Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery Sees Big Challenge Against Indiana's Oumar Ballo

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Oumar Ballo has played some of his best basketball in an Indiana uniform as of late, and Saturday’s trip to Iowa presents a contrasting matchup.

Under coach Fran McCaffery, Iowa is known for a fast-paced, high-scoring style with an emphasis on 3-point shooting. Six Hawkeyes shoot over 39% from beyond the arc, and Payton Sandfort ranks third in the Big Ten with 39 3-pointers made despite shooting 34.5%. Beating an Iowa team ranked second nationally in scoring requires a complete defensive performance from the Hoosiers, especially against outside shots.

On the flip side, Iowa must be able to limit perhaps the most physically dominant center it has faced all season. McCaffery’s team is similar to Indiana’s most recent opponent, USC, in that it does not have a traditional center like Ballo. Instead, their rosters feature skilled guards and wings who can play multiple positions, as well as versatile forwards.

In its 82-69 loss at Indiana on Wednesday, USC limited Ballo early – he scored just two points in the first 14 minutes – but its size disadvantage eventually led to its demise. USC starting center Josh Cohen was ineffective against Ballo in 14 minutes, so coach Eric Musselman looked to smaller players on his bench. Neither option worked.

Ballo finished with 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting, made all five free throw attempts, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

“Ballo is a pretty big guy,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after the win. “You know, their center that started tonight wasn't as big as Ballo, but I thought they played Ballo well early. He couldn't really touch the ball that much. They were top-siding him, and we did a poor job trying to get it to him early. As the game wore on, everything kind of loosened up and we were able to utilize him a little bit more. He delivered for us.”

Iowa’s Owen Freeman, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound sophomore, will draw the initial matchup on Ballo, a 7-foot, 265-pound sixth-year senior. After sharing the Big Ten freshman of the year award with Indiana’s Mackenzie Mgbako last season, Freeman is averaging a team-high 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

Owen Freeman Iowa Basketball — Iowa forward Owen Freeman (32) looks to pass against Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

In last year’s matchup against Indiana, Freeman dealt with foul trouble against Indiana center Kel’el Ware, who had 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting, 10 rebounds and three blocks. In 24 minutes, Freeman finished with just four points and two rebounds. Fellow Iowa big man Ben Krikke had two points on 1-for-9 shooting and three rebounds in 26 minutes.

While Ware and Ballo have different skill sets, McCaffery anticipates a challenging matchup against the new Indiana center. Over the last three games, Ballo is averaging 21.6 points and 11 rebounds. Iowa plays small to begin with, and behind Freeman it does not have much front court depth, especially with Cooper Koch out with an injury.

"He's a handful,” McCaffery said of Ballo. “The thing about him that I like is he plays with energy. These big, wide-body guys, a lot of those wide-body guys don't. They play in spurts. He's been able to sustain that. He's skilled. He's not just a load in the post. He can pass, and he looks for his teammates. That's really good for your offense, so it puts pressure on us.”

McCaffery addressed one area Ballo has grown since transferring to Indiana. He’s averaging a career-high 2.4 assists per game, a significant jump from just 0.8 assists per game last season at Arizona. The closest he’s come to that in his career was in 2022-23, when Ballo averaged 1.6 assists.

Ballo’s passing ability has been noticeable during Indiana’s three-game win streak in Big Ten play. After Malik Reneau went down with an apparent knee injury on the second possession against Rutgers, Woodson has opted to play smaller lineups with more ball handlers and 3-point shooters. That has given Ballo more space to operate inside, whether that’s looking for his own shot or finding teammates.

Plenty of defensive attention is still put on Ballo inside, and he has taken advantage of that in recent games. After drawing double-teams, Ballo has assisted Mgbako, Luke Goode and Trey Galloway on 3-pointers over the last three games, and he found a cutting Bryson Tucker for a dunk against Penn State when pressured.

In the win over USC, Galloway and point guard Myles Rice played especially well with Ballo in the pick-and-roll game. Three of Rice’s six assists were to Ballo, and two of Ballo’s second-half dunks came off lobs from Galloway. That dynamic adds another challenge for the Iowa defense.

“You gotta do your work early,” McCaffery said. “And you gotta collectively defend them, not just worry about him, because they're the ones throwing it to him. You gotta defend those guys."

Oumar Ballo Indiana Basketball — Indiana center Oumar Ballo (11) dunks against USC at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Galloway has played with talented bigs throughout his Indiana career, but Ballo is different from both in that he doesn’t shoot threes like Ware and he doesn’t handle the ball like Trayce Jackson-Davis. Galloway felt the USC win was a step in the right direction in learning how to work well with Ballo.

“I think just knowing his game and knowing what he can do, and our spacing has been better, too,” Galloway said. “Just the way we can find him inside and the way he is able to seal guys is great. So just knowing that his size is an advantage, and we're using that to our advantage.”

“He sets screens, and that's one thing we try to emphasize is him setting screens, because he's going to be open. When he knocks guys off, we're going to find ways to get downhill or find him with that lob or drop-offs and stuff. He's done a great job of that. Also, just the impact he's made on the offensive glass, just tip-outs and everything. He's going to get rewarded for that because he's playing harder, and the way he's dominating the glass has been great.”

Tipoff between Indiana and Iowa is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hoosiers have won five straight games, and the Hawkeyes most recently defeated Nebraska 97-87 in overtime Tuesday at home. Both teams are on the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, setting up a crucial matchup.

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