At the Buzzer: Indiana 83, Penn State 78

  • Feb 26, 2025 10:57 pm
 

Quick thoughts on an 83-78 win against Penn State:

How it happened

With Malik Reneau out due to illness, Oumar Ballo returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Ballo put together a strong first half, leading the Hoosiers with 11 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes. The Hoosiers put together a strong offensive first half, including a 4-for-7 mark on 3s, but struggled with turnovers as they committed eight. The biggest issue, however, was Indiana’s inability to get stops. The Nittany Lions shot 64 percent from the field and scored 1.14 points per possession to claim a 39-37 halftime lead. Ace Baldwin was a big part of the success of Penn State. The fifth-year point guard made all three of his 3-point attempts to go along with four steals.

It remained a seesaw battle out of the break, with Penn State opening a five-point lead at 47-42 on a pair of free throws by Yanic Konan Niederhauser. The Hoosiers answered with a 10-4 run to grab the lead at 52-51 with 14:28 to play. By the under-12 media timeout, the game was knotted at 53. After The Nittany Lions opened a 63-58 lead on three free throws by Baldwin, the Hoosiers got back within three at 65-62 at the under-eight media timeout. After Nick Kern Jr. broke a 67-67 tie with a layup, Trey Galloway hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give IU a 73-69 lead with 5:14 to play, forcing a Penn State timeout. Anthony Leal stretched the IU lead to six at 75-69 with two free throws, but Freddie Dilione answered with a 3-pointer to make it 75-72 at the under-four media timeout.

Penn State got within two after Konan Niederhauser split a pair of free throws, but IU answered with a Myles Rice corner 3-pointer and then a layup by Rice after a Galloway steal to stretch the lead to 80-73 with 2:33 left. Zach Hicks brought Penn State within four at 80-76 with a 3-pointer and neither team scored again until under a minute to play as Rice split a pair of free throws to make it 81-76 with 56.5 seconds left. Baldwin Jr. made two free throws to make it 81-78 with 41 seconds left. The Nittany Lions fouled Rice, who missed both free throws. On Penn State’s ensuing possession, Hicks missed a rushed 3-pointer and Penn State fouled Luke Goode, who made both free throws to seal the win, IU’s eighth in conference play.

Standout performers

Five Hoosiers scored in double figures with Ballo setting the pace with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Galloway added 16 points, including a 4-for-5 mark on 3s. He also had nine assists. Rice scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, while Mgbako also finished with 13 points. Goode had 10 points, including a 2-for-3 mark on 3s.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana shot 10-for-15 on 3s, good for 66.7 percent. The Hoosiers struggled from the free throw line at 15-for-25 (60 percent). Indiana scored 1.394 points per possession in the second half.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

Category: Commentary

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