Five takeaways from Indiana’s win against Penn State

Indiana improved to 17-11 with an 83-78 win against Penn State on Wednesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are now 8-9 in the Big Ten, with three conference games remaining.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Nittany Lions:

Indiana catches fire from the perimeter

The Hoosiers have struggled from beyond the 3-point line for most of the season. But on Wednesday night, perimeter shooting propelled Indiana to its second straight win.

Led by a 4-for-5 performance by Trey Galloway from deep, Indiana shot 10-for-15 on triples against Penn State.

It was just the second time Indiana has made 10 or more 3s this season. The other game in which the Hoosiers made double-digit 3-pointers was against Rutgers on Jan. 2.

In two games against Penn State this season, Indiana shot an impressive 19-for-38 from distance.

“Guys have been getting good looks but hadn’t knocked them down, and tonight we made them,” Mike Woodson said postgame. “It was nice to see. I hope that’s a good sign moving forward.”

Oumar Ballo returns to the starting lineup and dominates in the paint

Malik Reneau was unavailable for Wednesday’s game due to an illness, which necessitated a move back to the starting lineup for Oumar Ballo.

While Ballo struggled early against Penn State’s Yanic Konan Niederhauser, the Mali native dominated as the game progressed.

Ballo finished with a double-double – 20 points and 12 rebounds – and added five assists and two steals in 36 minutes. It was the fifth time Ballo logged 35 or more minutes in a game this season.

After shooting just 2-for-6 from the free-throw line in Sunday’s win against Purdue, Ballo bounced back with a 4-for-6 mark from the stripe against Penn State.

“At this point in the season every game is important, but this one is special because we know we’re playing for something big,” Ballo said. “And it was super fun to have our fans backing us up and keeping us in the game to the point that we took over. Anytime we get a home win, super fun.”

Indiana’s defense holds up late

It wasn’t a great night for Indiana defensively, but the Hoosiers were able to get stops down the stretch when it mattered most.

Penn State started the second half shooting 9-for-16 from the field, as the Hoosiers couldn’t keep the Nittany Lion guards out of the lane.

With the game in the balance, Indiana delivered defensively. The Nittany Lions missed eight of their last 10 field goal attempts and each of their last five attempts.

“For the most part, I thought our defense was pretty solid coming down the stretch,” Woodson said. “Both teams were scoring at will. And like I told them at halftime, the team that is going to defend and rebound this half is going to end up winning the game. I thought coming down the stretch we made the defensive stops we needed.”

Those late stops allowed the Hoosiers to win on a night when they surrendered 1.128 points per possession and allowed Penn State to shoot 60.6 percent on 2s.

Before Wednesday, the most points per possession Indiana had given up in a win was 1.102 against Providence in the Bahamas in late November.

Indiana dishes out 24 assists, its second-highest total of the season

Indiana’s third-highest points per possession output against a high-major team this season was fueled by its unselfish offense.

Despite turning the ball over 14 times and struggling at times with Penn State’s ball pressure, the Hoosiers effectively shared the ball and produced solid looks all night.

Indiana’s 24 assists were its second-highest output of the season behind its 26-assist game against Eastern Illinois on November 10.

Six different Hoosiers had an assist and Galloway led the way with nine.

“We’ve really preached on sharing the ball and making the right play,” Galloway explained. “And I think it really — obviously it helps when you’re making shots, too. Looks a lot better with 24 assists.

“But we got great shots out of our offense flowing and being able to move the ball because we knew they were going to hard hedge and put two on the ball. There’s going to be open reads out of it.”

Win keeps Indiana in the NCAA tournament hunt

Beating Penn State at home doesn’t move the needle for IU’s NCAA tournament resume, but this was a game the Hoosiers could not afford to lose.

And they didn’t.

Indiana remains unbeaten outside of Quad 1 games, a feat that distinguishes it from other teams on the bubble.

With three regular-season games left, the Hoosiers likely need to go 2-1 to stay in position to earn a bid entering next month’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

“These guys are playing for something,” Woodson said. “We’re trying to get in the tournament. And we’ve got three games left. Gotta go out west now tomorrow and we’ve got a few days to prepare and get ready for Washington.”

Category: Five Takeaways

Filed to: Oumar Ballo, Penn State Nittany Lions, Trey Galloway