Indiana men’s basketball junior forward Malik Reneau started Thursday night’s 84-74 win over Rutgers with a dunk four seconds after he won the opening tipoff. Just over 20 seconds later, he was down on Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall hardwood, clutching his right knee.
Reneau, the Hoosiers’ leading scorer at 15 points per game, made incidental contact with senior teammate Luke Goode, who stumbled backwards while trying to defend a layup from Rutgers freshman guard/forward Ace Bailey.
The 6-foot-9-inch, 232-pound Reneau grimaced on the court and momentarily screamed in pain. He walked off the floor under his own power and was replaced by sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo with 19:31 to play in the first half.
Indiana ruled out Reneau midway through the opening half due to a lower-body injury. When the Hoosiers returned to the court after halftime, Reneau had a bag of ice wrapped around his right knee. He sat on the bench wearing white basketball shorts and a red pullover.
Head coach Mike Woodson didn’t have an immediate update on Reneau’s status after the game.
“We just got to evaluate him tomorrow,” Woodson said postgame. “He couldn't come back in the game. He's a big piece to the puzzle — going into this game, he was our leading scorer, so we'll evaluate him tomorrow through our medical staff and see where he is, and if he can't play, it's next man up. We just got to continue to go whoever is in uniform.”
Indiana sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako, who scored 16 points, gave a more descriptive answer regarding Reneau’s health.
“It was really scary when Malik went down,” Mgbako said postgame. “We were all worried for him. It's good he's doing okay now.”
Reneau played only 29 seconds Thursday night before giving way to Ballo, the team’s leading rebounder at 9.2 per game.
Ballo, who did not play against Winthrop University on Dec. 29 due to undisclosed reasons, came off the bench for the first time this season Thursday. Woodson declined to specify whether Ballo started the game on the bench due to disciplinary or injury-related reasons.
Instead, Woodson wanted to discuss Ballo’s performance — the 7-foot, 260-pounder scored 17 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked three shots across 32 minutes. He went 7-for-13 shooting from the field but only 3 for 9 from the free throw line.
“I thought he played great,” Woodson said. “He's a big part of our team winning tonight. He had 17 and (12) rebounds, a few blocked shots, plugged the hole up for us like he's supposed to, so I thought he played well.”
Without Reneau, the Hoosiers played with only one traditional big man on the floor, which created driving lanes and kick-out opportunities for shooters.
As a result, redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice scored 21 points while he and fifth-year senior guards Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal combined for 11 assists. Indiana made a season-high 12 3-pointers.
Ballo, meanwhile, dominated the glass. He posted a game-high 12 rebounds, seven of which came on offense. Rutgers scored only 28 points in the paint, in part due to Ballo’s post presence.
“He played dominant,” Leal said after the game. “We know that’s what he can do. That's why we brought him here — to be a dominant presence down there, and that's where we needed him today. Just continue to build on that and stay focused on what we're doing.”
The Hoosiers (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) have a quick turnaround, as they’ll face Penn State (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) at noon Sunday inside The Palestra in Philadelphia.
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.
