Todd’s Take: No Game Represents Trey Galloway Like Indiana’s Win Over Penn State Did

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If there was ever a performance you wanted to put into a time capsule to provide the perfect example of Trey Galloway’s Indiana career – his performance against Penn State on Wednesday would be the one you’d want to dig up in the future and savor.

In his penultimate game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Galloway’s performance ran the gamut.

His 16 points and nine assists? Both were season highs.

Galloway’s four 3-pointers made? It tied a career high.

So did his six turnovers.

Indiana fans have learned that you take the good with the bad when it comes to Galloway, but when it mattered most? Galloway was very good.

Most of the turnovers – four of them to be exact – occurred in the first half when Indiana struggled to keep control of the ball against Penn State’s ball-hawk guards and invasive defense in the Hoosiers’ passing lanes.

At halftime, you wouldn’t have thought much of Galloway’s performance. He had four points, four assists and four turnovers. Not great, not horrible.

The second half was when the best of Galloway came to the fore. He had 12 points, was 4 of 5 from 3-point range with five assists, three rebounds and just two turnovers.

Galloway saved his two biggest shots for last. He made consecutive 3-pointers at the 5:51 and 5:14 mark of the second half to finally get Indiana past the pesky Nittany Lions. The personal 6-0 run turned a two-point Penn State lead into a four-point Indiana advantage.

Galloway’s performance was a microcosm of his whole Indiana career. He’s done a little bit of everything – good and bad.

“I never stopped believing in Trey. Trey's been with me the longest. He's put up with a lot of shit from me. And I trust him. He does a lot of good things on the floor. Yeah, he makes mistakes. They all do. I make mistakes,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said.

“But at the end of the day I know he's going to play hard and give 100 percent when he's out there, and that's all you can ask for,” Woodson added.

Galloway can have performances and make decisions that drive fans crazy. He averages 2.3 turnovers per game, so he is not consistently careful with the ball. Free throws never really came into play on Wednesday, but he is 64% at the line – not what you want from a guard.

And yet, there’s still a big comfort level when Galloway is on the floor. He never stops needling the defense. He’s mastered the drive and six-foot pull-up. He uses his body control very well to set up an array of one-handed leaners, floaters and bank shots. It looks simple, but it’s hard to defend.

Galloway is relentless too. Many of his turnovers come from a good place – he overdoes it sometimes trying to facilitate offense – but when he calibrates everything right his effort is a very welcome trait for the Hoosiers to have.

The opportunism that sometimes causes him to turn the ball over works in Indiana’s favor too. After Myles Rice made a corner three with 2:46 left, Penn State guard Ace Baldwin Jr. broke down the floor to try to force tempo. The excellent Baldwin slipped in the lane and accidentally flung the ball to Galloway on the right side.

Galloway didn’t hesitate to toss it over the top to Rice, who converted an easy transition layup to put Indiana up 80-73 with 2:36 left.

You rarely have to worry about Galloway and his defense – at least in the effort department. Neither team was very good defensively, but Penn State missed its last five shots while trying to chase the game. Guess who was harassing Nittany Lion shooters in that period?

Galloway got a hand up in Freddie Dilone’s face on a corner three attempt with 1:34 left. He also had a defensive rebound late and knocked the ball loose from Yanic Konan Niederhauser as the Nittany Lions tried to get a quick shot off in the final seconds to stay alive.

It was the ultimate Galloway game. Some warts, but a lot of beauty too. As the sand is nearly gone from the hourglass of his Indiana career, Galloway is giving Indiana fans something positive to remember him by. It’s appreciated by his teammates.

“I've been in college for quite a long time now. I know this moment, man, they go fast. And for guys like Trey and (Anthony) Leal that have been here for five years, I know every single game means the world to them,” Indiana center Oumar Ballo said.

There’s only home game left for Indiana fans to show their appreciation for a player who has given his all to Indiana for the balance of the 2020s.

My own remembrance will be fond. Galloway isn’t perfect, but he never gives up and hasn’t given in on Indiana’s goals for the season. That’s all you can ask.

“I think we just have to keep reminding each other to cherish every moment because wins and losses, it's all special because you're learning through it all,” Galloway said.

“So I think just really cherishing these moments because when it's over we're all going to miss it and it's going to be tough to really understand what it meant to put this uniform on and to go to war with our brothers every day,” Galloway said.

Well said. On a day where Indiana kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, it was the most Galloway day of all. Appropriate that it happened on a night where the Hoosiers maintained the goals that they want to reach.

Related to Indiana basketball ...

GAME STORY: Indiana pulled away late to defeat Penn State 83-78 on Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE.

LIVE BLOG: Follow along with the Penn State game as it happened. CLICK HERE.

INDIANA BRACKETOLOGY WATCH: Indiana is right back on the NCAA Tournament bubble after its win against Purdue on Sunday. CLICK HERE.

LEAL MAKES WINNING PLAYS: Indiana senior guard Anthony Leal stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, and he made numerous key defensive plays in Sunday’s 73-58 win over No. 13 Purdue. CLICK HERE