Indiana Overcomes Reneau’s Absence, Bailey’s Big Night in 84-74 Win Over Rutgers

Five Hoosiers scored at least nine points as Indiana resumed Big Ten play with a much-needed win over the Scarlet Knights.

Indiana guard Myles Rice (1) dribbles against Rutgers guard Ace Bailey (4) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Anthony Leal’s pregame ritual finally paid off.

After Rutgers’ star freshman Ace Bailey emphatically swatted Indiana point guard Myles Rice’s layup off the backboard, Leal corralled the offensive rebound and immediately hoisted a Hail Mary from the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall logo on Branch McCracken Court.

High enough to hit the video board and escape the television broadcast, Leal’s heave banked off the glass and fell through the net as the first-half buzzer sounded. It was reminiscent of Leal’s pregame routine of taking half-court and three-quarter court shots, when he’s often seen smiling with teammates.

But after making one of the most improbable shots in recent Indiana history, all he could do was shrug as Hoosier fans jumped out of their seats in amazement. The circus shot gave the Hoosiers a seven-point lead and momentum going into halftime, and they rode that into the second half of Thursday’s 84-74 Big Ten victory.

“I got nothing for you on that,” Leal said, when asked about how he made the shot. “I saw him shoot it, tried to go get a tip in and it got blocked. I chased it down, peaked at the clock and saw there wasn’t much time, so I kind of just turned around and shot it. Weird things like that seem to happen for me. So I’ll take it. I’d rather be lucky.”

What was going through his mind during the celebration?

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“Honestly, it was how much are we up? We gotta go to halftime and figure some stuff out and try to build that lead and get a win. I’m never really focused on my own success or my own stats or anything, so it’s just cool it went in. It’s cool to celebrate for a second, but then it’s just next play. We gotta make sure we get a win.”

Indiana played without leading scorer Malik Reneau, who went down with an apparent right knee injury on the game’s second possession. The junior power forward immediately went into the tunnel and wore an ice pack while sitting on the bench the rest of the game. Indiana coach Mike Woodson said Reneau could not come back into the game, and Indiana will evaluate him tomorrow.

Not having Reneau, a 15-point per game scorer, may have signaled initial concern, but the rest of the Hoosiers stepped up. It was a balanced scoring effort from Indiana, with four players in double figures, led by Rice with 21 points. The Hoosiers shot just 38.1% from the field and 64% from the free throw line, but had their best 3-point shooting game of the season. 

Bailey did his best to keep Rutgers competitive, scoring 39 points on 16-for-29 shooting, but he didn’t have much help. Woodson was impressed by the projected top-five NBA draft pick.

“He's special,” Woodson said. “He's a good player and he's young. If he continues to work, he could be pretty special. I mean, we kind of threw a few things at him, but he made some tough shots tonight and that's what great players do.”

Rutgers guard Ace Bailey (4) dribbles against Indiana forward Luke Goode (10) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Just a few days before, Indiana was 1-of-20 from 3-point range in a nine-point win over Chattanooga. But the Hoosiers completely reversed that trend, making 7-of-15 3-point attempts in the first half and finishing 12-for-27, their most of the season and fourth best percentage, 44.4%. Leal, Rice, Mackenzie Mgbako, Trey Galloway, Kanaan Carlyle and Luke Goode all contributed to the outside shooting improvement.

“As a coach, every time they shoot it, I think it's going in,” Woodson said. “Especially if you got the right guy shooting it and we did in our last game. You had Gallo shooting some and Goode and Mack, they just didn't knock them down [against Winthrop. And tonight they had some of those same looks, and they put it in the hole, which is kind of nice to see.”

Galloway and Goode hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first half to give Indiana a 16-10 lead. Galloway’s shot came thanks to an offensive rebound by Goode, and Goode was freed up for his shot after a shifty drive and kick by Rice. All was looking right for the Hoosiers early.

