[Postgame 3-2-1] What We Learned From Indiana's Win Against Rutgers
Big Ten play resumed last night, and a team effort by Indiana knocked off a short-handed Rutgers team despite a memorable performance by Ace Bailey.
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA. — Indiana opened the 2025 portion of its schedule against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday evening in Bloomington.
It was back and forth to open the game as both teams traded leads, but a late first-half run capped off by an Anthony Leal buzzer-beater from 35 feet gave the Hoosiers a 41-34 advantage heading into the break.
Indiana built a lead as big as 16 in the second half, which Rutgers eventually chipped into thanks to some superb shot making by freshman Ace Bailey. The Hoosiers never allowed Rutgers to get within two possessions, however, and ultimately put the finishing touches on an 84-74 victory over the Scarlet Knights.
“We still got a long way to go,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said. “I just got to get them comfortable having fun and flying around and doing things on both ends of the floor that we're supposed to do and we're not there yet.”
Eight different Hoosiers scored, and four amassed double-digit points.
Here are three stats, two additional observations, and one lingering question from Indiana's 84-74 victory against Rutgers.
Did you miss yesterday's edition of the postgame show?
3 Meaningful Stats
1. Indiana makes a dozen threes
Entering Thursday night's clash, Indiana had been struggling to shoot the ball from 3-point range.
Over the Hoosiers' last five games, they'd shot just 22.4%, including a putrid 1-for-20 performance in their most recent win over Winthrop. The Hoosiers were averaging just 4.8 made 3-pointers a game over their last five prior to Thursday night.
Mackenzie Mgbako and Trey Galloway drilled two of their four long balls in the first half. Luke Goode, Kanaan Carlyle, and Anthony Leal all added 3-pointers of their own, with Leal's coming at the first-half buzzer in dramatic fashion.
Overall, Indiana went 12-for-27 (44.4%) from 3-point range on the night. Goode, Mgbako, and Galloway all ended the night with three made 3-pointers.
“That's probably the most threes we've made this season so far and I just hope it continues to be a carryover,” Woodson said. “Tonight, guys stepped up and they knocked them down which we're going to need moving forward.”
The Hoosiers' 12 made 3-pointers on Thursday night were the most of any team during the Mike Woodson era and the most in a game since Indiana hit 13 long balls on Dec. 12, 2020 against North Alabama. That was 1,481 days ago.
2. Indiana had 34 Second Chance Points
Junior forward Malik Reneau went down in pain, holding his right knee 29 seconds into the game. Though he got back up and wanted to remain in the game, Reneau walked off the floor gingerly and back to the Indiana locker room under his own power.
Despite playing down a starting big man, Indiana was dominant on the offensive glass against the Scarlet Knights. The Hoosiers tallied 18 offensive rebounds and 34 second-chance points on Thursday night, both of which are season-highs.
Oumar Ballo — who was reinstated into the rotation after missing Sunday’s win vs Winthrop — led the charge on the offensive glass, tallying seven offensive boards. Anthony Leal added three more.
“Someone has to come out and set the tone every game… it becomes contagious and everybody is like okay, we got to really match that energy or else we're just going to be letting them down,” Leal said. “It's becoming contagious and it's selfless team basketball and that's what we're about.”
3. Indiana finished with eight turnovers
Indiana has done a much better job taking care of the basketball as of late.
In last Sunday’s victory over Winthrop, the Hoosiers finished with eight turnovers. Indiana was once again strong with the basketball, finishing with eight giveaways once again.
In its 14 games, Indiana has stayed below the 10 turnover threshold that Woodson has always strived for six times this season; all of which Indiana has won.
Having the ability to effectively push the pace while keeping the turnover number down can be a recipe for a lot of success for the Hoosiers in conference play.
2 Important Observations
1. How do you do, Oumar Ballo?!
Prior to tip-off on Thursday night, Indiana listed starting big man Oumar Ballo as "questionable" on the pregame availability report. During his pregame radio spot with Don Fischer, head coach Mike Woodson said that Ballo would play, but probably limited minutes.
However, Reneau’s injury thrusted Woodson into a position to rely heavily on Ballo.
Ballo put on a show for the more than 13,000 Indiana fans in attendance, finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists.
After a big block in the second half, Ballo wagged his finger like Dikembe Mutombo then proceeded to pump his arms in the air to get the crowd on its feet.
“I thought he played great,” Woodson said. “He's a big part of our team winning tonight. He had 17 and three rebounds, a few blocked shots, plugged the hole up for us like he's supposed to so I thought he played well.”
Ballo’s continued dominance in the paint while also being an above average passer out of the post will give his team an advantage in every game they play the rest of the way.
2. Ace Bailey put on a clinic
Rutgers announced about an hour before tip-off that freshman phenom Dylan Harper would miss the game with an illness, forcing the Scarlet Knights to rely on their other talented freshman on Thursday night against the Hoosiers.
Ace Bailey entered the evening averaging just north of 18 points per game on the season, playing as the second option alongside Harper. On Thursday night, he had surpassed that average by the under four timeout of the first half.
Bailey finished the contest with a new career-high of 39 points. Indiana managed to make Bailey work for most of what he got on the offensive end of the floor, weathering the storm and coming out on top. Bailey finished the game 16-of-29 from the field, including 4-of-8 from deep.
“He's special. He's a good player and he's young,” Woodson said. “If he continues to work, he could be pretty special. I mean, we kind of threw a few things at him, but he made some tough shots tonight and that's what great players do.”
Outside of the star freshman’s breakout scoring, Indiana managed to hold the rest of the Scarlet Knights to 34 percent.
There is no doubt that Ace Bailey will be a top-five pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and Thursday night’s showcase will be remembered as one of the best individual performances in Assembly Hall’s illustrious history.
1 Lingering Question
Is playing Anthony the Leal Deal?
Anthony Leal guarding Ace Bailey was your classic David vs Goliath showdown. Yet Bailey, a surefire lottery pick, had some issues while Leal was guarding him, once again proving how important Anthony Leal is to the Indiana roster.
With Leal guarding him in the first half, Bailey went 1-for-6 from the field. Leal had plenty of help from his teammates, but it was the Bloomington native that did the best job against Bailey when the Hoosiers needed it most.
“Anytime I was on him I just tried to take away space, get physical on him and force him to his left hand knowing he's going to make some tough shots,” Leal said. “He's projected to go where he's going to go, so just tried to make it tough on him and tried to make him hit contested shots, which today he did, but it's a team game so we were able to get the win.”
Indiana is statistically much better when Leal is on the floor. The numbers back it up too.
Leal passes the eye test as a hard-nosed player that is willing to put his body on the line for his team, so it is *finally* time for him to consistently be in the rotation.