Indiana Races Past Eastern Illinois 90-55

Sunday, November 10

Bloomington, Ind.

Noon

Indiana University

2-0,0-0Big Ten

Eastern Illinois

1-2,0-0OVC

Eastern Ill.

Indiana

11/10/2024 1:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It was time for defense, nasty defense, the kind of stifling defense Indiana coach Mike Woodson demands from the Hoosiers. He made that clear with a blunt Sunday afternoon halftime message against Eastern Illinois:

Pick it up, he said, in so many words.

"It was enough to get a fire lit and get us going in the second half," he said. "I'm happy that they responded."

Indiana (2-0) delivered with second-half ruthlessness that overwhelmed Eastern Illinois (1-2) Sunday afternoon, 90-55, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers allowed just 18 points in the final 20 minutes and turned a five-point early second-half deficit into a dominating victory.

"I thought we were still home in the bed sleep," Woodson said. "It was awful. You got to give Eastern Illinois credit because they played hard and made shots.

"Our defense intensity was just lacking the first half. We adjusted the second half and guys came out and got after it."

Did they ever.

Eastern Illinois' four-guard attack stressed the Hoosiers' defense en route to 59% shooting in the first 20 minutes, including 50% from 3-point range.

Then IU ratcheted up the intensity and effort, held Eastern Illinois to just 5-for-30 shooting and delivered a 22-2 game-changing run.

"We came out a little flatfooted," forward Malik Reneau said. "I think we thought the team was less talented and they came out and performed.

"In the second half we just stepped that game up; everybody did. We got up to touch on their guards and pressured the ball. We changed our mindset going into the second half, but we have to have that for all 40 minutes."

Added Woodson: "It's a good thing when you can hold teams to 18 points in a half. That doesn't happen very often in college basketball.

"Those guys after our halftime talk stepped it up. They made catches tough. They made it tough to swing the ball.

"We got a lot of loose balls and were able to get out and run and make plays in the open court."

The Hoosiers punished the smaller Panthers with their inside size of Reneau, Oumar Ballo and Mackenzie Mgbako. They finished with a 56-24 edge in points in the paint, a 31-13 advantage in fastbreak points. They shot 61.3% for the game, 64.7 in the second half. They were 6-for-18 from 3-point range, 8-for-12 from the line.

"We started to play together, play as a unit," Reneau said. "We emphasized that going into halftime, but it really happened on the defensive end. We start pressing, up to touch on everybody, and they didn't get a glimpse at the rim. Everybody was up pressuring the ball, and I think that changed the game for us.

"Our defense just took another notch in the second half to open up everything on the offensive end."

Added freshman forward Bryson Tucker: "Nobody expected that team to come out and be up on us at halftime. When we went back to the locker room, everybody was locked in, like this should never happen. We came out with a whole different level of intensity and we really locked it in."

Mgbako, coming off a 31-point game against SIU-Edwardsville, totaled 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

"Mackenzie was solid," Woodson told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio show. "I didn't have to burn him big minutes. We have to keep pushing him and hopefully he'll continue to play the way he has."

Reneau and Ballo each had 17 points. Ballo added nine rebounds and three assists. Reneau 17 and six.

Guard Trey Galloway followed his nine-assist opening-game total with eight on Sunday along with five points.

"He opens the floor for everybody," Reneau said. "The way he controls the ball and is able to get it to the right guy at the right moment, it opens up the whole floor for us.

"He just knows how to read the defense and get it to where the ball needs to go."

Tucker came off the bench for 12 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

"I'm making the most out of my minutes," he said. "I come in, I know what I'm in there for, to score, play defense. Make the most of that and just stay focused. That's really all there is to that."

Guard Jakai Newton saw his first official action as a Hoosier after missing all of last season with an injury. He had two points and two rebounds in eight minutes.

IU needed 94 seconds to wipe out a 5-2 deficit for a 9-5 lead. Eastern Illinois rallied for a 16-11 advantage. The Hoosiers forged an 18-18 tie with Mgbako, Reneau and Ballo combining for all of their points.

Galloway sparked a 7-0 Hoosier run for a 27-20 lead. Eastern Illinois countered with a 7-0 run of its own for a tie with six minutes left in the half. The Panthers pushed ahead 37-32 with less than two minutes remaining. Ballo and Galloway each scored a basket for a 37-36 halftime score. Ballo led with 11 points and four rebounds. Galloway had four points and four assists in 10 minutes.

Eastern Illinois pushed ahead by five early in the second half. Ballo, Mgbako and Reneau combined for an 11-0 run as IU took a 49-43 lead. Reneau had five of those points. The Hoosiers forced three turnovers in that two-minute stretch.

IU kept up the pressure with Mgbako's 3-pointer and Reneau's dunk for a 62-45 lead with 13 minutes left. Eastern Illinois was 1-for-10 from the field in that stretch.

A Luke Goode 3-pointer gave the Hoosiers a 68-48 lead with 9:51 left.

Eastern Illinois was finished. Next up is Saturday's home game against South Carolina (1-1). It beat SC State and lost to North Florida.

"We have a few days to practice and get ready for a good South Carolina team," Woodson told Fischer.