Indiana Frontcourt Too Much For Minnesota To Handle

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Many expected Indiana to improve in 2024-25 because of the influx of new guards and wings. That may end up being the case, but their muscle inside is still what makes the Hoosiers go.

That was on full display in Monday’s 82-67 win over Minnesota as the frontcourt of Oumar Ballo, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako had their way against the Golden Gophers. Indiana’s 6-foot-7 freshman wing Bryson Tucker, who excels more so inside the arc, had a career night too.

Ballo led the Hoosiers with 18 points, followed by Reneau and Tucker with 16. Sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle added 14 points off the bench in his first game back from injury, and Mgbako finished with 13.

Indiana scored 42 points in the paint and made 26-of-39 2-point field goal attempts. The Hoosiers’ interior advantage was also seen through a 35-22 rebounding advantage, including a 12-6 edge on the offensive glass.

Oumar Ballo Indiana Basketball — Indiana's Kanaan Carlyle (9), Malik Reneau (5) and Oumar Ballo (11) celebrate against Minnesota at Assembly Hall. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Minnesota’s 6-foot-11, All-Big Ten forward Dawson Garcia still managed to put up big offensive numbers, scoring 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting. But he had little help offensively, and the Gophers’ defense lacked solutions for Indiana’s post play.

Johnson had a long talk with his team postgame.

“We needed to have a little ‘come to Jesus,’ you know, with this new group sometimes you take winning and winning habits for granted,” Johnson said. “And when you have new guys in your program that came from other places, other levels, sometimes those habits of what it truly takes day in and day out to be really good, or just to be competitive, we need to have constant reminders of working to get to that.”

It was a back-and-forth game early as Minnesota led 22-20 at the 11:42 mark after a Brennan Rigsby fadeaway jumper. Both sides were having success driving to the basket and shot over 70% by the under-12 timeout. But Indiana started to gain separation when it locked in defensively.

After Rigsby’s jumper, Minnesota did not make another shot from the field until Mike Mitchell’s 3-pointer at the 3:56 mark as Indiana went on a 16-1 run.

“It was just kind of that constant like a body blow, a body blow, and then they hit a haymaker because they made a play that would prevent us from getting it to 12, 11 or 10,” Johnson said of Indiana’s run. “But that’s what good teams do. I thought they had really good resolve, and again, they made it tough for us to do some stuff offensively.”

Indiana’s stingy defense started with a lineup of Trey Galloway, Kanaan Carlyle, Bryson Tucker, Luke Goode and Oumar Ballo. They stuck particularly close to the Gophers on the perimeter and forced difficult attempts late in the shot clock.

As Indiana’s defensive pressure increased, it maintained the same offensive efficiency it established early in the game. That all started inside, where Minnesota had no answer all night long and Indiana could get whatever it wanted at the rim.

In the first few minutes, it was basic post entries to Reneau and Ballo. Mackenzie Mgbako showed patience on one possession, pulling back on a fast break and instead backing down his defender and hitting a turnaround jumper just outside the paint.

“[Ballo’s] got really good experience, really good feel in the low post,” Johnson said. “Just his size, I mean, he’s so big. He’s big, he’s long, he’s got good hands, he knows how to seal, he knows how to work guys up the floor. But just his sheer size, it wears on you. It wears on guys, and they do a good job of finding him. He does a good job of making himself available, and then just being aggressive. He’s really efficient. He’s played at Gonzaga, he played at Arizona, he played at Indiana, he’s played at three high-level places, and he’s got a standard to himself. And he’s a really good player, so it’s a tough guard. Reneau is the same thing. He’s a really good player, and those guys play really well off each other.”

Indiana’s success inside the arc continued with freshman Bryson Tucker, who drove to the basket and knocked down a mid-range jumper, too. Through the first 20 minutes, Indiana led 44-31. Those four Hoosiers accounted for 41 points and made 16-of-25 shots from the field, good for 64% shooting.

The second half was no different. After a fast-break layup from Myles Rice, Reneau continued his interior dominance with two easy layups, eliciting “too small” gestures from the Indiana bench. They were right.

Garcia put up big numbers, but he couldn’t do it all on his own, especially on the defensive end. Minnesota coach Ben Johnson tried 6-foot-8 forwards Frank Mitchell, Parker Fox and Kadyn Betts, as well as 6-foot-9 forward Trey Edmonds. But individually and collectively, Minnesota could not stop the brute force of Indiana’s front line.

“Obviously we knew going in [Indiana’s frontcourt players] were really good, they just got terrific size, and they play to their strengths,” Johnson said.

Indiana’s lead grew as large as 21 points in the second half, but Minnesota trimmed it back down to 13 points with 6:41 to play. Just as it looked like the Gophers may push for a comeback, Mgbako slipped past his defender for an offensive rebound and put-back layup – a display of Indiana’s interior dominance all game.

This win gives Indiana a 1-0 start to Big Ten play and an 8-2 record on the season, and it drops Minnesota to 0-2 in the conference and 6-5 overall. The Hoosiers travel to Nebraska Friday, and Minnesota hosts Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday and Morgan State Dec. 29 before resuming conference play.

Johnson knows the challenges only continue.

“This league is unforgiving,” he said. “I think Indiana was projected to be second in the league. Michigan State was projected, I think, fifth. So it’s unforgiving, and you have to rise to the level of competition. Those guys need to understand there’s a certain standard, but there’s winning habits that you have to have and you have to do that every single day and you have to build that every single day if you want to have any chance to win games.”

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