Hoosiers Now

2024 In Review: Indiana Men’s Basketball 5 Best Individual Performances

Team success has been underwhelming for Indiana in 2024, but there have been several impressive individual performances throughout the year.

Jack Ankony

Indiana guard Trey Galloway (32) celebrates after drawing a foul against Ohio State.
Indiana guard Trey Galloway (32) celebrates after drawing a foul against Ohio State. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – 2024 has not been a great year for Indiana men’s basketball, which missed the NCAA Tournament last season and is off to a disappointing start to coach Mike Woodson’s fourth year. 

But as the calendar flips to 2025, it’s time to reflect on some of the best individual performances from the year. For transparency, I wanted to limit this list to games Indiana won against Big Ten or high-major opponents. While some Hoosiers may have had higher-scoring games against mid-major foes, I felt performances against stronger opponents were more appropriate for this topic.

Before we get to the list, here are a few individual moments that just missed out. I wanted to include Trey Galloway’s 28-point night against Kansas, but Indiana blowing the lead late made that hard to justify. Galloway’s double-double with 13 points, 11 assists and five steals in a win at Minnesota deserves to be mentioned, too. Kel’el Ware’s double-doubles against Minnesota and Iowa also came close. So did Mackenzie Mgbako’s 25-point game against Providence, but Indiana’s flop in the Bahamas soured that performance. 

Below is a list of the five best individual performances from the men’s basketball team in 2024.

5. Myles Rice Provides Early Season Hope

Indiana’s first real test of the 2024-25 season came on Nov. 16 against South Carolina, a team that finished second in the SEC last season and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Landing Washington State transfer Myles Rice was a big reason for Indiana’s optimism going into the season, and the point guard delivered in his first high-major game as a Hoosier.

Rice finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting. His 3-point shooting was a question coming into the year after making just 27.5% last year, but Rice sank 3-of-4 3-point shots against the Gamecocks. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists in the 87-71 victory.

Though we’re only about six weeks removed from this win, it hasn’t aged too well. South Carolina recently beat No. 25 Clemson in overtime, but it has three losses on the season to North Florida, Indiana and Xavier – all outside the top 60 in the NET rankings. South Carolina is 88th in the NET, and the win won’t do much to help Indiana’s resume barring a big turnaround from the Gamecocks. 

4. Mackenzie Mgbako Makes Case for Freshman of the Year

Mgbako’s freshman year got off to a rough start after being the Big Ten’s top-ranked recruit in 2023 at No. 8 nationally. He scored four points or fewer in four of his first five games while shooting just 32% from the field, and Woodson couldn’t trust him in late-game situations. 

That made his development throughout the season all the more impressive. Mgbako scored double-digit points in 14 of his last 16 games while shooting 37.8% from 3-point range in Big Ten play. Mgbako’s best performance of the season came in an 83-78 win at Maryland on March 3, 2024. Winning on the road in the Big Ten is always difficult, especially for freshmen, but Mgbako rose to the occasion. Showing off his wide range of skills, Mgbako finished with a season-high 24 points and tied his season-high with four 3-pointers on eight attempts. 

The 6-foot-8 wing became more aggressive driving to the basket as the season went on, and that was on display against Maryland, too. Mgbako scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half, including two strong and-ones and a pair of late free throws to ice the game. Winning Big Ten freshman of the year was out of the equation early in the season, but Mgbako’s late-season surge led to him sharing the award with Iowa’s Owen Freeman.

3. Kel'el Ware’s ‘All-American-Type Night’ Against Wisconsin

Ware did not play in Indiana’s first game against Wisconsin, a 91-79 loss in Madison. But his presence went a long way in flipping the outcome of the second matchup, a 74-70 Indiana victory on Feb. 27, 2024. Ware was near-perfect, making 11-of-12 shots from the field, all four free throws and his lone 3-point attempt. He finished with 27 points. 

Wisconsin center Steven Crowl noted postgame that Ware’s shot-blocking was something Indiana missed in the first game, when the Hoosiers allowed their second-most points of the season. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard called him the best player on the court. Ware added 11 rebounds and five blocks, impacting the game in a variety of ways.

"Kel'el Ware had an All-American-type night, 20 points in the first half, and he was terrific," Gard said. "But we also gave him easy buckets early where he got some confidence going, and he's a really good player. But he just did whatever he wanted in the first half, specifically."

The game also will be remembered for being interrupted by a fire alarm in the second half. Fans evacuated Assembly Hall with 10:31 to play, and the game was delayed for about 20 minutes. Gard was upset about the delay, but that didn’t change his team's inability to handle Ware on either end of the court, especially in the first half.  

"I thought it was a great timeout for whoever from Indiana pulled the fire alarm for them as we're making a run,” Gard said.

2. Trey Galloway, Malik Reneau Lead Comeback at Ohio State

I’m admittedly cheating a bit here by picking two players, but it wouldn’t feel right to put one’s performance over the other in this game. Reneau and Galloway carried Indiana to a miraculous comeback win over Ohio State, combining for 51 of Indiana’s 76 points. The duo made 17-of-30 shots from the field, while the rest of the Hoosiers converted just 8-of-26 attempts. Reneau grabbed 14 rebounds, and he punished Ohio State’s fouling by making 10-of-15 free throws. Galloway dished all four of his assists in the second half. 

Indiana trailed Ohio State by as many as 18 points, and it felt like the Buckeyes would cruise to victory as they took a 12-point lead with 7:42 to play on Feb. 6, 2024 in Columbus. Galloway started the run by scoring seven of Indiana’s next 10 points, making it a two-point deficit with five minutes to play. Galloway drew a charge against Bruce Thornton as Ohio State tried to in-bound the ball, pumped his fists and yelled, ‘Come on!” as Anthony Leal picked him up off the hardwood. 

Leal ended up being the late-game hero, sinking a 3-pointer – assisted by Galloway – with 22 seconds left, then making a pair of free throws with two seconds left to secure the 76-73 win. That game, highlighted by Galloway, Reneau and Leal, was a bright spot in a stretch where Indiana lost eight of 10 games. 

1. Kel’el Ware Dominates Michigan State on Senior Day

Michigan State threw everything it had at Kel’el Ware. Coach Tom Izzo gave Xavier Booker his second-career start on March 10, 2024, at Assembly Hall, but the freshman couldn’t physically handle Indiana’s future first-round pick center. Izzo later turned to Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler and Mady Sissoko, trying any possible combination to stop Ware. None of them worked.

As the Spartans and Hoosiers went back and forth throughout the second half, Indiana didn’t have to do much besides dump the ball inside Ware. The 7-footer scored 19 points in the second half, including a free throw with 17 seconds left, which proved to be the game-winner in Indiana’s 65-64 victory on Senior Day as Tyson Walker missed just before the buzzer.

Ware finished with 28 points on 13-for-19 shooting, including a 3-pointer, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. I have a vivid memory of Izzo throwing his hands in the air after Ware scored late in the game, looking uncharacteristically helpless. Izzo will go down as an all-time great coach, but there was no tactic he could implement that day to stop Ware.

Related stories on Indiana athletics

  • 2024 IN REVIEW: Todd Golden looks back at his favorite Indiana women’s basketball moments from 2024. CLICK HERE
  • 2024 IN REVIEW: Todd Golden looks back at his favorite Indiana football moments from an unforgettable 11-2 season. CLICK HERE
Published
Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

Home/Basketball