The Minute After: SIUE
Thoughts on an 80-61 win against the Cougars:
A season ago, Indiana had issues putting away lesser non-conference opponents.
The closer-than-projected final score margins ultimately hurt the Hoosiers in the computer rankings, one of several reasons they failed to reach the NCAA tournament in the 2023-24 campaign.
Indiana did win by 19 tonight. But for long stretches of the contest, it felt like last season. The Hoosiers didn’t break things open for good until later in the second half, meaning it still had some starters on the floor as the final buzzer sounded, not its deep bench.
“(SIUE) was able to hang around,” Mike Woodson said after the contest. “A lot of that is because we just didn’t execute.”
Indiana was sloppy. Myles Rice, who shined in the exhibition games, turned the ball over five times. The Hoosiers posted a turnover percentage of 22 for the contest and struggled a few times to get the ball inbounds from the baseline. IU’s offense lacked fluidity. Spacing felt cramped. Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau posted up and received the ball down low, with teammates standing around instead of the quick buckets they scored in the exhibition games. Indiana also took fewer 3-pointers, shooting just 16 tonight, 10 less than its opponent.
“The ball just wasn’t moving and our bodies weren’t moving,” Woodson said. “I’ve gotta get us better in that area.”
Luke Goode’s cold streak continued as he missed all three of his shots tonight. Kanaan Carlyle is still figuring out where to fit in. Trey Galloway played more minutes this evening, but is looking rusty after his knee injury. Still, he picked up where he left off last season in playing a facilitator role – especially down the stretch in the second half. He connected with Ballo in ball-screen action a couple of times and had nine assists for the game, with six coming in the final 20 minutes.
Indiana’s rebounding effort suffered, giving SIUE extra opportunities. With four minutes to go in the first half, Indiana had allowed the Cougars to rebound 48 percent of their missed shots. That number fell to 32 percent by the game’s end, but with the Hoosiers snagging 33 percent of their misses, that statistic was a wash tonight.
Thank goodness for Mackenzie Mgbako.
Indiana’s sophomore came out hot, scoring 13 points in a three-minute span early in the game. Mgbako kept it going and eventually finished with a career-high 31 points. He made 13-of-17 overall, 4-of-5 from deep and 1-of-1 at the line. Beyond his scoring burst, Mgbako got after it on the boards, pulling down a game-high nine. He continues to show more engagement on defense as well. Reneau and Ballo added 15 each to aid in Indiana’s scoring effort.
Coming off a victory at Tennessee and a dominating win against Marian, tonight’s performance was subpar. Still, it’s a nearly 20-point win for a team with many new faces, one still trying to figure out its identity and comfort level with each other on the court.
It’s the season’s opening game, and Indiana has plenty of time to get it right. But the Hoosiers can’t afford to keep going this way if they want to put last season in the rear-view mirror for good.
Filed to: SIU Edwardsville Cougars