Indiana

Five takeaways from Indiana's win against Ohio State

Published

12 months ago

January 7, 2024

Five takeaways from Indiana's win against Ohio State

Indiana rebounded from Wednesday’s ugly loss at Nebraska with a 71-65 victory against Ohio State on Saturday at Assembly Hall.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Buckeyes:

Indiana flips the script by taking care of the ball and capitalizing on OSU turnovers

Indiana’s sloppiness with the ball in Wednesday’s loss at Nebraska resulted in a season-high 19 turnovers, leading to 27 points for the Cornhuskers.

The Hoosiers flipped the script on Saturday against Ohio State.

Indiana committed just four turnovers against the Buckeyes and forced 14 turnovers. The discrepancy led Indiana to a 22-5 advantage in points off of turnovers and it was a major reason the Hoosiers prevailed.

“We watched the game when we came back as a team,” Mike Woodson said postgame. “After I watched it a couple times, it was just awful. But we rebounded from it. Learned from it. Only had four turnovers today, which is kind of nice.”

Xavier Johnson’s improved decision-making was crucial in his second game after returning from injury.

The sixth-year guard didn’t commit a turnover in 34 minutes.

“That’s something that you rarely see from me, honestly,” Johnson said. “I’m an aggressive guard. I got to grow up, and I grew up tonight and got to keep growing up and not turn over the ball because my team needs me to make the right play every time.”

CJ Gunn provides a major spark off the bench

After logging just 14 minutes in Indiana’s past two games against Kennesaw State and Nebraska, CJ Gunn earned his way back into the rotation on Saturday night with several strong days of practice.

And Gunn delivered his most impactful performance in an IU uniform.

The Lawrence North defended at a high level and made an impact quickly with a transition dunk off of a Kel’el Ware steal. That play, which resulted in a 3-point play, got Gunn going.

He hit another first-half jumper from the right corner from a baseline out-of-bounds play. In the second half, Gunn hit a jumper with 8:58 to play to give Indiana a 3-point lead. And his 3-pointer at the 6:11 mark stretched the Hoosier lead to 60-54.

“His last few days of practice has been tremendous,” Woodson said. “I’m telling all these guys, you know, it’s how you practice, man, that carries over into a real basketball game.”

Ohio State had no answer for Malik Reneau in the post

Malik Reneau dominated Ohio State in the post for the second straight season at Assembly Hall.

As a freshman, Reneau scored 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists in an 86-70 Indiana win in late January of 2023.

Reneau struggled in the first half of Saturday’s win but responded in the final 20 minutes. He played all 20 second-half minutes and scored 19 of his game-high 23 points.

While his defensive rebounding was poor, Reneau’s offense in the post was unstoppable. He was 10-for-16 from the field and was 8-for-11 in the second half.

Reneau’s success this season is a result of a strong offseason, according to Woodson.

“This summer, you know, he put a lot of work in. Never really left campus. Got his weight down,” Woodson said of the sophomore forward. “The baby fat that he had last year has trimmed down. So you just got to tip your hat to him. He put the work in this summer and it’s paying off.”

Indiana’s defensive rebounding was disastrous

Ohio State entered Saturday’s game as one of the better offensive-rebounding teams in the Big Ten.

Indiana’s lackluster performance on the glass made the Buckeyes look like the best offensive rebounding team in the country.

Ohio State corralled more offensive rebounds in the game (22) than Indiana’s total of defensive rebounds (20). The Buckeyes scored 24 second-chance points in the loss.

The Hoosiers were fortunate that Ohio State missed several open 3-point looks off of offensive rebounds.

“You know, we just were so awful rebounding the ball tonight,” Woodson explained postgame. “They had good looks spraying the ball back out. It was just bouncing funny and we couldn’t come up with it.”

Indiana’s guards deserve credit for their work on Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr.

After what Woodson called an “awful” performance against Nebraska by his backcourt, it was a major defensive bounce-back effort for Indiana’s guards against Ohio State.

Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr. were averaging a combined 32.3 points per game entering Saturday’s game. The duo combined for just 18 points in Bloomington.

Thornton was 4-for-17 from the field and Gayle Jr. was 3-for-17. They were a combined 0-for-12 on 3s.

Some of it was the result of missing open looks. But Indiana’s defense was also better in terms of contesting shots.

It was a group effort as Johnson, Gunn and Trey Galloway took turns on Thornton and Gayle Jr., one of the best guard duos in the conference this season.

Filed to: C.J. Gunn, Malik Reneau, Ohio State Buckeyes

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Indiana

Point Spread: Indiana Big Underdog vs. Penn State in Philadelphia

Published

8 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Point Spread: Indiana Big Underdog vs. Penn State in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — There have been a lot of ups and downs during Mike Woodson’s three-plus years as head coach at Indiana, but one of the most disturbing trends is the Hoosiers’ inability to beat Penn State.

Woodson lost five of six games to the Nittany Lions before finally beating them 61-59 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. last season. And this is an average Penn State side that’s only made one NCAA Tournament (2023) during that run. Still, they have guards who pressure and make threes, and Indiana has struggled with rosters like that.

Oddsmakers are expecting more of the same on Sunday when the two teams hook up at The Palestra in Philadelphia for a Penn State alternate home game. According to the FanDuel.com gambling website, the 12-2 Nittany Lions are 6.5-point favorites over the Hoosiers (11-3). The over/under is 158.5.

