Indiana Basketball So Far: Like The Hoosiers, Trey Galloway Has Had Ups And Downs

Trey Galloway is Indiana's Swiss Army knife, but that opens him up to good and bad attributes in multiple areas.

Indiana Hoosiers guard Trey Galloway (32) drives to the basket against Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (2) during the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana men’s basketball is a third of the way through its season. Twelve games are in the books with a minimum of 19 to go, though it will likely be more assuming the Hoosiers make the Big Ten Tournament.

With the usual Christmas pause in games upon us, it’s a good time to look at Indiana’s most important contributors and how they’ve fared so far.

All players who have played 10 minutes per game will be considered except Anthony Leal. The senior has not played in enough games (Leal only reached 10 minutes in four of the six games he played) to have a workable sample size.

The series continues with guard Trey Galloway.

Trey Galloway: Tale Of The Tape

Points, Rebounds, Assists: 6.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.7 apg

Percentages: 42.9 FG%, 41.7 2P%, 44.4 3P%, 65 FT%.

Advanced stats: 17.4% usage rate, 0.2 offensive win shares, 0.4 defensive win shares, 0.6 overall win shares.

Opponent	Points Produced	Points Allowed	Net Points	Foul Trouble
SIU-Edwardsville	11.4	5.8	5.6	N
Eastern Illinois	10.7	6.7	4.1	N
South Carolina	12.3	9.6	2.8	N
UNC-Greensboro	1	5.9	-4.9	N
Louisville	0	8.8	-8.8	N
Gonzaga	7.4	15.9	-8.4	N
Providence	17.6	12.7	4.9	N
Sam Houston	2.8	9.2	-6.4	N
Miami (Ohio)	14.2	11.2	3	N
Minnesota	2.1	11.1	-9	Y
at Nebraska	11.4	15.1	-3.7	N
Chattanooga	10.4	7.8	2.6	Y

Explanation: Points produced and points allowed are included in the advanced box score provided to the media via live stats from each game.

Points produced and points allowed are based on how many points a player is responsible for or allows while on the court based on a per 100 possessions standard. The formula, developed by basketball analyst Dr. Dean Oliver, is way too complicated to explain here, but that’s the basic premise.

Net points is merely the points produced with points allowed subtracted.

Foul trouble is a measure I did myself. Foul trouble is obviously important because it compromises the rotation, but if a player plays with fouls, it can also compromise their defense.

A player qualified as being in foul trouble if: a) they picked up two fouls in the first half; b) picked up a third foul before 15 minutes are left in the second half; or c) picked up a fourth foul before five minutes are left in the second half.

The reason for this standard is to eliminate accumulated fouls late in the game that are done purposely to put the opposition at the free throw line. Those are not fouls that are bad or that necessarily compromise the team in the way earlier fouls do.

What’s Been Good

Indiana Hoosiers guard Trey Galloway (32) dribbles against Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Brice Williams (3) during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

At this point in Galloway’s career, we know what he can and can’t do. The question is how well is he doing the things he can do?

One welcome improvement is in his outside shooting. Galloway has returned to his 2023 form as he’s made 44.4% of his threes so far. Better yet, he’s hitting them at a slightly higher clip than he did two seasons ago. His 3-point attempts this season are 2.3 per game compared to 2 in 2023.

His free throw shooting has improved from 2024, increasing from 53.3% to 65%. That places him above his career average of 60.9%.

Assist-wise, Galloway’s game average is down to 2.7 per game from 4.6 a year ago, but that’s a function of playing 10 fewer minutes a game than he did in 2024.

If you look at his per-40-minute average, he’s been more productive in the assist department. He averages 6.3 assists per 40 this season as opposed to 5.5 in 2024.

What Needs Work

Galloway’s assist numbers are up based on the minutes he’s played, but so are the turnovers – and in a big way.

Galloway is averaging 2.2 turnovers per game, which is up over his average of 2 in 2024. That would obviously mean his per-40 average is up on giveaways, too. He’s averaged 3.7 turnovers per 40 over 2.6 in 2024.

Defensively, the advanced metrics show he’s down slightly from 2024. He has a 0.6 defensive box plus-minus and on the statbroadcast.com points produced-points allowed scale (see graphic above) he’s under water. His steals are also down.

While Galloway’s 3-point shooting is up, his overall shooting is down, declining from 46.6% in 2024 to 42.9%. Galloway was a reliable scorer inside the arc in 2024 at 58% from two-point shots, but others are scoring off of drives, so Galloway is down to 41.7%.

Is The Scheme Helping?

Indiana Hoosiers guard Trey Galloway (32) looks to score as Providence Friars guard Bensley Joseph (7) defends during the first half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

As ever with Galloway, his curse is being the jack of all trades, but master of none. His role is whatever is needed at the time, and the coaching staff values his Swiss army knife-like usefulness. He can run the offense, he can play off the ball, he is versatile – but not solid enough in one role to solidify a specific role, at least in the eyes of the coaching staff.

All of the above positive traits also open Galloway up to negative ones. When you can do a bunch of things, you can make mistakes on a bunch of things. Given that Galloway is inconsistent, like so many of his teammates, you never know what you’re going to get from game-to-game. Not a problem exclusive to Galloway on this team.

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