But Bailey had been hunting his shot from the opening tipoff, and there was no reason to turn off his green light. Playing without fellow freshman phenom Dylan Harper, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell gave Bailey the keys to the offense all night long. With drives to the basket, mid-range jumpers and 3-pointers, the 6-foot-10 freshman poured in 19 first-half points.

Goode made his second straight start in place of Ballo and drew the initial defensive assignment on Bailey. Indiana also tried Leal and Mgbako one-on-one against Bailey, but neither could contain him. The collective Indiana defense couldn’t either.

“Anthony is one of our best defenders,” Woodson said. “And when I got to go to someone off the bench to guard a key guy, because I thought in that one stretch right before the half, I think he only scored one point against Anthony. He had done all his damage early and – but again, he's a hell of a player. He did a lot of good things for his ball club tonight.”

Bailey scored 11 points during a 13-0 run that saw Rutgers take a 23-16 lead with 10:04 left in the first half. Woodson went to a lineup with primarily bench players – Leal, Carlyle, Galloway, Bryson Tucker and Langdon Hatton – and Rutgers took advantage. 

But a few minutes later, Indiana responded with a 10-0 run of its own. After missing Thursday’s game, Ballo returned to his usual, dominant self and scored five points during that run, which gave Indiana a 34-29 lead. The 7-foot center finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, though Woodson did not address why he came off the bench for the first time this year.

“Let's just talk about his 17 and 12. That's what I like to focus on,” Woodson said. “He came off the bench and he got 17 and 12 for us and two blocks, which is fantastic.”

Indiana center Oumar Ballo (11) dunks against Rutgers at Assembly Hall. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Leal’s heroics shortly after put the Hoosiers on top 41-34 going into halftime. Indiana extended its lead to 18 points – the largest it grew all night – after a 15-4 run to open the half. The Hoosiers significantly benefited from high-effort plays. They turned 18 offensive rebounds into 34 second-chance points. And they made Rutgers pay for its 11 turnovers, scoring 19 points off those mistakes. That’s a step in the right direction in areas that had not been strengths for most of the season.

“I think the fact that they played a lot of zones, it's kind of hard to block out in zone situations,” Woodson said. “We were able to sneak guys in and get put-backs or kick it back out for threes. That's just how it goes when you play zone. You gamble because you do have to rebound out of the zone in order to get down the floor and play offense and we were able to capitalize on it a little bit.”

Rutgers wouldn’t go away easily, though, especially with its talented freshman class. Freshman center Lathan Sommerville and Bailey combined to go on an 8-0 run in just over a minute of play. Rice ended the run with two free throws, but Bailey punched right back with a pair of 3-pointers, which trimmed Indiana’s lead to 58-52 with 9:05 to play.

Indiana shut down any legitimate chances of a Rutgers comeback as it stayed hot from the 3-point line. Rice hit a contested, 3-point fadeaway, and Goode knocked down a pair of 3-point shots, the second of which pushed Indiana’s lead back to 13 points. Galloway all but clinched the victory with a 3-pointer that gave Indiana a 71-57 advantage with 3:49 to play.

With this win, Indiana improved to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Next up, the Hoosiers travel to face Penn State at noon ET Sunday at the Palestra in Philadelphia. The Palestra is not Penn State’s home arena, but the Nittany Lions have played there once per season in recent years to showcase the iconic arena that is the home for some games involving Philadelphia’s Big Five: Penn, St. Joseph's, Temple, La Salle and Villanova.

Thursday’s win showed Indiana’s potential for having deep scoring production, but Woodson is still pushing for improvement moving forward. 

“We got a long way to go,” Woodson said. “I got to help our bench more somehow. I just got to get them comfortable having fun and flying around and doing things on both ends of the floor that we're supposed to do and we're not there yet.”

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• WHAT WOODSON SAID: Here's the full transcript of Indiana coach Mike Woodson's press conference following the Hoosiers' 84-74 win over Rutgers Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE