At the Buzzer: Indiana 77, Penn State 71

Quick thoughts on a 77-71 win against Penn State at the Palestra:

How it happened

It was a sharp start on both ends for Indiana on Sunday afternoon at the Palestra. The Hoosiers took care of the ball, hit the offensive boards and hit a couple of early perimeter shots to build an early 17-14 advantage. But as IU went to its bench, the offense waned, the turnovers increased and the Hoosiers managed just 12 points over the final 12:14 of the half. Fortunately, Penn State struggled, too. The Nittany Lions didn’t make a 3-pointer in the first half, shot just three free throws and didn’t make a field goal over the final 6:29 of the opening 20 minutes. With Malik Reneau unavailable due to injury, Oumar Ballo was the focal point of the Hosier offense and was sometimes unstoppable. Ballo had 14 points and nine rebounds in 16 first-half minutes.

Mackenzie Mgbako scored eight points in less than a minute to start the second half, forcing Penn State to take an early timeout with the Hoosiers leading 37-29. By the under-16 media timeout, Indiana’s lead was 44-33 after the Hoosiers made three 3-pointers before the timeout. After Penn State cut the lead to eight at 47-39, Indiana went on an 11-4 run to make it a 58-43 advantage with 11:34 remaining. The Hoosiers stretched the lead to 16 on a Trey Galloway 3-pointer with 10:20 left. But Penn State scored the next six points to pull within 10 at 61-51 at the 9:05 mark. Mgbako’s third 3-pointer of the second half stretched the lead to 11 with 7:39 remaining, but Oumar Ballo picked up his fourth foul on the next possession and had to go to the bench.

After Penn State cut the lead to four at 65-61 on a Nick Kern Jr. 3-pointer, Indiana brought Ballo back in and the big man converted a 3-point play to make it 68-61 with 5:25 remaining. By the final media timeout, Indiana’s lead was 69-63. Penn State had a chance to cut it to one possession with under 2:15 left, but Galloway got a key steal and took the team’s last timeout with the Hoosiers leading 73-68 with 2:04 to go. Out of the timeout, IU turned it over, Penn State hit a 3-pointer to make it 73-71 and Rice didn’t get the ball past halfcourt, giving Penn State the ball with 1:32 left. Zach Hicks missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Nittany Lions the lead and on the ensuing possession, Mgbako was fouled with 42.7 seconds left. Mgbako made both free throws to make it 75-71, Hicks missed a 3-pointer on Penn State’s next possession and Rice made two free throws to seal the win for Indiana.

Standout performers

Ballo led Indiana with 25 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in 32 minutes. Mgbako finished with 20 points in 31 minutes. Luke Goode made three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. And Rice had nine points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana went 9-for-23 on 3s (39.1 percent) and 16-for-22 from the free throw line (72.7 percent). The Hoosiers turned it over just 14 times. Penn State opponents were averaging 17 per game entering the contest.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

Filed to: Penn State Nittany Lions