indiana’s biggest issue in January and most of February, but the last two games have proved the opposite, mostly because of the Hoosiers’ newfound sense of urgency.
“I think we're coming together and we know we're a better team than we've shown. And we still have a chance and we're fighting for a spot in the tournament and we're fighting for just getting better and pushing our record in the Big Ten,” Galloway said. “We're taking it one game at a time. We've got to keep focusing on the next game, which is Washington.”
The sentiments are shared by Indiana’s head coach, who’s coaching career is quickly wrapping up.
“These guys are playing for something,” Woodson said. “We're trying to get in the tournament. And we've got three games left.”
2. Despite scoring more, Mgbako still looks lost
Of all the good that has transpired in the past two games, Indiana hasn’t gotten peak production from its reigning Big Ten co-Freshman of the Year Mackenzie Mgbako.
Mgbako, who didn’t see any game action in the second half of Sunday’s game against Purdue, once again struggled on Wednesday night.
The sophomore played 28 minutes and did score 13 points, but he was 0-for-4 at the charity stripe. His defense also left something to be desired.
Indiana is going to need the Gladstone, New Jersey native to step up down the stretch, starting on the West Coast.
1 Lingering Question
What does Indiana need to do out west?
Indiana now embarks on the dreaded west coast trip, starting with a trip to Seattle to take on a struggling Washington team on Saturday, then heading south to Eugene for a Tuesday tilt with Oregon.
Despite the early-season struggles, Indiana has put itself in position where if they win the winnable games a tournament berth is likely to follow.
The Washington game is shaping up to be similar to the Penn State game; a game that Indiana must win in order to keep its tournament hopes alive.
Indiana is in the field according roughly half of the brackets on bracket matrix, but a 2-0 trip out west could seal the deal for Indiana’s third tournament appearance in four seasons.
A 1-1 record makes the Ohio State game in Bloomington a must win, but luckily for the Hoosiers, they appear to be in control of their own fate as the final week approaches.