Indiana men’s basketball’s late surge didn’t pay dividends in the Big Ten’s end-of-season honors.
Two Hoosiers — sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo and junior forward Malik Reneau — were named All-Big Ten honorable mention, according to a press release Tuesday. Ballo was voted an honorable mention by both the conference’s coaches and media, while Reneau was voted only by the media.
The 7-foot, 260-pound Ballo led Indiana in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.2 points and 9.1 boards per game. He was also the team’s best shot blocker, averaging 1.3 blocks per contest, and shot a team-high 63.5% from the field.
Reneau, who missed five conference games due to a knee injury suffered Jan. 2 against Rutgers and an additional game due to an illness, averaged 13.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He finished second on the team behind Ballo in both categories.
In his final seven games, Reneau scored 15.7 points per game, headlined by a two-game stretch in wins over Purdue and Washington where he went 17-for-20 shooting and scored 37 points.
Fifth-year senior guard Anthony Leal, who routinely guarded opposing teams’ top players and had at least two steals in six of Indiana’s final eight games, did not receive an All-Big Ten Defensive Team selection. However, Leal was Indiana’s honoree for the 2024-25 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Indiana, which is 4-1 in its last five games, ended the regular season with a 19-12 record overall after going 10-10 in conference play. The Hoosiers begin the Big Ten Tournament with a bout against Oregon at noon Thursday inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
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.
