Indiana Basketball Conquers South Carolina: 3 Takeaways

Indiana basketball certainly brought the energy against South Carolina to secure the win.

The Hoosiers used a combination of swinging the ball, physicality, and strong defense to earn the 87-71 victory.

After South Carolina opened with 4 straight points, Indiana came back with 14 unanswered of their own. They didn’t look back and held the lead throughout the rest of the contest.

Key players stepped up their offensive game. Five players put double digits on the board. In total, IU shot 26 of 51 FG. Their offense wasn’t their only strength as their defensive competition improved from the last game. They shut down South Carolina’s key scorers, setting the Gamecocks a step back for what seemed like the whole game.

Redshirt senior center Oumar Ballo brought down 13 out of the 34 total rebounds. He also blocked South Carolina 6 times out of Indiana’s 7. This shows Indiana’s depth and versatility. It is important to recognize the key scorers of the night: sophomore guard Myles Rice (23 pts), sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako (17 pts), junior forward Malik Reneau (13 pts), sophomore forward Kanaan Carlyle (12 pts), and graduate student guard and captain, Trey Galloway (11 pts).

The Gamecocks didn’t hold back, however. What was once an 18-point deficit, South Carolina turned into only 8 with about a minute left. They kept IU fans on the edge of their seats and didn’t let up, even when their key player, sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles fouled out with only 2 points. This was eyebrow-raising as he dominated offensively with 27 points during the previous game. The team relied on the performances of sophomore guard Morris Ugusuk, senior guard Jamarii Thomas, graduate student forward Nick Pringle, and senior guard Myles Stute who collectively scored 55 of the 71 points.

It is evident that Indiana basketball has weapons at their disposal, on and off the bench. The Hoosiers head into their 4th game against UNC Greensboro (2-1) with another win under their belt.

Takeaway #1: Rice brings the spice

Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice electrified the crowd from the first whistle. He accumulated a total of 23 points during the matchup, a significant spike considering his five from the prior game against EIU. Not only was this number impressive, but he also shined as he kept both the speed of play and overall energy high. It is important to note that 17 of his 23 points were recorded in the first half. Rice was able to compete with urgency while also maintaining a calm, collected game. During his postgame interview, Rice talked about his coaches stressing the importance of control,

“They just say ‘control the speed’ because they know I have high-level speed and they know I can dice and get to the rim, but they want me to be controlled when I do it,” said Rice.

Rice also acknowledges one of his teammate’s performances. Offensively, Carlye was able to get out of his slump and put up 12 points against the Gamecocks.

“He is an extremely hard worker and takes no days off so it was only just a matter of time before he got his shot going and everything just came within the rhythm,” Rice said.

Takeaway #2: Energy sparked from big plays

Huge cheers came from the crowd on multiple plays during the game. IU opened their scoring with an explosive slam dunk by Mgbako. This was followed by a 3-pointer from Rice, setting the tempo for the half. This set the Hoosiers off on a 14-0 run.

An alley-oop scored by Carlyle assisted by Rice blew the socks off the crowd.

With 55 seconds left in the first half, Ballo uses his size for a commanding block, exhilarating fans. Rice put another 3 points on the board to conclude the first half.

In the second half, Carlyle surprised everyone in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, including himself, with his “accidental” 3-pointer. The shot was thrown to the basket nearly from half-court. It was clearly a pass which his reaction afterwards confirmed. The crowd was booming after the fact, pushing the team to victory.

The individual moments of intensity brought by the Hoosiers are what they need to keep their momentum going.

Takeaway #3: Defensive attack successful

Indiana made sure to target South Carolina’s key scorer, Collin Murray-Boyles. He fouled out with 8:16 remaining. Prior to this, he was on the bench as he had his fourth foul with 15:34 left in the game. Murray-Boyles was miraculously only able to put 2 points on the board which was extremely underwhelming considering his previous game where he recorded 27. Ballo was able to dominate defensively from the backside and keep the pressure and intensity high.

Woodson reacted to Indiana’s defensive performance on Murray-Boyles:

“I thought we did a good job on him and we got him in foul trouble…He struggled a little bit tonight and we needed that because he’s been on fire coming into tonight’s ball game.”

While defensively the Hoosiers showed up against South Carolina, Woodson still believes that there’s much room for improvement,

“I said this to the players in the locker room after the game, We’ve got to get better at defending off the bounce,”

The Hoosiers will head into their fourth game of the season against UNC Greensboro undefeated.

Next game for Indiana (3-0): vs. UNC Greensboro (2-1) – Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m EST

Next game for South Carolina (2-2): vs. Mercer (2-2) – Nov. 21 at 7:00 p.m EST