Indiana Basketball So Far: Malik Reneau Has Been Indiana’s Best Player

Malik Reneau has been very good in almost every department, and he’s been consistent.

Indiana Hoosiers forward Malik Reneau (5) celebrates a made basket in the first half against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Trevor Ruszkowski-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 power forward Malik Reneau.

Malik Reneau: Tale Of The Tape

Points, Rebounds, Assists: 15.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.6 apg.

Percentages: 59.3 FG%, 66.3 2P%, 17.6 3P%, 77.6 FT%.

Advanced stats: 24.4% usage rate, 1.1 offensive win shares, 0.8 defensive win shares, 1.9 win shares overall.

Opponent	Points Produced	Points Allowed	Net Points	Foul Trouble
SIU-Edwardsville	10	8.5	1.5	N
Eastern Illinois	9.3	7.3	2	N
South Carolina	14.4	13	2.2	Y
UNC-Greensboro	10.6	6.6	4	N
Louisville	22.5	11.8	10.7	N
Gonzaga	3.1	10.5	-7.4	Y
Providence	10	8.8	1.2	Y
Sam Houston	22.6	8.3	14.3	N
Miami (Ohio)	10.6	9	1.6	N
Minnesota	11.6	11.6	0	N
at Nebraska	12.5	8.8	3.6	Y
Chattanooga	16.4	7.4	9	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 forward Malik Reneau (5) drives to the basket as Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Michael Ajayi (1) defends during the first half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

By almost any definition, Reneau has been Indiana’s best player so far this season.

He’s the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, and he takes the most shots (9.8) per game. He ranks in the top 500 nationally (keeping in mind there are close to 360 teams with at least 13 players each) in 11 different categories on Kenpom.com, including 104th in true shooting percentage (a measure that takes into account point values for 3-point shots and free throws).

He leads Indiana in every major advanced statistic that measure overall production. From Player Efficiency Rating (25.8) to win shares (1.9) to box plus-minus (9.6) – Reneau sets the pace.

What makes Reneau so valuable is his consistency. He’s only had two games this season under 10 points or five rebounds. While other Hoosiers have struggled to bring their game game-to-game, Reneau has not.

Reneau’s bully ball at the rim is paying off more than ever as he’s improved his free throw shooting by 11 percentage points over 2024 at 77.6%. He’s making those fouls count.

Rebounding-wise, Reneau’s rate is up from last season as he’s improved from an 11.9% rate to 13.1.

Defensively, Reneau’s defensive metrics are way up. He had a defensive box plus-minus of 1.1 in 2024 and is up to 4 this season, a huge leap.

And one major improvement of note: Reneau does not limit his time on the floor with foul trouble. By the measure defined above, he’s been in foul trouble in five games so far.

What Needs Work

Reneau likes to try to keep defenses honest by taking threes, but the shot hasn’t been there for him this season. Reneau has made just 17.6% form beyond the arc after making 33.3% last season.

Reneau can get caught up in the general defensive malaise, but that can be said for all of the Hoosiers.

Is The Scheme Helping?

Indiana Hoosiers forward Malik Reneau (5) and South Carolina Gamecocks guard Morris Ugusuk (15) fight for a rebound in the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Mike Woodson’s system is tailor-made for Reneau. He can use his physicality to force the issue on the offensive end and put pressure on opposing defenses. Woodson likes that, and you can’t blame him.

There’s a debate among Indiana fans as to what role Reneau should play. He can clearly play the four, but should he be at the five in a smaller lineup? Indiana has tried that a few times with mixed results. (Something that can be said for all of the lineup combos, to be fair.) According to Kenpom.com, Reneau has played 30% of the minutes at the 5-spot.

Also according to Kenpom, the most commonly used lineup is Myles Rice, Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Oumar Ballo and Reneau at 21.9% of the floor time. The coaches seem to like the two big-man system and whether it works overall or not, it certainly seems to suit Reneau.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• INDIANA BASKETBALL SO FAR - OUMAR BALLO: The big man has had a role that was exactly as expected and he's done well at it. CLICK HERE.

• INDIANA BASKETBALL SO FAR - KANAAN CARLYLE: Kanaan Carlyle has searched for consistent form. CLICK HERE.

• INDIANA BASKETBALL SO FAR - MYLES RICE: LIke his team, Myles Rice has been up and down for the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE.

• INDIANA GETS BY AGAINST CHATTANOOGA: The Hoosiers defeated Chattanooga, but some of their weaknesses were on display in the winning effort. CLICK HERE.

• HOOSIERS STILL GETTING TOP 25 CONSIDERATION: Indiana is still in the "also receiving votes" section of the AP Top 25 poll. CLICK HERE.