The game starts at Noon ET and is televised on Big Ten Network. (How to watch story link below.) It’s the fifth time Penn State has played a Big Ten home game during the Christmas break at The Palestra, which was built in 1927 and is one of the most iconic building in the college game.

Indiana has been an underdog twice this season, and both ended badly, getting blown out late by both Gonzaga and Nebraska.

Here’s what we know so far about how Indiana and Penn State have fared against the point spread this season.

UPDATE … Rutgers is 12-2 on the season, and 2-1 in Big Ten games. They resumed league play on Thursday night with an 84-80 win over Northwestern in State College, Pa.

Penn State is just 6-8 against the spread this season. They’ve had an easy schedule, only playing two Power 5 teams in the nonconference schedule. They beat a 6-8 Virginia Tech team, but lost to Clemson., both from the ACC. Here’s what Penn State has done straight up and against the spread this season:

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Indiana

Slumping Suns Continue in Loss vs Pacers

Published

16 hours ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

Slumping Suns Continue in Loss vs Pacers

The Phoenix Suns dropped their Saturday night contest to the Indiana Pacers in 126-108 fashion.

Dropping to 15-18 on the season, the Suns have now lost four in a row and seven of their last eight.

It was tough sledding for Phoenix while they missed some key pieces in the lineup – all of Royce O’Neale (ankle), Tyus Jones (illness), Oso Ighodaro (illness) and Jusuf Nurkic (suspension) were unavailable vs. Indiana.

Bradley Beal was questionable with a hip contusion but pushed through to play. He finished with eight points on 3-12 shooting.

Devin Booker (20) and Kevin Durant (25) led the way in scoring for Phoenix while no other Suns player scored more than 13.

Indiana led by as much as 20, though they took control in the second half after Phoenix played them close in the first two quarters.

The Suns got down to a 7-0 deficit very early in the first quarter before battling back to just a one-point deficit at the end of the first, trailing 30-29. Phoenix shot a tremendous 58% from the field, though five turnovers ultimately held them back.

The second quarter saw the Suns take their first lead of the evening, 42-40, and eventually evened the score at 56-56. Kevin Durant led all scorers at halftime with 14 while Indiana still played strong despite making just 6-22 attempts from deep.

Indiana saw their lead hit double digits halfway through the third quarter, which was carried into the final quarter with Phoenix trailing 96-84. The Suns – typically an awful team in the third quarter this season – allowed 40 points in the period.

Despite flirting with a comeback, the Suns ultimately ran out of gas and couldn’t escape their 10+ point deficit. Mike Budenholzer emptied the bench with 54 seconds remaining before the final buzzer sounded.

The Suns are on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, Jan. 6.

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Indiana

Offensive Lineman Zen Michalski Transfers To Indiana

Published

1 day ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

Offensive Lineman Zen Michalski Transfers To Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Offensive line was a position of need for Indiana in the transfer portal, and coach Curt Cignetti addressed that by landing Ohio State transfer Zen Michalski.

The 6-foot-6, 319-pound offensive lineman has signed with Indiana, as first reported by On3, bringing Indiana’s incoming transfer class to 14 members. Michalski is the first offensive lineman to transfer to Indiana this offseason, and he joins the Hoosiers with one year of eligibility.

Michalski spent the last four seasons at Ohio State, where he played 260 snaps at left tackle and right guard and 208 snaps on special teams, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

He committed to Ohio State as a four-star recruit ranked No. 208 nationally, No. 21 among offensive tackles and No. 2 in Indiana among class of 2021 recruits, according to 247Sports. Michalski attended Floyd Central High School in Floyd Knobs, Ind.

In 2024, Michalski played 158 snaps at left tackle across eight games for Ohio State and made his first-career start against Nebraska. Among Ohio State offensive lineman, he had the ninth-highest grade for offense (61.8), second-best run-blocking grade (73.8) and 13th-best pass blocking grade (33.2), per PFF.

Michalski suffered an injury Oct. 26 against Nebraska and did not play the rest of the regular season. He returned for Ohio State’s first-round College Football Playoff game against Tennessee and played nine snaps, but he did not play in the Buckeyes’ win over Oregon. He was a backup offensive lineman for Ohio State from 2021-23.

Ohio State offensive lineman Zen Michalski (65) warms up during football camp at the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad has a few key spots to fill going into the 2025 season. Indiana starting center Mike Katic and right tackle Trey Wedig are out of eligibility. Michalski’s playing time came almost exclusively at left tackle for Ohio State, but he could be a candidate to fill in for Wedig at right tackle.

Along with Katic’s departure, there is some uncertainty in the interior of Indiana’s offensive line. Starting left guard Drew Evans suffered a season-ending achilles injury before the Michigan game, and Indiana has not publicly stated a timetable for his return. Nick Kidwell was expected to start at right guard in 2024, but he suffered a knee injury during fall camp and missed the whole season. He would need a medical redshirt to return for an eighth collegiate season.

Indiana left tackle Carter Smith and Bray Lynch are two other offensive lineman returning in 2025 with starting experience. Bostad and the Hoosiers made significant improvements on the offensive line from 2023 to 2024, and now they welcome Michalski to the mix in 2025.

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