Indiana men’s basketball (8-2) started Big Ten play victorious, racing to an 82-67 rout of Minnesota (6-5) on Monday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo led the Hoosiers in scoring with 18 points, while four others scored in double figures. Freshman forward Bryson Tucker scored a career-high 16 points, which junior forward Malik Reneau matched, and sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako logged 13 points.
Sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle, who missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury, registered 14 points, five assists and two turnovers in his first action since Nov. 28.
Indiana played at perhaps its fastest pace this season, a trend that started early with Reneau and Ballo running to the rim in transition, sealing their defender and often finishing with layups.
Still, Minnesota gave the Hoosiers a fight early, leading at both the under-16 and under-12 media timeouts. The Golden Gophers started strong offensively but couldn’t sustain it. They scored 22 points in the first 8:18 of the first half but mustered only 9 more points over the final 11-plus minutes.
Indiana, meanwhile, never took its foot off the gas.
Three Hoosiers entered halftime with double-digit points, as Tucker and Ballo each had 11 points while Reneau had 10. Mgbako added 9 points, and Indiana, which went on a 10-0 run over four minutes, rode its 63% field goal rate to a 44-31 lead at the break.
Indiana’s lead grew as large as 21 points, and while Minnesota, on multiple occasions, trimmed its deficit back to the original 13-point halftime margin, the game didn’t reach single digits at any point after the break.
The Hoosiers continue Big Ten play at 8 p.m. Friday against Nebraska inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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.
