My Two Cents: Turns Out, Winning Ugly So Far Has Its Rewards For Indiana

Indiana shouldn't have had to play a lot of close games in their first week of the season, but they did and there was one huge positive that came out of it. They learned to make big plays down the stretch, and close out games, and that came in handy once again in a big win over Louisville in New York.

NEW YORK — Sure, it's been hard to watch for long stretches. The start to Indiana's basketball season has been filled with a lot of frustrating basketball.

Turns out, though, that's alright. Those three wins to open the season against Florida Gulf Coast, Army and Wright State all had one common theme. Despite playing poorly for long stretches in all three games, what Indiana did in mid-November was find a way to win. 

That, folks, is an important thing. Like Vince Lombardi used to say, winning isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing.

What the Hoosiers learned in those three close calls at Assembly Hall was to persevere and find a way. Just go on a run, and find a way to win. Make winning plays, just enough of them, and head home victorious.

And then learn from there. Be better.

The reason for that? Because when you're in ''learn mode,'' — and the Hoosiers certainly are with all these new faces trying to blend together early — you take what you need and leave the rest.

That was on full display Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Indiana came into its game with Louisville with a 3-1 record, those three narrow wins at home by a 7.7-point average margin when they were favored by an average of 17.5 point per game, and a 20-point drubbing by No. 5 Connecticut at the Garden on Sunday.

They were down seven to Louisville with nine minutes to go on Monday, put in that position by a lot of bad basketball.

But they found a way from there, and came back and won, closing out the victory with a 23-6 run over those final nine minutes to secure a 74-66 win.

How did that happen? It certainly helped that Indiana deployed a very rare zone defense that caught Louisville off guard. It sparked the run, for sure.

But know what else did? Indiana played fearless basketball down the stretch, coming back with big plays on both ends of the floor. It was a total team win, and the best game of the year — by far — for Indiana's bench mob.

That was the reward for needing to rally to win those first three games. Down six to Florida Gulf Coast with 10 to go before going on a 14-0 run. Boom. Tied with Army with 3:46 to go before closing out the game on a 14-6 win. Bam. A 10-2 run late against Wright State to finally pull away.

All of that adds up. So when they were down to Louisville, it didn't matter. They'd been there before. They remained confident. They found a way, going on a 13-0 run.

Again.

"I tip my hat off to our team because we bounced back. We got beaten by 20 last night and you could easily go the other way,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "We led in this game and they came back and (Louisville coach) Kenny (Payne) did a hell of a job getting them back in it. The zone saved us, basically. We made the plays coming down the stretch.

"Their guards put so much pressure on you at the rim and getting downhill, man. It's tough to keep them in front. I tried trapping a couple of times and then big fella (Kel'el) Ware picked up his fourth foul. So we had no choice but to go to a zone to try to keep big fella Ware and Malik (Reneau) in the ballgame.''

Indiana is 4-1 now, with its only loss agains the defending national champions UConn. They won Monday night despite going just 1-for-11 from 3-point range, and getting very little from senior guard Trey Galloway, who had just two points on 1-of-7 shooting. It was another brutally rough night for five-star freshman Mackenzie Mgbako too. He had two early fouls in the first minute and change, only played nine minutes and score four points.

Sophomore Kaleb Banks picked him up, playing a career-high 25 points. He only had four points, but he stuffed the rest of the stat sheet, with eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks. He was huge.

And Mgbako? Not so much. Again,

"Our bench was phenomenal tonight. Kaleb Banks, I thought, played extremely well,'' Woodson said. "He had eight rebounds and three assists, a couple of steals. We're going to need that.''

Banks has been waiting patiently for an opportunity. Mgbako, the highly touted 5-star recruit, won the starting small forward job, but he hasn't done anything yet. He's only scored 25 points in five games — and 13 of those came in the Wright State game.

He's been a non-factor. Woodson, though, is doing his best to be very patient with him, but he's also not been willing to have him on the floor in crunch time.

"He is a young player,'' Woodson said of Mgbako. "All of you guys expect him to be this great player right now because he has this 5-star tag on him. I think that is bull----. Bottom line is he is still young and he is trying to learn the college game. He got two early fouls so I took him out and brought someone else in. Kaleb and CJ came in. It’s a team sport. He will be fine.''

"(Kaleb) is still learning, but the fact that he rebounded and defended and he got a couple steals and had three or four assists, that’s making an impact when you come into the ballgame. So, I tip my hat off to him because he’s been patiently waiting to play more minutes and he probably played more minutes tonight than he's played since he has been here.''

Anthony Walker (11 points and 7 rebounds) and Payton Sparks (9 points) were great off the bench, too, which also was really important. They gave he Hoosiers a huge spark — and a huge win. Yeah, I get it that Louisville isn't very good right now, but it's still Louisville, a team that Indiana recruits hard against for many of the same players.

That win mattered. In a huge way. 

"I like to think we will learn from this game and continue to grow,'' Woodson said. "Big Payton was great for us. CJ (Gunn) was great. Gabe (Cupps) and everybody that played tonight (off the bench) contributed and that’s how we have to play.''

It will help, too, that the Hoosiers don't play again until Sunday, when they take on Harvard in their annual game in Indianapolis. Sure, they can get some Thanksgiving celebrating, but they can also have some productive practices as well.

This is a new team, with a ton of new faces. We are still trying to figure how good they are, both individually and collectively.

We need to be patient. Have to be. They've shown they aren't world-beaters, but they find a way to win. That's going to mean a lot in December and beyond.

Related stories on Indiana-Louisville

• GAME STORY: Indiana doesn't play zone defense under Mike Woodson, but they broke it out late in the second half, and it worked to perfection in a 74-66 win over Louisville in New York. A 23-6 run spurred by the defensive switch flipped the script, helping the Hoosiers get to 4-1. Here is Tom Brew's game story. CLICK HERE
• SIDEBAR: For a second consecutive Empire Classic game, Indiana starters fell into foul trouble. But unlike in Sunday’s loss to UConn, Indiana’s bench stepped up and produced in a 74-66 win over Louisville. Here is Jack Ankony's story on the huge bench contributions. CLICK HERE
• WHAT MIKE WOODSON SAID: Here's everything Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after the Hoosiers' 74-66 win over Louisville in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden. CLICK HERE
• LIVE BLOG: Relive all the action in real time in Tom Brew's live blog from the game. CLICK HERE
• WATCH KALEB BANKS DUNK: With Mackenzie Mgbako in early foul trouble, Kaleb Banks has given Indiana good minutes so far, scoring four quick points. Kel'el Ware found Banks on a back-cut to the basket, leading to an easy dunk. CLICK HERE
• WATCH PAYTON SPARKS DUNK: Indiana center Payton Sparks has had to play more on Monday against Louisville due to foul trouble from Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware, and he's making the most of his expanded role. CLICK HERE
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