The Minute After: USC
Thoughts on an 82-69 win against the Trojans:
It was not the best start for the Hoosiers this evening.
As the Trojans spread their arms wide on defense, their length seemed to bother IU. Indiana’s shot selection against it was poor and out of rhythm. As a result, the shots weren’t falling. Mackenzie Mgbako missed all seven of his attempts in the first 7:05 of the game. Mike Woodson sat him the rest of the half. Mgbako played just 15 minutes all night and finished 0-of-8 from the floor with 0 points.
After Myles Rice got his shot blocked and Wesley Yates turned it into a fast-break score on the other end, the Hoosiers found themselves in a 10-point hole (19-9) at the 12:09 mark.
But as the half wore on, Indiana snapped out of its funk and started to assert itself. Luke Goode stayed hot from deep, making all three of his first-half 3-point attempts. And after not finding him much to start, the Hoosiers fed Oumar Ballo. The Arizona transfer scored eight points in the final 5:09 of the first half. As Ballo dominated, USC was slowed because it was without its engine Desmond Claude, who sat for just over seven minutes of action due to a second foul he picked up.
It was all enough for Indiana to erase the 10-point deficit and enter half tied with USC at 38.
The Hoosiers kept it going in the second half. Trey Galloway came alive, looking like the Galloway of last season when he was tasked with a heavy playmaking and scoring load. Galloway got to his floater game in the lane on a couple of occasions, hit a corner 3-pointer and scored at the rim. Indiana’s super senior also found Ballo on two separate alley-oops. He finished with 11 points (5-of-11), six assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Bryson Tucker added some pop off the bench (nine points, 4-of-9). The freshman got to his mid-range spots like usual. But he also had a nice take where he spun in the lane for a lay-in, too.
Rice continues to mature inside Indiana’s offense, finding the right balance between scoring and facilitating. He’s picking his spots better to get to the rim, using his speed to blow by defenders. Rice made it to the line 11 times tonight for his efforts, making nine of those attempts. Rice finished with 19 points, but also dished out six assists, tied for a season-high.
Ballo led all scorers with 23 points on an efficient 9-of-11 shooting performance. He went 5-of-5 from the line to boot.
After strong 3-point shooting performances against Rutgers and Penn State, Indiana wasn’t as good tonight (6-of-21, 28.6 percent). Its offensive rebounding percentage (30) also fell from those contests, too. But the Hoosiers turned the ball over on just eight percent of their possessions. They also held the Trojans under a point per possession (.97).
Most importantly, they took care of a business in a game they couldn’t afford to lose. The Hoosiers have now won 9 of 10, including three straight in conference play.
But the road gets much tougher from here. KenPom is projecting the Hoosiers to lose their next nine games. Just how many of those Indiana can flip into victories may tell the story of the entire season. It could be the difference between making the NCAA tournament or being a team on the outside looking in for a second straight season.
Filed to: USC Trojans