COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the final buzzer sounded Friday night at Value City Arena, an overjoyed Anthony Leal locked eyes with a similarly ecstatic Luke Goode, audibly sharing their emotions after a tumultuous week ended in triumph.
Indiana men’s basketball’s senior guards made perhaps the two biggest plays in the Hoosiers’ 77-76 overtime win over Ohio State (10-8, 2-5 Big Ten) in Columbus. Goode nailed a game-winning 3-pointer with just over one minute remaining, while Leal blocked Ohio State freshman guard John Mobley Jr.’s mid-range jumper with three seconds left.
But before Goode embraced Leal, he rushed to the side of guard Trey Galloway, who fell to his back in pursuit of a loose ball after Leal’s block. Goode picked up Galloway, and the two seniors and Indiana natives worked back toward a barrage of Hoosier teammates — a fitting end to a night that followed six days of terror.
Indiana (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten) lost its last two games by 25 points each. At several points in the Hoosiers’ 94-69 loss to Illinois on Tuesday, Indiana students chanted to fire head coach Mike Woodson. The Hoosiers were booed off their own court at halftime after allowing 60 points in 20 minutes. The day after, Goode and former Indiana coach and player Dan Dakich shared a tense exchange on social media, highlighted by Goode calling Dakich “the joke of the town.”
In the middle of all the controversy, Goode and Leal sat in the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall press room after falling to Illinois, opening up on a team battling a variety of issues — some visible, some not. Goode mentioned a lack of pride and toughness. Leal added the team didn’t play with enough effort.
The Hoosiers had just over 70 hours between the end of their postgame press conference and their 8 p.m. tipoff Friday. Woodson said the team had to put the Illinois game in the rearview mirror. It did.
“I tip my hat to our team because they could’ve laid down,” Woodson said postgame, “and they didn’t.”
Indiana had several chances to throw in the towel Friday night. The Hoosiers trailed 33-26 inside of two minutes to play in the first half. Goode noted one of the biggest trends in Indiana’s five losses this season is the team essentially quits when it gets down several possessions.
Goode, who’s played in the NCAA Tournament each of the past three years while at Illinois, said he wants to instill a winning mentality in his teammates. Friday night was an important step forward.
“We can learn that we can do it,” Goode said. “We came together and said, ‘You know what? Let’s change the script and flip the script and go out and get a win.’”
While Indiana flipped its personal script, Ohio State didn’t. The Buckeyes have lost their last three games by a combined 5 points.
But for a moment, the two appeared headed for an opposite outcome. The Hoosiers held a 9-point lead with just over three minutes to play, then failed to make another shot from the field. Ohio State stormed back, capped by Mobley’s triple with 38 seconds left, to send the game to overtime.
The Buckeyes had three shots in the final minute of overtime to regain the lead but didn’t connect. For Ohio State, it was tragic. But for Indiana, it was a revival.
“We represented Indiana basketball tonight,” Goode said. “Shoutout to Anthony Leal on the last stop. Anthony guarding their highest scorer of the game, that’s Indiana pride right there. I feel like tonight, we represented the brand as best we could.”
Woodson agreed. He said the Hoosiers had their “asses beat” against Iowa on Jan. 11 and again versus Illinois. He said there’s nothing Indiana can do about those games now other than stay away from similar outcomes moving forward.
On Friday night, Indiana had an opportunity to follow its path from the past two games. Instead, it turned down the road it often hasn’t this season — and kept punching back.
“We got a group of guys in that locker room with a lot of pride,” Woodson said. “They wear that jersey with pride, and sometimes things don’t go according to plan. I thought tonight, considering where we’ve been the last two games, they fought their asses off to help us win this basketball game. It was a total team effort, man.”
Goode scored a career-high 23 points while drilling four 3-pointers. Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo added 21 points and 15 rebounds, his fifth double-double in the past six games. Sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle scored 13 points — his second-highest output this season — as 10 of those came in the second half and overtime.
Indiana won the rebounding battle 39-35 and had 15 assists to just 10 turnovers — both marks better than Ohio State. The Hoosiers’ bench scored 23 points to the Buckeyes’ 8, though Ohio State shot better clips from the field and from 3-point range.
But to Woodson and the Hoosiers, the most important number coming from Friday night is 14 — Indiana’s win total this season. The sky may have felt like it was falling in Bloomington, but Woodson noted Indiana sits at 14-5, not 5-14, and has enjoyed stretches of quality basketball.
Goode struck a similar tone as his head coach. In the three days that separated Indiana’s loss to Illinois and win over Ohio State, Goode explained to his teammates how hard it is to win in the Big Ten.
“We took a step back and said, ‘Listen, we got a reality check, but we have to bounce back from it and do what we do as a team,’” Goode said. “We had a great two days of practice, and everybody took a step back and had a reality check and said, ‘You know, if we want our season to go the right way, then we got to play tough and play together.’”
The Hoosiers, with their backs against the wall, fought for 45 minutes Friday night. They celebrated by blasting music in the locker room before exiting Value City Arena with travel bags, heightened morale and proof they can sustain punches.
And perhaps most importantly, Indiana prevented its downward trajectory from spiraling into the abyss of a season-defining stretch, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in Columbus.
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.
