COLUMBUS, Ohio – After Luke Goode drilled a stone-cold 3-pointer to give Indiana a 77-76 edge with 1:07 remaining in overtime against Ohio State, Anthony Leal smothered Buckeye guard John Mobley Jr. as the clock wound down, securing a much-needed IU win.
It wasn’t a pretty game, but IU’s performance was a refreshing break after back-to-back 25-point losses. Most importantly, the Hoosiers gave their all – and did so pridefully, especially two of the homegrown Hoosiers.
“100%, yeah, we represented Indiana basketball,” Goode said postgame. “Shoutout Anthony Leal on the last stop… Anthony guarding their highest scorer of the game, that’s Indiana pride right there.”
The blowout losses to Iowa and Illinois weren’t just ugly results – they were admittedly embarrassing displays of effort from everyone involved. From the coaching staff to the bench to the five guys on the court, it was uninspiring basketball.
Friday night, however, was a different story. The bench was engaged, the team displayed high energy levels and necessary coaching adjustments were made.
The start of the game was a snoozefest from both sides. Still, Oumar Ballo came to play right from the tip, and IU never looked discouraged, unlike recently.
The Hoosiers encountered adversity early, too. Malik Reneau was out for the fifth straight contest, Bryson Tucker was unexpectedly unavailable and Myles Rice picked up two fouls within the first five minutes of play. Unlike in recent performances, IU didn’t lay down; instead, it fought with more gusto.
However, Indiana still struggled in the first frame. With Rice on the bench, its guard play was severely outclassed and Ballo was the only reliable source of production. However, the Hoosiers hung in enough to enter halftime with a manageable six-point deficit.
Needing more scoring options to step up alongside Ballo to make a win possible, IU got what it needed. Goode and, unexpectedly, Kanaan Carlyle answered the call.
Ballo’s dominance inside continued and merited enough defensive attention to create open looks outside. Goode lived up to his role, knocking down a string of triples and rallying the Hoosiers.
At the 12:50 mark, Goode stepped into a transition 3-pointer in rhythm and hit nothing but net, turning Indiana’s six-point halftime deficit into a 50-46 lead. He turned to the Hoosier bench and mean mugged while the bench emoted any 3-point celebration you can imagine – a sign of the positive energy exuded all game long.
“They were doubling Ballo – we set it up that way on the backside that he would get the looks, and he knocked down some shots for us,” Mike Woodson said. “We needed every one of them, because they were huge.”
Carlyle’s scoring came later in the frame, attacking the basket and craftily finishing around size at the rim for tough buckets. After putting in a layup for his ninth point of the half with 3:27 left, Indiana led by nine points and looked destined to cruise for the pick-me-up win.
If you’ve kept up with Indiana basketball – if you’re reading this, I would assume you have – you’d know it’s never that easy with this program. So, the Hoosiers started to crumble and the Buckeye comeback was on.
IU panicked, couldn’t buy a bucket and its defense turned shaky. Ohio State applied constant pressure and a deep trey from Mobley Jr. knotted things up at 71 apiece with 38 seconds. The score held, and an overtime with the surging Buckeyes ensued.
Despite playing with no composure and the Schottenstein Center finally coming alive, Indiana managed to tread water with its defense and hustle. After a few lead changes in the low-scoring extra period, Goode’s fourth 3-pointer proved to be the dagger.
“We got down early in the overtime and we just kept fighting and making defensive stops and Goode hitting the big three to put us back up,” Woodson said. “It was a total team effort, and we needed it after the two games we just had.”
The win’s importance can’t be denied, but it would be baseless to say that it merits expectations for a total turnaround. Until proven otherwise, it was an outlier of a complete, 40-minute performance.
What to expect from the program in the near future is difficult.
However, Indiana did all it can be asked of as of now. It was a gritty road win with inspiring effort and pride. After witnessing the level of play in the last two losses, Friday night’s game was necessary to prove one sentiment – as ugly as it has looked, the team still cares.
“We had to put it behind us,” Woodson said. “I tip my hat to our team because they could’ve laid down, and they didn’t. They came into Ohio and got a win.”
