On a frigid Wednesday night in Bloomington, the Indiana Hoosiers weathered yet another poor shooting night and took down the USC Trojans (9-6, 1-3 Big Ten) 82-69. Center Oumar Ballo led the team in scoring for a second consecutive game, notching 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 9/11 shooting from the field, and guard Myles Rice had a jack-of-all-trades performance with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block to help the Hoosiers dominate USC defensively in the second half.
It was a slow start for Indiana, who faced an early 10-point deficit in the first half. An 0/6 shooting stretch contributed to the Hoosiers falling behind 19-9 by the 12-minute mark of the first half. A balanced shooting attack pulled Indiana back to an even 38-38 score heading into the halftime break.
After the break, Indiana gradually pulled away from the Trojans. Forcing 6 USC turnovers, the Hoosiers took care of the ball, only committing 1 turnover during the second half. The Hoosier defense held USC to 41.0% shooting from the field and only 23.6% from beyond the arc on the night.
The win extends Indiana’s win streak to five games and improves their record to 4-1 in the Big Ten and 13-3 overall. With the loss, USC falls to 9-6 overall this year and 1-3 in Big Ten play.
Stepping Up In The Paint
On another night where the Indiana Hoosiers struggled to shoot the ball from deep, including a 0 point, 0/8 shooting performance from sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako, they found another outlet to put points on the board. The Hoosiers dominated on the interior, scoring 38 points in the paint and out-rebounding the Trojans 40-33. Speaking on the shooting struggles of Mbako and the team overall, head coach Mike Woodson was effusive in his praise of his players stepping up in other aspects of the game:
“That’s the makeup of our ball club… When someone is struggling… That’s what we do.”
Four players scored in double figures for the Hoosiers, including center Oumar Ballo. Ballo was a dominant force in the paint despite only scoring 2 points in the game’s opening 15 minutes. The Trojans held the big man in check for the majority of the first half before Ballo knocked in four free throws over a two minute stretch. Those four points got the seven-footer rolling, and he dominated inside the paint for the remainder of the game. Woodson offered some insight on what got their star center rolling:
“Ballo is a pretty big guy… but I thought they played Ballo early. They were top siding him, and we did a poor job trying to get to him early. As the game wore on, everything kind of loosened up and we were able to utilize him a bit more. He delivered for us.”
Ballo hit the 20-point mark for the second consecutive game with 23 points on 81.8% shooting from the floor. He also added in 2 blocks, his third consecutive game with 2+ blocks. The Hoosiers are 7-0 when Ballo blocks at least 2 shots in a game this season.
Indiana Hoosiers Season Growth
After a run of games where the Hoosiers struggled to pull away from their opponents, Wednesday night brought a welcome change for Indiana. After clawing their way back to an even 38-38 score at halftime, the Hoosiers locked in in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 44-31. After the game, Mike Woodson credited his players, saying they’re starting to feel comfortable as the season heats up:
“You know, we are starting to grow and learn one another and guys are feeling comfortable about who can do what and who can’t do what. Makes a big difference. Still got a long way to go and still growing.”
Malik Reneau Out Again
Wednesday marked the second consecutive game that forward Malik Reneau missed due to a knee injury. Reneau injured his right knee in the opening minute of Indiana’s 84-74 win over Rutgers on January 2. There is no current timetable for his return. Reneau is averaging 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Hoosiers this season
The Hoosiers return to action on January 11 in a road matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten) at 8:00 P.M. on Fox.
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