The Minute After: Penn State

Thoughts on an 83-78 win against the Nittany Lions:

It was a good old-fashioned barn burner in Assembly Hall tonight.

Penn State arrived with a purpose. Ace Baldwin splashed 3s, racked up steals and got into it with the crowd. At one point, dropping an f-bomb, at another, sticking his tongue out. Yanic Konan Niederhauser proved a worthy adversary to Oumar Ballo down low. The Northern Illinois transfer blocked a Ballo shot in the first half. His quickness proved a challenge.

Neither team was able to grab a hold of this one. Penn State’s biggest lead was six points early in the game at 7-1. Indiana’s biggest lead was seven points late in the game at 80-73. Between there, the lead exchanged hands a few times, each team in striking distance of one another for most of the contest.

Where Indiana won the game against Purdue on Sunday thanks to its second-half defense, it again got it from an unlikely spot tonight: the 3-point line. Indiana splashed home 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) from deep, just the second time all season the Hoosiers have made double-digit 3-pointers.

Kanaan Carlyle knocked home one. Mackenzie Mgbako added one as well. Luke Goode went 2-of-3. But it was Myles Rice (2-of-2) and Trey Galloway (4-of-5) who stole the show from 3-point range, helping Indiana keep pace during crucial junctures of the second half. Rice made a 3-pointer at the 15:05 mark and then scored off a Ballo steal in transition for a 5-0 run of his own. He ran that back later in the second half, hitting a 3-pointer at the 2:46 mark and then scoring ahead on a Galloway steal, another 5-0 run that gave Indiana that aforementioned seven-point lead, its largest of the game.

Galloway took it to another level. The super senior made four straight attempts in the second half, including on back-to-back possessions at the 5:51 and 5:14 marks to help Indiana regain the lead from the Nittany Lions at 73-69. Galloway finished the game with 16 points and nine assists. You can excuse his six turnovers on a night like tonight.

With Malik Reneau unable to go tonight due to illness, Ballo led all Hoosiers with 36 minutes played. And he made the most of them. His 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting was the high mark for the Hoosiers. He also had a game-high 12 rebounds and dished out five assists, making sure to find his teammates when Penn State sent extra defenders at him. Mgbako had one of those games where he decided to be aggressive and get to the rim. He scored 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Indiana had a rough night from the line (15-of-25, 60 percent). Mgbako missed all four of his attempts in the first half. Rice missed both attempts on a double bonus late in the game with less than a minute to go, which opened the door for Penn State to tie down three. But Zach Hicks missed a 3-pointer on the other end; Indiana secured the rebound and got it to Goode, who made both free throws to seal the deal.

It wasn’t as dominating or pretty as what Indiana pulled off last time around against Purdue. However, a win is a win, and this team needs to keep racking them up to stay in the NCAA tournament conversation.

A trip to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington and Oregon is next up for the Hoosiers. Can they keep this momentum going?

Category: The Minute After

Filed to: Penn State Nittany Lions