At the Buzzer: Indiana 82, USC 69

Quick thoughts on an 82-69 win against USC:

How it happened

Indiana was sluggish to start Wednesday’s game against USC at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers were a step slow defensively and the Trojans took advantage. USC built a 10-point lead on two different occasions in the first half. After a Saint Thomas jumper put USC up 22-12, Indiana ripped off a 12-2 run to tie the game at 24 at the 5:42 mark. The last six points of that run came after Desmond Claude, the leading scorer for the Trojans entering the game, went to the bench with his second foul. The two teams played to a tie over the final five-plus minutes of the half and entered the break knotted at 38. Luke Goode (11 points) and Oumar Ballo (10 points, five rebounds) were the standouts of the first half for the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers were far more sharp to begin the second half and opened up a 6-point lead in the first three-plus minutes. IU pushed the lead to eight with a pair of Myles Rice free throws at the 15:09 mark. By the under-12 media timeout, the Hoosiers led 57-47. Trey Galloway was instrumental in building that cushion with nine of IU’s 19 points in the first eight-plus minutes of the half. After the lead grew to 12 at 59-47, USC scored the next five to get within seven at 59-52 with 10:20 to play. But the Hoosiers had an answer. A 6-0 run, capped by a Goode 3-pointer, pushed IU’s lead to 13 at the under-eight media timeout. By the final media timeout, IU’s led by eight with Bryson Tucker headed to the line after the break. Tucker split the free throws and after a Claude bucket, the Hoosiers scored the next four points to stretch the lead to 78-67 and put the game away.

Standout performers

Ballo led the Hoosiers with 23 points and just missed a double-double (nine rebounds). Rice wasn’t far behind, with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes. And Goode had 16 points, including a 4-for-5 performance on 3s. Galloway also deserves a mention for his 11 points and six assists, while Tucker had his best game in a while with nine points and four rebounds in 25 minutes.