No. 17 Indiana men’s basketball began its exhibition season in a hostile environment Sunday afternoon, taking on No. 12 University of Tennessee in an exhibition charity match at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Hoosiers were without fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway, redshirt freshman guard Jakai Newton and freshman forward Bryson Tucker –– all due to injury.
After a lackluster first half from both sides, redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice and junior forward Malik Reneau’s play in the second half fueled the Hoosiers to a 66-62 victory over the Volunteers.
“I don’t care how you win,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “You got to figure it out, and I thought tonight we did coming down the stretch.”
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, going a combined 3 for 31 from the 3-point line. Indiana’s difficulties from beyond the arc were reminiscent of last season’s hardships, when the Hoosiers shot a 32.4% clip from deep. In addition to its shooting woes, Indiana was sluggish in its half-court offense, tallying 10 first half turnovers.
Nearly all the Hoosiers’ early scoring came from the post, as they finished the half with 20 of their 25 points scored inside the paint. The Cream and Crimson trailed the Volunteers 26-25 heading into the intermission, one which proved to be a turning point for their offensive success.
Sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle jumpstarted Indiana’s offense out of the break, burying a deep 3-pointer nearly a minute into the second half. Tennessee broke out of its own slump, fostering a composed offensive battle with quality possessions on both ends of the floor.
“We were better offensively in making shots the second half,” Woodson said.
The turning point of the game came in the form of a 10-0 Indiana run powered by Reneau when the Hoosiers trailed 54-50 with less than seven minutes left in the game. Reneau tallied all 10 of Indiana's points during that stretch, racking up a team-high 21 points.
The Washington State University transfer Rice finished with 20 points on 7 for 14 shooting in a standout performance. While the speedy redshirt sophomore guard struggled from beyond the arc –– missing on all three of his attempts –– his ability to drive into the lane disrupted Tennessee’s defense, allowing Indiana to find high percentage shots throughout the second half.
Defensively, the Hoosiers forced 15 turnovers –– nine off steals. Rice held Tennessee's star senior guard Zakai Zeigler to 2 –for 10 shooting and five turnovers. While sixth-year senior Oumar Ballo led Indiana with 11 rebounds, the Hoosiers struggled to clean up the glass and allowed 12 offensive rebounds.
“I thought we did a lot of good things defensively,” Woodson said. “I think they shot 30% and 20% from three, that was huge.”
Indiana’s bench struggled offensively with four supporting cast players combining for two points across 41 minutes of playing time. With a roster praised for its depth, the Hoosiers struggled to produce off the bench in their first test.
Indiana will continue exhibition play when it hosts Marian University at 7 p.m. Friday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The contest will stream on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
