With a retooled roster and lofty expectations, No. 17 Indiana men’s basketball began a long path to redemption Wednesday night against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Despite multiple holes in the performance, the Hoosiers pranced to an 80-61 win over the Cougars.
Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako’s career-high 31-point performance headlined Indiana’s win. In combination with a late second-half scoring run, the Hoosiers posted a lopsided final score against the Cougars. However, hiding behind Mgbako’s historic night were some glaring concerns for an Indiana roster still trying to find chemistry.
Turnovers
Indiana head coach Mike Woodson knows all too well that turnovers can plague a talented roster. A large factor in Indiana’s inability to reach the NCAA Tournament last season stemmed from that very issue, as the team racked up the second most giveaways in the Big Ten with 12.1 per game.
The Hoosiers hoped to alleviate those concerns by adding a pair of guards through the transfer portal — redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice and sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle — both of whom were in the starting lineup against SIUE. Still, the Hoosiers continued to hand over possessions with 16 turnovers.
“Myles had five turnovers,” Woodson said in his postgame press conference. “Three of them was where there just wasn’t nothing there. Those are things that are correctable.”
Some of Indiana’s struggles are attributable to a noticeably increased pace of play, due in part to Rice. When they were taking care of the ball, the Hoosiers ability to push the floor with speed led to some easy baskets in transition.
One of the benefactors to the new look Indiana offense was fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway. Despite playing limited time because of a knee surgery during the offseason, Galloway tallied a team-high nine assists in 17 minutes of game action.
“I think our pace was good towards the end of the game,” Galloway said postgame. “We got to have that pace for all 40 minutes on offense and defense.”
Crashing the glass
Despite a starting lineup with seven total inches of height advantage, Indiana allowed SIUE to grab 16 offensive rebounds. While the Cougars’ 25 for 71 shooting performance led to a plethora of second-chance boards up for grabs, the Hoosiers consistently struggled to find the necessary position in the post to clean up missed shots.
“You take away their offensive rebounding, we really are pretty good defensively,” Woodson said. “But we just couldn’t keep them off the glass. I got to get us blocking out and getting better in that area.”
Many fans thought the addition of sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo would solidify Indiana as an elite rebounding team. After all, the former University of Arizona Wildcat was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team after averaging 10.1 rebounds per game last season.
Ballo struggled to make his presence known during the Hoosiers’ season opener, finishing with six rebounds in junction with four turnovers.
“They wanted it a bit more than we did,” Woodson said. “That’s something that can’t happen.”
Finding chemistry
Adding six new scholarship players to a roster isn’t an ideal recipe for having quality chemistry in early season play. Still, posting an exhibition win over No. 12 University of Tennessee on Oct. 27 and a 21-point win in the initial outing of the regular season is a good start.
Indiana found rhythm in various spurts throughout the game, such as a 9-2 run highlighted by a Ballo dunk midway through the second half. The common factor during these offensive bursts was a lineup comprised of starters, which highlighted a struggling second unit on the Indiana bench.
The Hoosiers posted 8 bench points, 6 of which came from Galloway, who started all 31 games he appeared in last season.
“I do know we can score the basketball,” Woodson said. “Certain guys haven’t really made shots like I thought they would.”
For Indiana, learning to play as a team will be a necessity as conference play looms. Depth is one of the biggest contributors to the Hoosiers' appearance near the top of Big Ten standings predictions.
Entering his fifth season in Cream and Crimson, Galloway knows the importance of building chemistry sooner rather than later.
“We got to find ways to come together quicker,” Galloway said. “The season goes quick. Before we know it, we’ll be in Big Ten play.”
Next up for Indiana is a matchup with Eastern Illinois University on Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tipoff is set for noon, and the game will be streamed 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.
