The Minute After: Minnesota
Thoughts on a 74-62 win against Minnesota:
Talk about a bounceback.
After a forgettable performance against Rutgers in Piscataway on Tuesday night, the Hoosiers responded in a big way tonight against Minnesota. Of course, it helps to be playing at home, where the Hoosiers are now 3-0 in conference play. Still, Indiana’s start showed a high level of focus and determination, getting the team out to a sizeable lead it never relinquished as it led wire to wire.
Beyond some 3-balls falling in the early barrage and Mackenzie Mgbako taking it to the rack, Indiana’s defense also heated up the ball and made things uncomfortable for the Golden Gophers, leading to steals, turnovers and more buckets for the Hoosiers. The highlight of the night was Galloway’s steal at the 12:44 mark. He passed to Mgbako, who eventually fed Galloway on an alley-oop, sending Assembly Hall into a frenzy. That put the Hoosiers up 14 points (22-8). Ben Johnson called a timeout to try and calm things down. The Hoosiers eventually got up by as much as 17 in the first half — and 21 in the second half — before settling in for a 12-point victory. While there were some lulls that opened the door for Minnesota at times, the Hoosiers never let their opponent walk through it to jeopardize the lead seriously.
Mgbako led the way for Indiana on offense. The freshman scored a team-high and career-high 19 points, going 6-of-12 from the field, 2-of-4 from deep and 5-of-7 from the line.
“I thought he was aggressive right from the start,” Mike Woodson said of Mgbako’s performance. “I thought our whole team was aggressive on both ends of the floor. He got some good looks early that he made. I ran a couple plays for him (and) he was able to knock shots down. And the way they doubled-teamed, it opened him up on the back side as well to get shots.”
Minnesota’s defense wasn’t as stout as what the Hoosiers faced against Rutgers, which meant more breathing room down low. As a result, Malik Reneau and Kel’el Ware were able to play some buddy ball tonight, leading to assists from Reneau that were tossed up and Ware finished with a dunk. The Oregon transfer finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Ware also followed his 17 rebounds against Rutgers up with 14 tonight. Reneau (16 points, 7-of-15,) and Galloway (10 points, 4-of-5) were the other Hoosiers in double figures.
Xavier Johnson didn’t start tonight with Woodson calling it an “in-house” decision. You don’t have to look too far to speculate it was likely due to Johnson’s ejection in Piscataway. But when he did play, he looked frustrated and dejected at times. Late in the second half, Johnson had a trying-to-do-too-much turnover and was subbed out for Gabe Cupps. He threw his shooting sleeve off after he was pulled from the game. Indiana’s captain and sixth-year senior finished with two points, two turnovers and an assist in 17 minutes of action. With Johnson not in the mix much in this one, Galloway filled the facilitator role, racking up a team-high seven assists.
Indiana’s free-throw shooting continues to be suspect, as the Hoosiers made just 16-of-27 (59.3 percent). Audible boos rang out after Galloway missed a pair at the line in the second half. Indiana did rebound from a poor night from distance against Rutgers by hitting 6-of-14 (42.9 percent). It also had a respectable turnover rate of 14 percent.
Minnesota played the role of the road team with a hand tied behind its back tonight. The Golden Gophers entered the game shooting 36.1 percent from 3-point range, good for 66th in the country. But they hit just 3-of-20 (15 percent), missing wide-open looks while seriously bricking several attempts. The Golden Gophers seemed rattled by the Assembly Hall environment. They also struggled from the line about as much as the Hoosiers did tonight (13-of-24, 54.2 percent), another hindrance to them making a game of it.
Indiana’s reward for its victory? A home matchup with Purdue, the current No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll and KenPom’s No. 3 squad. Can Indiana drum up some more home-cooking and get its first true signature win of the season on Tuesday night?
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
Filed to: Minnesota Golden Gophers