Ideas on an 84-74 win towards Rutgers:
Rutgers’ elite protection has given Indiana issues within the Mike Woodson period. The Hoosiers entered tonight’s contest simply 1-3 towards the Scarlet Knights and had but to crack 66 factors in any of the video games. Two seasons in the past in Piscataway, NJ, the Hoosiers mustered solely 48 factors.
However this isn’t the identical form of Steve Pikiell staff. On offense, freshman phenoms Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey lead the cost. The Scarlet Knights have slipped defensively, as they got here to Bloomington rated 96th in adjusted defensive effectivity on KenPom.
In addition they got here to Bloomington tonight down main scorer Harper, who didn’t play resulting from sickness. In order that meant Bailey must shoulder much more of the load. Did he ever. Bailey hit a number of high-difficulty photographs, placing on an absolute present inside Meeting Corridor. Even when Indiana coated him effectively, he poured in basket after basket, utilizing his size and high-level expertise to get buckets. By sport’s finish, Bailey had dropped 39 factors on the Hoosiers by way of a 16-of-29 mark from the sector, which included a 4-of-8 efficiency from deep. Had he shot higher from the road (3-of-8), Bailey would have had a 40-piece tonight.
The freshman accounted for nearly half (47.5 p.c) of Rutgers’ photographs and 52.7 p.c of its scoring output this night. Nobody else scored in double-figures for the Scarlet Knights.
“That child Ace Bailey is fairly rattling good,” Woodson stated throughout a post-game Peacock interview on Department McCracken Courtroom.
However Bailey’s monster efficiency wasn’t sufficient to get it accomplished towards an Indiana staff with a reasonably good night. After poor 3-point capturing efforts over their final 4 video games, the Hoosiers got here alive from deep. They shot 12-of-27 from distance, good for 44.4 p.c. Luke Goode (3-of-5), Trey Galloway (3-of-6) and Mackenzie Mgbako (3-of-7) led the cost.
Oumar Ballo, in a sport Malik Reneau departed early with a lower-body damage, additionally feasted down low towards a Rutgers staff that couldn’t match his measurement. Ballo scored 17 factors on 7-of-13 capturing because the Hoosiers rode him for stretches of the competition. However the Arizona switch’s rebounding helped set the tone, too. Ballo ripped down 12 boards, seven of which had been offensive. Indiana’s work on the offensive boards, keyed by Ballo, was an enormous think about its victory.
The Hoosiers rebounded 38 p.c of their misses, resulting in 34 second-chance factors. Rutgers mustered simply eight second-chance factors. All the additional possibilities for the Hoosiers meant 11 extra shot makes an attempt (72 to 61) for the sport.
Even on an evening the place Indiana went to Ballo lots and bought double-digit scoring efforts from Mgbako (16) and Galloway (11), Myles Rice discovered alternatives — sufficient alternatives to steer the Hoosiers in scoring with 21 factors. The Washington State switch scored in any respect three ranges and went an ideal 8-of-8 from the road. Rice is now capturing 33-of-36 (91.7 p.c) from the road on the season. The Hoosiers can be clever to maintain discovering methods for him to be in assault mode.
Anthony Leal hit a loopy buzzer-beater to finish the primary half and performed admirable protection on Bailey.
With loads of powerful video games forward, this was the kind of sport Indiana couldn’t afford to lose. The Hoosiers didn’t. They took care of enterprise and at last broke via offensively towards the Scarlet Knights.
Filed to: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
