At the Buzzer: Kansas 75, Indiana 71

  • 12/16/2023 3:00 pm in

Quick thoughts on a 75-71 loss to Kansas:

How it happened

Assembly Hall was electric, and Indiana delivered a terrific first-half performance against the No. 2 Jayhawks. The Hoosiers played with intensity, drove aggressively to score or draw fouls and made some timely 3-pointers. Trey Galloway was a stellar 6-for-8 from the field for 13 points and freshman Mackenzie Mgbako wasn’t far behind with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes. The Hoosiers were led by 12 at one point but had to settle for an eight-point cushion at intermission. Fouls were an issue for both teams as KJ Adams and Kevin McCullar Jr. each had two for Kansas, and four different Hoosiers – Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Gabe Cupps, and Kaleb Banks – each had at least two fouls. Kansas had been allowing its opponents to shoot just 42 percent on 2s, but Indiana made 57.9 percent of its 2s in the first half.

The Jayhawks cut the Indiana lead to five at 42-37 with 17:07 to play, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Mgbako and Galloway pushed the lead to 11, forcing Bill Self to take a timeout with 15:46 to play. While the Hoosiers struggled to get things going offensively, Kansas couldn’t take advantage. By the under-12 media timeout, Indiana’s lead remained in double figures at 54-44. Kansas, however, finally broke through. The Jayhawks went on a 11-4 spurt to close within three at 58-55 with 8:39 to play, forcing Mike Woodson to take a timeout.

After Kansas got within one at 59-58, Gabe Cupps answered with a running layup to give the Hoosiers a 3-point advantage. The Jayhawks took their first lead on a Hunter Dickinson bucket with 4:53 to play. But Indiana answered with a bucket from Reneau to make it 63-62. Kansas regained the lead at 64-63 on a Dajuan Harris bucket with 4:16 to go. Galloway split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 64 with 3:51 remaining. McCullar’s 3-pointer gave Kansas a 3-point advantage with 3:29 to play. The Jayhawks pushed the lead to five with a Dickinson bucket with 2:33 to go.

Indiana had a chance to tie or take the lead with just under 30 seconds to go, but a Galloway 3-pointer missed and the Hoosiers had to foul. McCullar missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Indiana couldn’t secure the rebound as it went out of bounds off of Ware. Indiana fouled again and McCullar made both to make it 73-69 Kansas. Ware’s bucket off of a missed Mgbako 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds to go made it 73-71 Kansas. The Hoosiers had to foul again, and McCullar made both, giving the Jayhawks the 75-71 victory.

Standout performer

It was a career day for Galloway, who finished with a career-high 28 points in 38 minutes.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana’s offense in the second half struggled as the Hoosiers scored just 31 points on 33.3 percent shooting. Kansas, meanwhile, shot 51.9 percent in the second half and scored 1.19 points per possession.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

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