My Two Cents: Galloway-to-Ware Becoming Real Thing in Final Stretch for Indiana

Indiana senior guard Trey Galloway had his second 12-assist game in nine days on Tuesday, helping the Hoosiers beat Wisconsin 74-70 to snap a four-game losing streak. Only two Indiana guards ever — Isiah Thomas and Quinn Buckner — have accomplished that feat. He and center Kel'el Ware — who had 27 points — have a good thing going right now.

Tom Brew | Feb 28, 2024

In this story:

Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Trey Galloway was in attack mode. Off one screen or two, or even in the open court, the Indiana senior was getting downhill Tuesday night against Wisconsin, and getting downhill with his hair on fire.

And at the end of his action most of the night, there was Kel'el Ware, diving to the rim. Galloway hit the long and lanky 7-foot center with lobs often — six times to be exact. He finished with 12 assists, which tied a career high, and Ware had a game-high 27 points in a thrilling — and crazily interrupted — 74-70 victory over the Badgers.

For an Indiana team that needed a win in the worst way, Ware and Galloway made sure that happened. Losing four games in a row — especially the way they did it — was a hard pill to swallow. Even sitting though a 20-minute delay for a fire drill was worth the wait.

That losing streak — ugly losses to Purdue, Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State — was hard for everyone to handle. So was losing to Wisconsin in January in Madison, which is never fun because it simply added to the 25-year losing streak up there. Ware missed that game with an ankle injury, and had to watch from the sidelines, unable to help in the 91-79 beatdown that really wasn't that close.

He helped Tuesday, in a big way. He made 11-of-12 shots, had 11 rebounds and a season-high five blocked shots. Ware is the second player nationally this season — Johni Broome of Auburn was first — to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocked shots in a game.

He and Galloway made quite a tandem, especially in screen/roll actions.

"The coaches always say, yeah, go hit the guy, and the roll and that pocket pass is always going to be open,'' Ware said during his postgame press conference. "My job is to go up and set that screen and hit them and that's how I get my points.''

He and Galloway were in synch all night.

"Yeah, we're always on the same team in practice, so that helps when it comes to the game, just building that chemistry and learning each other and where to pass it and how to pass it and getting the ball to the right spot,'' Ware said.

This was the second time in nine days that Galloway — who's been thrown into Indiana's point guard spot by default — has had 12 assists in a game. That's the first time he's ever done it, of course, and it's been a rare feat in recent Indiana history.

In the last decade, only one player — Xavier Johnson — has had a single 12-assist game. He did it against Purdue in 2022.

But two in one year?

You have to go all the way back to the great Isiah Thomas to find a similar feat. And, of course, Thomas was so good he had 12 or more assists three times during his career — and twice during the Hoosiers' 1980-81 season where Thomas led them to a national title.

He had both of his big assist games — in the NCAA Tournament. Greatness on the grandest stage. He had 14 against Maryland on March 14, and 12 against St. Joseph's on March 22, just eight days apart.

During his freshman year in 1979-80 — when he was a teammate with current Indiana coach Mike Woodson — he had 13 in a game against Iowa. (Indiana's media guide shows a fourth game for him, against Tulane in the 1981-82 season, but he was long gone by then, so that is clearly a mistake.)

Hall of Famer Quinn Buckner was the only other Hoosier to have 12 or more assists twice in the same season. He did it twice in 20 days during the 1973-74 season, getting 14 assists at Illinois on Feb. 18, 1974 and then 12 against Purdue on March 9, 1974.

Jamal Meeks had two 12-assist games, but his came in separate years in 1990 and 1991. That's how rare this is.

So how's that for a VERY SHORT list in Indiana basketball history, Isiah Thomas, Quinn Buckner and ... and ... and ... Trey Galloway.

Alrighty then.

Galloway is not a point guard by trade, but he's had to help out a lot there over the past two years, subbing often when Xavier Johnson hasn't been available the past seasons, which is often. Indiana missed Jalen Hood-Schifino for three games last year, too, and Galloway had to take on an expanded role.

Johnson returned Tuesday night, but he's missed two stretched already this year, first with a foot injury, and then a recent elbow ailment. He just missed six games after being out for seven games in December.

But even with Johnson back, this was Galloway's show to run. As it has been on a lot of nights. And he came through, leading the Hoosiers to a much-needed win.

"We've got a lot of trust in Galloway. No doubt about that,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "He's played probably some of the most minutes of anybody on our team this year.

"So we trust when the ball is in his hands that he can make basketball plays. I thought tonight he delivered for us, made a lot of great plays. But he also defended. I mean, his matchup (with Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn and off-guard Max Klesmit) was a tough matchup. He had a solid game. That's what I expect from him. I told him I was very pleased with his play tonight.''

Despite Johnson's return, Galloway still played 36 minutes. Freshman Gabe Cupps only played 18. Johnson, to be frank, wasn't very good. He played 15 minutes and had five points, but also had five of Indiana's 12 turnovers. (Galloway only had two.)

It was nice to have him back, because it was the first time in a while that Indiana had a complete roster.

"It's always great to have all our teammates back, and tonight was the first game we had everybody,'' Ware said when asked about Johnson's return. "I feel like X brings speed, and just being able to get the ball, especially going downhill off the pick and rolls. So that helped us a lot tonight.''

What also helped Tuesday night was that Ware was able to stay out of foul trouble — and stay on the floor. He played 38 minutes and didn't commit a single personal foul. That's saying something considering he was such an active shot blocker.

Indiana needs him on the floor, and we saw how good things can happen when he's at his best. This was his 12th double-double of the year, and the eighth time he's scored 20 points or more.

Indiana is 15-13 on the season now, and 7-10 in the Big Ten with three games to go. They need to win them all — at Maryland on Sunday, at Minnesota on Wednesday and the home finale on March 10 against Michigan State — to finish .500 in the Big Ten.

A big finish would set the stage for making some noise in the Big Ten Tournament which is March 13-17 in Minneapolis. That's their only path to the NCAA Tournament, of course. All of that is very much a longshot — I know that full well — but what we do know is that this team is still capable of playing good basketball in stretches.

They just need to keep that up. And a bunch of lobs from Galloway to Ware will help that.

We've seen that before, of course, when Johnson and Trayce Jackson-Davis finally found their groove late in the second and the Hoosiers made a very fun run through the 2022 Big Ten Tournament, knocking off Michigan and No. 1 seed Illinois before losing on a freak half-court shot by Iowa's Jordan Bohannon in the semifinals.

I'm not expecting that same kind of run this year — it's not the same team. But you also never know. Ware can be really, really good and a matchup nightmare. Malik Reneau, if he could just stay out of foul trouble, has big-game capabilities too. He hit the game-winning points with a tough, well-contested shot at the rim on Tuesday. Mackenzie Mgbako can have great moments, too.

And even though Johnson in back, this team is still at its best when Galloway is running the show. Woodson was effusive on his praise of Johnson Tuesday night — he really wants to die on that hill, doesn't he — despite all the turnovers.

Now they need to go win some road games to keep these final few weeks interesting.

Related stories on Indiana-Wisconsin