Oumar Ballo Returns, Indiana Loses Malik Reneau Against Rutgers

Indiana center Oumar Ballo missed Sunday's game against Winthrop, but he returned in a big way Thursday, notching a double-double against Rutgers. Power forward Malik Reneau left the game with an apparent knee injury.

Indiana center Oumar Ballo (11) against Rutgers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For most of the season, Indiana leaned on its frontcourt duo of Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo.

But in recent wins over Winthrop and Rutgers, only one could be relied upon. In Sunday's 77-68 win over Winthrop, Ballo dressed but did not play. Indiana coach Mike Woodson declined explaining the reason behind his absence.

"I'm not going to address that," Woodson said Sunday. "But 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 and get ready for Rutgers."

Center Langdon Hatton stepped up in his place, scoring seven points and grabbing 11 rebounds off the bench against Winthrop.

Ballo was listed questionable on the Big Ten's pregame availability report ahead of Thursday's game against Rutgers. He did not start, but he came off the bench after an early injury suffered by Indiana power forward Malik Reneau.

Ballo scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the 84-74 win. Woodson was glad to have him back, though he did not state the reason Ballo came off the bench after starting his previous 12 appearances.

"Let's just talk about his 17 and 12," Woodson said. "That's what I like to focus in on. He came off the bench and he got 17 and 12 for us and two blocks, which is fantastic."

"I thought he played great. He's a big part of our team winning tonight. He had 17 and three rebounds, a few blocked shots, plugged the hole up for us like he's supposed to so I thought he played well."

Ballo's return was especially important because Indiana played without Reneau, its leading scorer for about 39 minutes. Reneau went down on the second possession of the game, then went into the tunnel with Indiana medical staff. He returned with an ice pack around his right knee and did not play in the rest of the game.

"Well, right now, we just got to evaluate [Reneau] tomorrow," Woodson said. "He couldn't come back in the game and you know he's a big piece to the puzzle. Going into this game, he was our leading scorer, so we'll evaluate him tomorrow through our medical staff and see where he is and if he can't play, it's next man up. We just got to continue to go whoever is in uniform."

With this win, Indiana improved to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Next up, the Hoosiers travel to face Penn State at noon ET Sunday at the Palestra in Philadelphia.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• INDIANA-RUTGERS GAME STORY: Five Hoosiers scored at least nine points as Indiana resumed Big Ten play with a much-needed win over the Scarlet Knights. CLICK HERE

• WHAT WOODSON SAID: Here's the full transcript of Indiana coach Mike Woodson's press conference following the Hoosiers' 84-74 win over Rutgers Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE