At the Buzzer: Indiana 89, Providence 73

  • Nov 29, 2024 1:07 pm in

Quick thoughts on an 89-73 win against Providence:

How it happened

After two lackluster performances against Louisville and Gonzaga, Indiana had a much better first half in Friday’s seventh-place game against Providence. The Hoosiers only had four turnovers, hit four triples and went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes. Mackenzie Mgbako finally got going offensively and scored 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting in 16 first-half minutes. And IU also got production from its bench as Bryson Tucker (two points), Luke Goode (five) and Langdon Hatton (four) all scored in the first half. After leading by as many as 12, the Hoosiers went to the break with a 44-34 advantage.

A 16-10 spurt to begin the second half stretched the Indiana lead to 60-44 by the under-16 media timeout. Mgbako and Trey Galloway made 3-pointers in that stretch. The Hoosiers stayed hot from the perimeter and connected on two more triples by the under-12 media timeout, but defensive lapses allowed Providence to cut the lead to 71-58 with 10:57 to play. The Friars cut the IU lead to nine on an Eli DeLaurier bucket with 9:06 remaining. But Indiana took control over the next four and a half minutes. A 9-2 run gave the Hoosiers an 82-66 advantage with 4:41 left, forcing Kim English to use a timeout. Indiana wasn’t challenged the rest of the way as the Hoosiers improved to 5-2.

Standout performers

Mgbako finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. Reneau added 21 points and Galloway was also solid, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana shot 53.3 percent from the field, 8-for-15 on 3s (53.3 percent) and 17-for-20 (85 percent) from the free throw line. Still, the defense for the Hoosiers wasn’t nearly as good as it needs to be. Indiana allowed Providence to score 1.1 points per possession in the win.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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