Indiana University Athletics
Sunday, January 26
Bloomington, Ind.
Noon
Indiana University
vs
Maryland
Keep the Shooting Faith -- Mgbako’s Work Pays Off
1/26/2025 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Mackenzie Mgbako kept the shooting faith, coach Mike Woodson had his back, and scoring reward surfaced against Northwestern.
Can Indiana's sophomore swingman keep it up Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall when the Hoosiers (14-6 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten) host Maryland (16-5, 5-4)?
We're about to find out.
Mgbako broke out of a shooting slump with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including three 3-point baskets during the Hoosiers' Wednesday night loss in Evanston. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season and his 11th in double figures.
In his four previous games, Mgbako had gone 4-for-29 from the field and 0-for-15 from 3-point range. That came after a dominating 20-point effort in a Jan. 5 victory against Penn State at Philadelphia's Palestra.
Woodson knew it was just a matter of time.
"You have to keep working through it," he says. "He was taking some good shots. He just wasn't making them. I wasn't going to throw him to the curb. He's a big piece of what we do. You keep working in practice. That's the only way you get out of a funk. Come in, put the time in, keep working, and keep shooting."
Mgbako did, even when his playing time diminished. He played just 15 minutes against USC and 16 against Iowa. For the season, he averages 25 minutes a game.
"A few games he's gotten in foul trouble," Woodson says, "and I'm trying to win games. It isn't always the player. They have to adjust to how you're coaching in the game. We have a group of guys who are pretty solid, so if you're about team, it shouldn't matter how much you play. You keep working to get back going."
Despite his recent shooting struggles, Mgbako has improved all his offensive numbers from a freshman season that earned him co-Big Ten freshman-of-the-year honors -- scoring (12.3 from 12.2), overall shooting (44.4 from 39.5), 3-point shooting (35.2 percent from 32.7), free-throw shooting (87.0 from 82.1) and assists (1.4 from 1.3).
"He is a big piece to what we do," Woodson says.
So is veteran guard Trey Galloway, who also has had his struggles. In the last two games, he's come off the bench while Anthony Leal has started. Woodson says some of the inconsistency is due to Galloway's long recovery from last spring's knee surgery. It limited his off-season work.
"He came off major knee surgery," Woodson says. "It takes over a year to bounce back from that. He's giving us all he's got. He's been a workhorse.
"I've gotten on him more than anyone still left on the team. I love everything about him. He's had his ups and downs. I'm willing to go to war with him every time he steps on the floor. He'll figure it out. He hasn't played badly. We need him to stay positive and keep working. To win games, we're going to need him."
Maryland is coming off an impressive 91-70 road win at Illinois Thursday night. It had previously been 0-4 on the road. It has one win over a ranked opponent, beating then No. 22 UCLA 79-61 at home.
Maryland averages 83.6 points (ranking ninth nationally) and allows 64.8. Five Terrapins average in double figures. Derik Queen, a 6-10 freshman center, leads in scoring at 15.6 points. He also averages 8.0 rebounds and shoots 56.2% from the field. He had a 20-20 double-double in his college debut against Manhattan.
Guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie averages 14.4 points with team-leading totals of 90 assists, 38 steals and 47 3-pointers. Julian Reese, a 6-9 forward, leads Maryland in rebounding (9.2) and shooting (56.7%) while averaging 13.2 points. Also averaging in double figures are guards Rodney Rice (12.1 points) and Selton Miguel (11.3).
Queen and Reese dominated the paint against Illinois. Queen finished with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists. Reese had 27 points and 17 rebounds. The Terrapins scored 62 points in the paint.
Still ahead for the Hoosiers are road games to No. 11/12 Purdue, No. 18/19 Wisconsin, No. 8/8 Michigan State, Washington, and No. 15/15 Oregon. They also host No. 21/20 Michigan, Purdue, Penn State, UCLA, and Ohio State.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Mackenzie Mgbako kept the shooting faith, coach Mike Woodson had his back, and scoring reward surfaced against Northwestern.
Can Indiana's sophomore swingman keep it up Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall when the Hoosiers (14-6 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten) host Maryland (16-5, 5-4)?
We're about to find out.
Mgbako broke out of a shooting slump with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including three 3-point baskets during the Hoosiers' Wednesday night loss in Evanston. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season and his 11th in double figures.
In his four previous games, Mgbako had gone 4-for-29 from the field and 0-for-15 from 3-point range. That came after a dominating 20-point effort in a Jan. 5 victory against Penn State at Philadelphia's Palestra.
Woodson knew it was just a matter of time.
"You have to keep working through it," he says. "He was taking some good shots. He just wasn't making them. I wasn't going to throw him to the curb. He's a big piece of what we do. You keep working in practice. That's the only way you get out of a funk. Come in, put the time in, keep working, and keep shooting."
Mgbako did, even when his playing time diminished. He played just 15 minutes against USC and 16 against Iowa. For the season, he averages 25 minutes a game.
"A few games he's gotten in foul trouble," Woodson says, "and I'm trying to win games. It isn't always the player. They have to adjust to how you're coaching in the game. We have a group of guys who are pretty solid, so if you're about team, it shouldn't matter how much you play. You keep working to get back going."
Despite his recent shooting struggles, Mgbako has improved all his offensive numbers from a freshman season that earned him co-Big Ten freshman-of-the-year honors -- scoring (12.3 from 12.2), overall shooting (44.4 from 39.5), 3-point shooting (35.2 percent from 32.7), free-throw shooting (87.0 from 82.1) and assists (1.4 from 1.3).
"He is a big piece to what we do," Woodson says.
So is veteran guard Trey Galloway, who also has had his struggles. In the last two games, he's come off the bench while Anthony Leal has started. Woodson says some of the inconsistency is due to Galloway's long recovery from last spring's knee surgery. It limited his off-season work.
"He came off major knee surgery," Woodson says. "It takes over a year to bounce back from that. He's giving us all he's got. He's been a workhorse.
"I've gotten on him more than anyone still left on the team. I love everything about him. He's had his ups and downs. I'm willing to go to war with him every time he steps on the floor. He'll figure it out. He hasn't played badly. We need him to stay positive and keep working. To win games, we're going to need him."
Maryland is coming off an impressive 91-70 road win at Illinois Thursday night. It had previously been 0-4 on the road. It has one win over a ranked opponent, beating then No. 22 UCLA 79-61 at home.
Maryland averages 83.6 points (ranking ninth nationally) and allows 64.8. Five Terrapins average in double figures. Derik Queen, a 6-10 freshman center, leads in scoring at 15.6 points. He also averages 8.0 rebounds and shoots 56.2% from the field. He had a 20-20 double-double in his college debut against Manhattan.
Guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie averages 14.4 points with team-leading totals of 90 assists, 38 steals and 47 3-pointers. Julian Reese, a 6-9 forward, leads Maryland in rebounding (9.2) and shooting (56.7%) while averaging 13.2 points. Also averaging in double figures are guards Rodney Rice (12.1 points) and Selton Miguel (11.3).
Queen and Reese dominated the paint against Illinois. Queen finished with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists. Reese had 27 points and 17 rebounds. The Terrapins scored 62 points in the paint.
Still ahead for the Hoosiers are road games to No. 11/12 Purdue, No. 18/19 Wisconsin, No. 8/8 Michigan State, Washington, and No. 15/15 Oregon. They also host No. 21/20 Michigan, Purdue, Penn State, UCLA, and Ohio State.
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