That was an impressive one
Indiana men’s basketball took care of business Saturday night, going on the road to beat Washington 78-62.
This Washington Huskies squad isn’t the most impressive in the Big Ten and it won’t be a tournament resume win, but a loss would’ve hurt Indiana’s chances badly, so it’s a significant win nonetheless.
With the win, Indiana moves to 9-9 in Big Ten play with one road game remaining, at Oregon, and one home game, against Ohio State, left on the slate. Then comes Big Ten Tournament Time.
Here are three things we learned:
Margin of Victory
For what feels like the first time all season, Indiana was able to beat an inferior opponent by enough to move up in the NET Rankings, Kenpom, and Bart Torvik.
There’s only so much a team can do in games like this with regards to NCAA Tournament eligibility, but Indiana passed the eye test last night, taking control of the game in the first five minutes and never surrendering the lead after that.
This team has really struggled to put together 40 quality minutes of basketball, which is a big reason why it’s been so rare that Indiana beats a team so soundly. Last night though, the Hoosiers came out of the gates hot and showed everyone who they can be.
If Indiana can keep this energy throughout the rest of the regular season and postseason, the Hoosiers might be a dangerous matchup for a higher seeded team.
Malik Reneau
Indiana needed Malik Reneau badly after relying so heavily on Oumar Ballo Thursday night.
Though his status was uncertain until basically the opening tip, Reneau ended up being Indiana’s most valuable player, scoring a game-high 22 points in 25 minutes off the bench. He was also tied for the lead for offensive boards for Indiana with two.
Whether he’s starting, coming off the bench, playing center, or playing forward next to Ballo, Reneau has repeatedly proven himself to be a key to Indiana reaching its ceiling this season.
Momentum
Because of how inconsistent Indiana has been up to this point, it’s going to be hard for this team to get everyone fully back on board. That said, Indiana has looked like a pretty damn good basketball team the last three games and has been fun to watch.
The Purdue win on its own was not really enough to justify an NCAA Tournament bid, but by following it up with two more Big Ten wins, including a dominant road performance, the Hoosiers are beginning to look the part.
It’s been a fickle enough season that I feel like I’m jeopardizing things by even pointing out how well things are going. Something has definitely clicked though, and Woodson has found himself a winning formula with giving Luke Goode and Anthony Leal as many minutes as possible of late.
Goode finished with 18 last night, while Leal had four rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. The pair combined for 68 minutes on the floor last night with 0 turnovers.
It isn’t the lineup that we envisioned at the beginning of the year, but Indiana is starting to have the results that we expected after Woodson’s portal haul. If they can keep it up, they’ll have a good shot at sending Woody out on a high note.