Indiana Takes Care of Marian, 78-42

Saturday, October 29

Bloomington, Ind.

3:00 PM

Indiana University

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Marian University (Exhibition)

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Marian (IN)

Indiana

10/29/2022 7:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It's just an exhibition game, nothing more.

Just an exhibition game vs. Marian University, an NAIA school that boasts former IU star and 1972-73 Big Ten Player of the Year Steve Downing as its athletic director.

Just the first time out for head coach Mike Woodson's team.

But, boy, there is plenty to be excited about.

The Hoosiers opened their 2022-23 exhibition season with a 78-42 win over the Knights behind 14 points and 11 rebounds from freshman Malik Reneau and 13 points from sixth-year Race Thompson. IU turned in a dominant performance that saw the Hoosiers score the first 10 points of the game and build a 20-point advantage by the halfway point of the first half.

The outcome of the game was never really in doubt following the hot start, but it wasn't about the points on the board. It was about how the Hoosiers built the lead.

With All-American forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and sophomore Tamar Bates both inactive for the exhibition, senior forward Race Thompson and senior guard Xavier Johnson took on leadership roles and set the tone for the Hoosiers. Thompson scored 11 of IU's first 24 points, and Johnson was his usual active self, distributing the ball and rebounding while also scoring a bit himself.

But it wasn't just the veterans who showed out. Freshman Malik Reneau earned the start in place of Jackson-Davis, and he made an immediate impact, scoring IU's second bucket of the game. Freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino made his presence felt, too, scoring his first points on a layup just 150 seconds into the game and adding a midrange jumper and a score in transition all in his first six minutes of action.

"I look at Jalen and Malik, and I think the transition for them coming in—especially for Jalen—has been really easy," head coach Mike Woodson said. "(Jalen) works, and Malik, I thought his night was fantastic. He did a lot of good things defensively, he rebounded the ball, and we know he can score. It's kind of nice. Starting those two guys for the first time at the college level, I thought they passed with flying colors."

Reneau sandwiched a pair of scores in the paint around a Thompson 3-pointer to give IU a 30-7 lead with 12:26 left in the first half. Marian answered with a pair of three pointers, but another triple from Thompson halted the run.

Another freshman, guard CJ Gunn, scored his first bucket in an Indiana uniform on a 3-pointer with 5:27 left before halftime, and IU took a 42-21 lead into the break.

Thompson finished the half with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including drilling all three of his 3-point attempts. Reneau chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds, and Hood-Schifino added eight points on 4-5 shooting from the floor to go with three rebounds and three assists.

Indiana shot 58.1% from the field overall and 44.4% from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes while holding the Knights to 29.0% shooting from the floor. The Hoosiers outrebounded Marian 23-10 in the first half and dominated the paint, outscoring the Knights 20-4.

Reneau continued to show his skills in the second half, owning the paint with the hat trick of a short jumper, a layup, and a dunk, the last coming off an assist from Thompson. Hood-Schifino continued to show his range with a jumper off another assist from Thompson that put IU up 60-30 by the midpoint of the second half.

Junior Jordan Geronimo got into the act by knocking down a 3-pointer off the bench, and he helped stretch the lead with a driving layup after beating his defender on the perimeter and swooping through the lane.

The Hoosiers cruised the rest of the way, and all 11 scholarship players who were available saw playing time. For a team that features more depth than it has in recent years, getting guys meaningful minutes, even during exhibition games, was important.

"It's important for everybody to play because from a coaching standpoint, I'm still learning and trying to figure out who can do what even though we've been together for five months," Woodson said. "Practice is different than the game, and I've always believed if you practice well, you play well. We didn't do a whole lot yesterday, but the carryover was nice. Everybody has to be on board… This is a team. I'm trying to push these guys along with my staff to do all the necessary things on and off the court to help us win basketball games."