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Indiana men’s basketball opened its 2024-25 campaign with a comfortable 80-61 victory over SIU Edwardsville. This marked a stark contrast to the opening of last season, when it took Indiana five games to win by double digits.
There are definitely some kinks to work out, as you’d expect from a team with as many new pieces as Indiana, but this was a new-look Hoosier team. Even the returning players looked faster, more athletic, and more willing to push the pace.
If this team can come together quickly, look for more lopsided scores in the early goings here. It certainly looks like they’ll have the pieces to compete for a top spot in the Big Ten this year and go deeper in the NCAA tournament than we’ve seen in years.
Offense
The first thing I noticed about this new Indiana team is how fast it is and wants to be, especially when Myles Rice has the ball in his hand. He can lead a fastbreak, blow by his defender for an easy bucket, and move the ball when the defense collapses on him.
Even with all of the errant passes and 16 turnovers, the Hoosiers finished with 12 fastbreak points on 12 SIUE turnovers. Indiana also got 14 second chance points, thanks in large part to offensive rebounds from Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau, who each had three.
As far as the half court offense goes, there are probably some tweaks to be made as guys figure out their roles and when to take their shots. I’d like to see more plays drawn up to get Kanaan Carlyle a shot than Oumar Ballo a post look, for example.
Indiana could also stand to take more 3-pointers, finishing with just 16. This could just be an anomaly after the Hoosiers attempted more than 20 in each of the two exhibition games, but the volume needs to get higher as the season goes on.
New Pieces, New Roles
The reason I’m not in panic mode about any of the issues I described above is that it looks like there are about two players in the starting lineup that are sure of their new roles on this Indiana team: Rice and Mgbako.
After a promising showing against Marian, Bryson Tucker struggled to see his shots fall and looked more like a freshman adjusting to the college game. He was kept to 15 minutes as a result.
Tucker should progress as the season goes on, but getting Carlyle and Trey Galloway to contribute to the offense should be the most immediate concern. They each defended well, so it’s really just a matter of each of them deciding when and how to get their own looks.
Luke Goode is a guy that needs to shoot more in his minutes, even though he’s coming off of a few cold shooting performances in the exhibitions. Overall, it was good to see the minutes he and the guards got in smaller lineups, a good sign for more shooting and creating open looks.
Mackenzie Mbgako
Mackenzie Mgbako was the best player on the floor tonight by far, finishing with 31 points, a new career high. He was extremely efficient too, going 13-17 from the field and 4-5 from deep.
We knew that Mgbako could shoot, but what was really impressive tonight was how much quicker and more athletic he looked. He threw down multiple dunks and darted in for a steal that he finished with a layup on the other end.
It’s best not to overreact to a buy-game in early November, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Mgbako continues to be Indiana’s best player throughout the year (though Rice may be more valuable for how he changes the offense).
With his improved athleticism, confidence, and pure jump shot, Mgbako could very well be the next pro out of Indiana.