Indiana Fails First Big Test in 77-57 Loss to No. 5 Connecticut

Indiana needed to be at its best to hang with No. 5 Connecticut on Sunday, but foul trouble and an inability to rebound or knock down big shots caught up with them in a 77-57 loss to the Huskies at Madison Square Garden.

Tom Brew | Nov 19, 2023

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NEW YORK — It was the first big test, and it did not go well for Indiana. On basketball's biggest stage in front of a national TV audience, the Hoosiers got beat 77-57 by No. 5 Connecticut on Sunday.

There were many reasons why they lost, too, and lost by 20. They trailed the entire game — 4-3 was their last lead — and they were outrebounded 44-22. They got great numbers from sophomore forward Malik Reneau, 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, but the rest of the team was a combined 10-for-35 from the floor, a measly 28.6 percent.

Not good enough. Not even close.

"Their team is very good defensively, and the looks we did have, we didn't make. We have to get better offensively,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after the loss in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden.

It also didn't help that Reneau and point guard Xavier Johnson, possibly the two most important pieces on this team, were severely limited by foul trouble. Johnson, a sixth-year player, picked up two fouls in the first two-plus minutes, and his third and fourth fouls were silly.

"The third foul (late in the first half) was a foul,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson. "And that can't happen, it didn't help matters. I've got to trust you can get through the half. He doesn't do us any good sitting next to me.'' Indiana's floor leader only played 13 minutes and 44 seconds.

Reneau had a career-high 18 points, but he picked up his fifth foul with 7:04 to go. He had a best-ever game in just 17 minutes of playing time. He also left with the Hoosiers trailing by only 10 points, and they were outscored 19-9 the rest of the way without him.

"My foul situations has been critical since my freshman year, so I've got to deal with that.'' Reneau said. "That's hard just leaving your team out there on the floor with (seven) minutes to go. It's hard to deal with that. My team needed me on the floor. Dealing with dumb fouls and dumb situations, I've got to stop that.''

Connecticut (4-0) had several runs during the game, but the Hoosiers always seemed to answer. The Huskies would get up by 14, but on three different occasions the Hoosiers cut it back to seven.

But they just couldn't get over that hump, and when UConn went on that one last run without Reneau on the floor, it was over.

And that was really frustrating, because every time they got within seven, the Hoosiers felt like were in position to get back in the game. But it never happened.

"They aren't 20 points better than us, and we know that. We felt like we were there,'' said Galloway, who had 10 points. "There were a couple of times we got it to seven, and we couldn't get over that hump. We've just got to be ready to go when things get tough.

"But they won the national championship last year for a reason and they've got really good guards. (Tristen) Newton and (Cam) Spencer are both really good, and their offense and their flow, the way they move the ball, it's really good. You can tell that they work on it a lot and they are all connected as one. It was tough guarding it and they made shots. We've got to learn from that, and we're going to get better.''

It was 50-43 with 13 minutes to go when Xavier Johnson scooped up a loose ball and the Hoosiers had a chance to threaten. But as he headed upcourt, the ball got tipped away and Newton, who had a game-high 23 points, came up with the loose ball and scored. UConn went on an 8-1 run, and the Hoosiers were wounded.

"I thought that was the biggest play of the game,'' Woodson said. "When it was 50-43, we cut it to seven and get a big rebound and X tried to go through traffic and they tipped the ball and got a play.''

Woodson wasn't very happy with the play of 7-foot center Kel'el Ware, either. He hit two 3-pointers early, but that was it. He was 2-for-10 on the day and missed all six of his two-point attempts. He finished with 11 points, making 5-of-6 free throws.

"I was a little disappointed (in Ware),'' Woodson said. "When you look at his start for us (in the first three games), a lot of his work came in the paint. It was like he didn't want any part of that tonight and I told him that. He's 7-feet tall and he's got to get in there and mix it up.''

Freshman Mackenize Mgbako continues to struggle as well. He played 23 minutes and missed all three shots from the field. He made two free throws, had just one rebound and continues to struggle on the defensive end.

Add up all of the shortcomings, and it was certainly too much to overcome against the defending national champions. It was a great environment at MSG — "Looking at the crowd before the game, there was a lot of Indiana in New York here,'' UConn coach Danny Hurley said — and this was exactly why Woodson schedules games like this, to get a good barometer on where his team is at.

What we learned, obviously, is that they are still very much a work in progress. Sure, they are 3-1, but those three wins against inferior competition weren't very impressive either.

They do some good things, but there are also a lot of flaws still to be worked through,.

And Woodson knows it.

"The rebounding, that's been very glaring,'' Woodson said. "Our guards aren't rebounding and I think between Mackenzie and Galloway and X, we had (two) rebounds. That's just not good enough. It's all effort, that's all it is. It takes a little more effort to stick your nose in there. It was glaring tonight and I don't like getting out-toughed. We've got to figure that out.

"And on offense, I've got to do a better job of getting them in better positions to score the ball, too, Malik did a lot of good things, but it wasn't working for anybody (else). I've got to get that fixed. We knew this game would be tough, and I wanted to see where we were as a ballclub. They kind of put us in our place.''

The Hoosiers play at Madison Square Garden again on Monday. They'll take on Louisville, who lost 81-80 to Texas on Sunday. The game is at 4:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

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