My Two Cents: Hoosiers Need to Pack Their Own Energy For Critical Road Trip

Indiana has won seven of eight games and worked their way to second place in the Big Ten standings. They've been great at home, but shaky on the road, so road tests at Michigan on Saturday and Northwestern on Wednesday are huge. The Hoosiers need to bring their own energy on the road with them to be successful.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Every year, it's the same theme. Winning Big Ten games on the road is never easy, and for Indiana to stay near the top of the league standings, they are going to need to be at their best with road games at Michigan and Northwestern the next four nights.

It starts with a huge showdown in Ann Arbor on Saturday night when the No 18-ranked Hoosiers take on Michigan at the Crisler Center at 6 p.m. ET. (TV: ESPN) The Hoosiers have lost four straight here, not winning since 2016. They've lost eight straight regular-season games to the Wolverines and a nine-game overall skid finally ended last March when the Hoosiers beat them with a stunning comeback in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Playing on the road is a different animal. This year, Indiana has an impressive November win at Xavier and a 15-point rout of Illinois in Champaign in January, but other than that, they haven't been very good after plane rides. They are just 3-6 on the road, and the only other win was at last-place Minnesota, where they needed a last-minute rally to beat a team that's been getting drilled by 30 or more ever since then.

Most recently, they lost by double-digits at Maryland, but then came home and grabbed huge wins over No. 1 Purdue and No. 24 Rutgers, two teams that have had their number of late. Purdue had won 9-of-10 games in the rivalry with Indiana and Rutgers had won six in a row.

And the Hoosiers took them both down.

Now they need to do the same thing on the road, starting Saturday night in Ann Arbor.

"Every game every night is huge when you're playing in the Big Ten, because they all count for so much,'' Indiana junior guard Trey Galloway said earlier this week during an episode of the ''Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast. "Just having that toughness and not caring that we're on the road, and just going in knowing that we can win and take it one possession at a time, all that matters. I think we'll be ready.''

Indiana guard Trey Galloway tries to drive past Michigan's Terrance Williams during the Big Ten Tournament last March in Indianapolis (USA TODAY Sports)

This is the closest, most tight-knit Indiana team we've seen in years, and that helps when you go on the road. You need to pack that energy when you go on the road, and play with that toughness and chip on your shoulder. That Assembly Hall grit and energy? It's got to be in its own suitcase, too.

End the Purdue dominance? Check. Finally beat Rutgers? Check. And now, finally get a win at Michigan?

They are locked in a ready.

"We've been hearing it over and over again (about Rutgers), and I was tiring of hearing it myself,'' Galloway said. "It was great to get that off our backs. It was a challenge, because they play hard and play physical. We needed to be the most physical team, and I thought we were.

"Coach Woodson, one thing he prides himself on is getting us to play tough and play physical. Once we get respect from other teams, they know we're going to bring it every night. Obviously, you're going to have it at home because we can feed off that energy in the building, but we're going to figure it out on the road, too. It's natural. We just have to bring that same toughness into every game, especially on the road.''

Galloway has played a big part in that added toughness because he's been a lock-down defender on the perimeter for the Hoosiers. We talked a lot in our previews of the Purdue and Rutgers games that Indiana's guards had to outplay their foes to have a chance to win.

They did just that, and impressively, in both wins. They were great defensively against Purdue in the first half, and it led to a lot of run-outs. Indiana scored 50 points in the first half — against a very good defensive team — and led by 15 at the break.

"I think the main thing that really got us going (against Purdue) was the transition, making stops and then getting out and running and getting some easy shots,'' Galloway said. "When you get some easy ones, it leads to other things opening up, and it gives you a lot to confidence, too.

"We knew coming in how good they are. They are No. 1 for a reason, because they had been playing so well. Our main focus was the play harder than them, and to take things away from them. We have to play with that intensity all the time, and we're starting to figure out that our defense can lead to a lot of good things.'

Galloway has been making a difference on both ends of the floor. After shooting 18.2 percent from three as a freshman and just 21.4 percent a year ago, he's shooting 50 percent from deep this year. He's 20-for-40 on the season, and he's averaging 7.3 points per game.

He added some height to his shot, and it looks so much better. The line drives are gone. When he shoots from deep now, he thinks he's going to make every one of them, which wasn't the case at all his first two years.

Confidence is a wonderful thing. 

"Just to see shots and have shots go in, it's been really good,'' Galloway said. "It wasn't a major big-time change to my shot, but it was the small things that I focused on changing, mostly shooting it higher.

"It's shown in the fall, and it's stayed that way in the season now, too. The main focus to me has just been staying in that routine during the season, even when it gets into the grind. Confidence is a big part of the game, and having that right mental attitude makes a difference. I trust my work, and it's really nice to see it paying off in games.''

Indiana has won seven of its last eight games, and Galloway has scored in double figures in four of those wins. In the only loss — at Maryland, a 66-55 defeat — he was in foul trouble for much of the game and only played 22 minutes. 

He was missed, too.

It's hard to win on the road, and it's clearly been really hard here in Ann Arbor. The Hoosier seem intent on changing that, and this game has a similar vibe to the trip to Champaign. The storylines are similar, and once again it's going to be incumbent on Indiana winning the guard matchup.

Stick your nose in there and defend, and knock down some shots. It's been a winning formula at home for the Hoosiers, so bring that same plan tonight in Ann Arbor.

If the Hoosiers do that, they'll walk out of here with a victory.  

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