Thursday, November 16
Bloomington, Ind.
7:00 PM
Indiana University
3-0,0-0Big Ten
89
vs
80
Wright State
0-3,0-0Horizon
1
2
F
Wright St.
49
31
80
Indiana
54
35
89
Hoosiers Handle Wright State, 89-80
11/16/2023 9:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Work remains.
Progress continues.
Indiana's 89-80 victory over a Wright State team without its best player Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall did not showcase the potential Hoosier coach Mike Woodson sees in his team, but signs are there.
With a Sunday matchup with defending national champion Connecticut (3-0) in New York City looming, signs can't become reality soon enough.
"We have to keep working," Woodson said. "Take it a game at a time and see where it leads us."
On Thursday night, IU (3-0) jumped to first-half leads of 12 and 15 points. That was a point of emphasis after slow starts in the first two games.
"We got out to a great start," Woodson said. "That's the first time the first unit established themselves on both ends. I was pleased with that. We hadn't seen that in first two games."
Credit demanding practices. Lack of intensity had been a problem guard Xavier Johnson had previously mentioned.
"The coaches got strict on us," forward Malik Reneau said. "Practices have been hard. We stepped up our focus, attitudes and our approach toward practice. If we keep doing that, we should be fine."
Payoff included shooting 54 percent from the field and committing just eight turnovers with 20 assists. IU had a 17-4 edge in points off turnovers, and a 56-24 advantage in points in the paint.
"We're trying to get into a flow," Reneau said. "(Previously) we were static when we tried to get into offense.
"I was telling X (Johnson) that if I get the in-bounds pass, we have to push the pace. We need some type of movement, get the ball moving side to side. We did that well in the first half. That was a big priority we set in practice. Create different matchups and switches we can exploit."
The result -- forward Kel'el Ware had his second double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Reneau had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Guard Trey Galloway had 15 points and six assists.
Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako had his first break-through game with 13 points and five rebounds. He came in with a combined six points and five rebounds.
Still, there were concerns.
Three-point shooting (3-for-16), free-throw shooting (20-for-32) and rebounding (Wright State had a 40-37 edge, 14-8 on offensive rebounds) remain problems, although fixable.
The result -- IU wasn't able to close out the game until the final minutes.
"It would be a major concern if we had lost these three games, but we won them," Woodson said. "We haven't put a perfect game together. The three-ball has been a major concern. We have not shot it well. If we put it all together, life would be good. That ain't the case."
IU needed to tighten up a defense that had allowed seven three-point baskets in the first half. It did. The Raiders (0-3) had four second-half three-pointers.
The Hoosiers have allowed opponents to make 13, 13 and 11 three-point baskets against them.
"Us switching correctly and getting next to a guy before he shoots would help," Woodson said about the three-point defense.
IU used 6-for-7 shooting, including three-pointers from Galloway and Mgbako, to jump to a 14-6 lead.
Wright State, without injured leading scorer Trey Calvin and his 27.5-points-per-game average, struggled to keep up early.
Four straight CJ Gunn points made it a 28-13 IU lead. The Hoosiers continued to have a double-digit lead until a three-point-shooting fueled Raider run got them within 50-48 with 1:44 remaining.
Half-ending baskets by Johnson and Ware produced a 54-49 halftime score and plenty of Woodson locker room coaching points.
The Hoosiers surged to a 71-60 lead behind baskets by Reneau, Payton Sparks and Anthony Walker. Seven straight Wright State points closed the gap to four. Kaleb Banks stopped that run with a layup.
A pair of Reneau jumpers and two Galloway free throws pushed IU ahead 79-68. Consecutive Raider three-pointers made it a seven-point game with 3:30 left.
They got no closer.
In the aftermath, Woodson mentioned the birth of his first grandchildren with daughter Mariah Adams and her husband.
"Way to go, Mariah, if you're listening."
Johnson appeared to bang his knee late in the game. Woodson didn't have an update.
Besides No. 5 Connecticut, IU will face either No. 19 Texas or Louisville in Monday's second game of the Empire Classic.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Work remains.
Progress continues.
Indiana's 89-80 victory over a Wright State team without its best player Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall did not showcase the potential Hoosier coach Mike Woodson sees in his team, but signs are there.
With a Sunday matchup with defending national champion Connecticut (3-0) in New York City looming, signs can't become reality soon enough.
"We have to keep working," Woodson said. "Take it a game at a time and see where it leads us."
On Thursday night, IU (3-0) jumped to first-half leads of 12 and 15 points. That was a point of emphasis after slow starts in the first two games.
"We got out to a great start," Woodson said. "That's the first time the first unit established themselves on both ends. I was pleased with that. We hadn't seen that in first two games."
Credit demanding practices. Lack of intensity had been a problem guard Xavier Johnson had previously mentioned.
"The coaches got strict on us," forward Malik Reneau said. "Practices have been hard. We stepped up our focus, attitudes and our approach toward practice. If we keep doing that, we should be fine."
Payoff included shooting 54 percent from the field and committing just eight turnovers with 20 assists. IU had a 17-4 edge in points off turnovers, and a 56-24 advantage in points in the paint.
"We're trying to get into a flow," Reneau said. "(Previously) we were static when we tried to get into offense.
"I was telling X (Johnson) that if I get the in-bounds pass, we have to push the pace. We need some type of movement, get the ball moving side to side. We did that well in the first half. That was a big priority we set in practice. Create different matchups and switches we can exploit."
The result -- forward Kel'el Ware had his second double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Reneau had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Guard Trey Galloway had 15 points and six assists.
Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako had his first break-through game with 13 points and five rebounds. He came in with a combined six points and five rebounds.
Still, there were concerns.
Three-point shooting (3-for-16), free-throw shooting (20-for-32) and rebounding (Wright State had a 40-37 edge, 14-8 on offensive rebounds) remain problems, although fixable.
The result -- IU wasn't able to close out the game until the final minutes.
"It would be a major concern if we had lost these three games, but we won them," Woodson said. "We haven't put a perfect game together. The three-ball has been a major concern. We have not shot it well. If we put it all together, life would be good. That ain't the case."
IU needed to tighten up a defense that had allowed seven three-point baskets in the first half. It did. The Raiders (0-3) had four second-half three-pointers.
The Hoosiers have allowed opponents to make 13, 13 and 11 three-point baskets against them.
"Us switching correctly and getting next to a guy before he shoots would help," Woodson said about the three-point defense.
IU used 6-for-7 shooting, including three-pointers from Galloway and Mgbako, to jump to a 14-6 lead.
Wright State, without injured leading scorer Trey Calvin and his 27.5-points-per-game average, struggled to keep up early.
Four straight CJ Gunn points made it a 28-13 IU lead. The Hoosiers continued to have a double-digit lead until a three-point-shooting fueled Raider run got them within 50-48 with 1:44 remaining.
Half-ending baskets by Johnson and Ware produced a 54-49 halftime score and plenty of Woodson locker room coaching points.
The Hoosiers surged to a 71-60 lead behind baskets by Reneau, Payton Sparks and Anthony Walker. Seven straight Wright State points closed the gap to four. Kaleb Banks stopped that run with a layup.
A pair of Reneau jumpers and two Galloway free throws pushed IU ahead 79-68. Consecutive Raider three-pointers made it a seven-point game with 3:30 left.
They got no closer.
In the aftermath, Woodson mentioned the birth of his first grandchildren with daughter Mariah Adams and her husband.
"Way to go, Mariah, if you're listening."
Johnson appeared to bang his knee late in the game. Woodson didn't have an update.
Besides No. 5 Connecticut, IU will face either No. 19 Texas or Louisville in Monday's second game of the Empire Classic.
Team Stats
WSU
IND
FG%
.412
.541
3FG%
.423
.188
FT%
.765
.625
RB
40
37
TO
12
8
STL
2
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballCenter
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