At the Buzzer: Indiana 82, Minnesota 67 - Inside the Hall

DSC_7074-856x571 At the Buzzer: Indiana 82, Minnesota 67 - Inside the Hall

Quick thoughts on an 82-67 win against Minnesota:

How it happened

Indiana struggled defensively early against Minnesota Monday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Gophers, coming off an 18-point drubbing against Michigan State in Minneapolis, made it look easy against a soft Hoosier defense to start. By the 11:42 mark of the half, Minnesota led 22-20 on a Brennan Rigsby defense. But the Hoosiers found their footing defensively and a 16-1 run flipped the game from a 2-point deficit to a 13-point lead at 36-23. It was a dominant first half for the IU frontcourt as Oumar Ballo, Malik Reneau, Mackenzie Mgbako and Bryson Tucker combined for 41 of the team’s 44 points. The Hoosiers led 44-31 at the break on the strength of 63 percent shooting and just six turnovers. After its hot shooting start, Minnesota went cold and managed just .91 points per possession in the first half.

The strong defensive effort continued after halftime as Indiana stretched the lead to 50-33 by the under-16 media timeout. The Gophers pulled within 14 at 59-45 on a Femi Odukale dunk at the 11:36 mark. But the Hoosiers had an answer – a 9-2 run capped by a 3-point play by Kanaan Carlyle – to push the lead to 21 with 9:46 to play. Indiana, however, got sloppy the next couple of possessions and Minnesota pulled within 17 at 68-51 with 8:10 remaining. The Gophers cut the lead to 13 on a layup by Dawson Garcia, but Indiana pushed it back to 16 on a second-chance layup by Mackenzie Mgbako with 6:07 to play. While Minnesota got within 12 in the closing minutes, Indiana was never challenged in recording its fourth straight win and moving to 1-0 in Big Ten play.

Standout performers

Carlyle returned from injury and scored 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting off the bench in 21 minutes. He was also excellent defensively. Ballo led the Hoosiers with 18 points in 31 minutes. Freshman Bryson Tucker had his best game yet, finishing with 16 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes. It was also a very good night for Reneau, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes.