At the Buzzer: Indiana 80, SIU Edwardsville 61

  • Nov 6, 2024 10:09 pm in

Quick thoughts on an 80-61 win against SIU Edwardsville:

How it happened

Indiana raced to a 20-9 lead against SIU Edwardsville as Mackenzie Mgbako was hot early. The sophomore wing had 13 points in the first 6:56 of the game. But as SIUE settled in and Indiana failed to lock down the defensive glass, the Hoosiers couldn’t create any separation. By the 4:48 mark of the half, the Cougars tied the game at 27 on a Ray’Sean Taylor 3-pointer. That prompted a timeout for Mike Woodson, who had let his team try to play through their struggles until that point. The Hoosiers responded to close the half and used a 15-3 run to claim a 42-30 lead at intermission. Kanaan Carlyle’s defense was a catalyst in the late run, as was Malik Reneau, who had 11 first-half points. That was second to Mgbako, who had 19 points in 12 minutes. Still, there was plenty to be concerned about. IU allowed 10 offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes.

The Hoosiers built a 15-point lead by the 12:57 mark of the second half, but SIUE stormed back to make it 55-44 at the under-12 media timeout. But Mgbako had a response. His 3-pointer from the left wing made it 58-46 and his tip-in stretched the lead to 14 at 60-46 with 9:53 left, which forced SIUE to use a timeout. A 3-pointer from Galloway, IU’s fifth triple of the game, made it 65-48 Hoosiers with 7:40 to play. The lead grew to 22 at 74-52 on a Reneau layup with 4:22 to play. The Hoosiers were not challenged the rest of the way in their 19-point victory. While it was an up-and-down effort from Indiana, it was a more comfortable win than the program’s early season performances a year ago.

Standout performers

Mgbako finished with 31 points and added nine rebounds in 28 minutes. He was 13-for-17 from the floor and 4-for-5 on 3s. Malik Reneau added 15 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes and Oumar Ballo also scored 15 points in 28 minutes. Trey Galloway had nine assists in 17 minutes off the bench.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana shot 14-for-17 (82.4 percent) from the free-throw line and 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) on 3s. However, the Hoosiers allowed 16 offensive rebounds and committed 16 turnovers.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

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