Not Done Yet
Indiana had a shot at revenge last night against a Penn State team that had won four straight against the Hoosiers, including eliminating them from last year’s Big Ten Tournament.
For the fifth straight game Indiana had nothing to play for besides pride and each other, being comfortably out of the NCAA Tournament field. For the fifth straight game, that was enough to will the team to victory.
In a way, this was the most impressive of Indiana’s wins. The team was shorthanded, missing Trey Galloway, and didn’t get the best performances from the usual contributors. Looking at the boxscore alone, it’s hard to see a Hoosier win in there.
With the win, Indiana will get another shot at revenge tonight against a Nebraska squad that also swept the Hoosiers during the regular season. For the sixth straight game, Indiana will be the underdog.
Here are three observations:
Guard Minutes
Without Trey Galloway, I frankly did not see a path to victory for Indiana last night. Galloway had been Indiana’s lead point guard for much of the season, developing a chemistry with Kel’el Ware and playing with a steady enough hand to keep Indiana afloat.
Penn State, with defensive player of the year Ace Baldwin Jr., is probably the worst team to run into when you’re down a starting point guard. He had over 20 points in each of the first two games against Indiana this year, with a combined six steals in those contests.
While Indiana certainly missed Galloway’s offense, Mike Woodson got enough from Anthony Leal, Gabe Cupps, and Xavier Johnson tonight to beat the Nittany Lions shorthanded.
Leal led the way with eight points in 24 minutes off the bench, including the game-winning put back with under ten seconds to play. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Leal come off the bench and give Indiana huge minutes, but it’s the most significant.
Cupps and Johnson combined for just 10 points, but made the shots that mattered and protected the ball when it counted. Cupps had a pair of big threes, including one in the second half that gave Indiana the lead back after a Penn State run.
Johnson didn’t play a perfect game, but he played within control for most of the night and slowed down the pace for an Indiana team that was going to need to grind out a win. He also utilized his speed when needed, getting to the rim when Penn State left it open for him.
Indiana is surely better with Galloway healthy, but last night showed they aren’t helpless without him.
Slop
The key to Indiana’s four game win streak had been improved shooting from 3-point range and more production from guys like Mackenzie Mgbako, who started the season slow before emerging as co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Last night, Indiana shot just 25% from deep and got a single point from Mgbako in the second half. Malik Reneau, the team’s second leading scorer, had just six second half points.
This is not to criticize the performance last night, as teams are bound to have bad games, but to observe that, despite all the above, Indiana won. For most of this season, this team was not playing well enough to survive a game like that.
It’s worth pointing out that Penn State did not play its best game last night either. Still, the margin for error appears to be growing ever so slightly for this Indiana team that needs a miracle to make the NCAA Tournament.
Five Straight
Mike Woodson is the first Indiana coach in the Kenpom era to win five straight Big Ten games in back to back seasons. Tonight, he’ll have a chance to get Indiana to the 20 win mark for a third straight season, something the Hoosiers haven’t achieved since the early 2000s.
For all of the noise surrounding the program constantly, this kind of small stuff is easy to overlook. It doesn’t erase some of the big picture questions looming over the program, but helps put into perspective just where Indiana was at when it hired Woodson.
Everything else aside, it’s clear that Woodson is capable of getting players to buy in to his system and play for each other when it matters most.
What is this worth in the grand scheme of things? I don’t know, but it’s not nothing. At the very least, it’s been fun to see this team go out and prove people wrong night after night for the last few weeks.