Indiana Overcomes Shortcomings To Get Past Winthrop 77-68

The Hoosiers were 1 of 20 from 3-point range and played without Oumar Ballo, but Indiana was able to survive and win.

Indiana Hoosiers guard Myles Rice (1) recovers a loose ball in front of Winthrop Eagles forward K.J. Doucet (12) during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana men’s basketball did what it does best on Sunday against Winthrop: The Hoosiers got by.

On a day where the Hoosiers were a ghastly 1 of 20 from 3-point range and played without center Oumar Ballo, Indiana was not able to pull away from the Eagles.

Finally an 8-0 game-ending run helped the Hoosiers earn a 77-68 victory in front of 14,499 fans at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall that felt more like survival than a triumph.

On one hand, it’s satisfying that Indiana was able to overcome its shortcomings and get a victory. On the other hand, the shortcomings aren’t going away. Self-inflicted problems continue to prevent the Hoosiers from reaching their potential.

The 3-point shooting was at the top of the list on Sunday. Luke Goode made a 3-pointer with 17:04 left in the first half, and the Hoosiers never connected again from beyond the arc. Nineteen misses in a row – and many of them were wide-open looks. Goode and Mackenzie Mgbako combined to go 1 of 14 from the field.

“Shooting, it's a funny thing, man. They were all good looks. So I can't sit here and complain that they were bad shots,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said.

“They have just got to keep working, and eventually they will fall. That's how I think as a coach, the threes and the free throws. Because I thought the free throws beat us in the butt tonight.”

Indeed. Indiana missed five free throws in a row at one point late in the second half, which helped Winthrop stay in the contest. Overall, the Hoosiers were 14 of 20 at the free throw line.

In combination with the absence of Ballo, the 3-point shooting and poorly timed missed free throws could have been fatal for the Hoosiers.

However, Indiana (10-3) pieced together a solid performance from starting guard Myles Rice and got the gift of a productive day from reserve center Langdon Hatton off the bench.

Rice was the one Indiana player who was aggressive from the start as he finished with 18 points, largely on strong drives to the rim. Rice was 7 of 10 from inside the 3-point line.

Indiana Hoosiers center Langdon Hatton (12) blocks a shot attempt from Winthrop Eagles guard Kasen Harrison (11) during the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Hatton had seven points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Six of Hatton’s rebounds were offensive boards as the Hoosiers had 14 offensive rebounds overall and 16 second-chance points.

Hatton’s presence, along with an efficient day from Malik Reneau (14 points despite foul trouble), helped the Hoosiers overcome the Eagles.

Woodson said Hatton – who played a season-high 26 minutes – got the game ball for his effort on short notice.

“We knew Ballo would be questionable this morning. The coaches kind of let me know,” said Hatton, who then commented on the mindset he took into the game.

“Just treating practice every day as serious as you can just let's you be ready when your number is called,” Hatton noted.

Woodson did not give specifics on the absence of Ballo other than to say there was little lead time to prepare for his absence.

“I'm not going to address that,” said Woodson when asked about Ballo. “But (the coaching staff) didn't have a lot of lead time. But that doesn't matter. You know, guys that are in uniform have got to play, and he didn't play tonight, and you know, we'll sit down tomorrow and address his situation.”

Apart from an early Winthrop lead in the first two minutes of the game, the Hoosiers did not trail for the rest of the game. But they didn’t control the game, either.

Even without Ballo, Indiana did most of its scoring at the rim. Indiana scored 28 of its 41 first half points in the paint. That was good for players like Bryson Tucker, who was 3 of 5 from the field before the break, and for Reneau, who was 3 of 4 before foul trouble sent him to the bench.

Indiana's Myles Rice (1) shoots in front of Winthrop's Bryce Baker (55) during the Indiana versus Winthrop men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rice set a good tone as he aggressively drove to the basket. The sophomore would score 12 points in the first half.

“I saw them pressuring me pretty much 75% of the length of the court. They were trying to pressure me at halfcourt, and to me, I found that like a little bit disrespectful just because of my speed and my quickness,” Rice said.

“And I just saw my opportunities to attack whether they were trying to like stop me from going one way and I would just go the other way,” he added.

However, Indiana’s inability to score from the perimeter held the Hoosiers back. The Hoosiers had three different eight-point leads in the first half, but couldn’t keep the Eagles under wraps for long.

The take-and-then-give pattern lasted to the bitter end of the first half when Winthrop’s Kasen Harrison made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Indiana’s halftime lead to 41-37.

The same pattern played out in the second half. The Hoosiers could not get their lead past eight points while Winthrop knocked its deficit down to a single possession four different times without being able to pull in front.

The most threatening Winthrop run came when it seemed Indiana had the game put away. A layup by Mgbako with 4:19 left staked Indiana to a 69-60 lead. At that point, Winthrop had missed eight of its last 10 shots and seemed to be fading.

However, a pair of free throws, a traditional three-point play by Harrison and then a 3-pointer by Nick Johnson cut Indiana’s lead to 69-68 in the span of barely a minute.

Indiana survived thanks to a defensive stand in which Winthrop (10-5) missed its final four shots. Reneau broke the scoreless streak with a free throw, Hatton made two more free throws, and a layup by Reneau off of a Winthrop turnover put Indiana up six with two minutes to go. The Eagles did not muster a response this time.

With its current resume, Indiana would be a bubble team as far as NCAA Tournament consideration is concerned. The resumption of Big Ten play creates the opportunity to change that. Indiana re-starts the Big Ten gauntlet as it hosts Rutgers at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

“We're not getting too caught up in the metrics, and like I said, we've got Rutgers next, and they are a really good team. Get back into Big Ten play and just focus for them,” Rice said.

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