[Postgame 3-2-1] What We Learned From Indiana's Victory Over Washington
Here are three stats, two observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 78-62 win over Washington.
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.
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.”