Indiana Basketball Takes Down Rutgers: 3 Takeaways

Indiana basketball defeated Rutgers in their first game of 2025 with a final score of 84-74.

The Hoosiers took down the Scarlet Knights on Thursday night in Assembly Hall, but Rutgers would not go down without a fight. It was an extremely exciting game for both sides with very impressive team and individual performances all around. Here are three takeaways:

Takeaway #1: Bailey stepped up in a major way

Before diving into Indiana’s game, it would be a mistake to not mention freshman guard Ace Bailey’s outstanding performance for Rutgers. Indiana had a hard time containing Bailey as he finished the game with 39 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Yes, 39 points, meaning that the rest of the team combined provided 35 points.

With current Rutgers and Big Ten leading scorer Dylan Harper, who is currently averaging 22.8 points a game, being out for the Scarlet Knights, it was important for someone to step up in a big way and Bailey did more than exceed this expectation. Nearly hitting 40 points anywhere is a big deal, but as a freshman, in Assembly Hall, playing for the away team, it’s extremely impressive. In fact, Bailey was not that far off from the scoring record in Assembly Hall. The current record is held by Trayce Jackson Davis who scored 43 points against Marshall in November of 2021.

It should be mentioned that despite the 39 points, Indiana’s Anthony Leal did a great job of slowing Bailey down, playing great defense, and making it hard for Bailey to make plays. In the final 10 minutes of the first half, Leal went in to guard Bailey and kept him to just one 3-point play before halftime. And of course, Leal hit an incredible mid-court buzzer-beater right at the half.

With Harper being out, it allowed someone else to step up for the Scarlet Knights. When Harper is healthy and if Bailey continues to have performances like this one, Rutgers is going to be a team that is hard to stop.

Takeaway #2: Ballo came ready to play

In Indiana’s previous game against Winthrop, Oumar Ballo was seen on the bench and not in uniform. Head coach Mike Woodson did not have a comment on why Ballo was out, but there were some speculations of a possible injury as well as some talk about a photo of Ballo that was circulating social media that could be the reason he was benched. Four days later against Rutgers, Ballo was dressed but not starting with Luke Goode starting instead.

Within the first couple minutes of the game, Malik Reneau got injured and had to go back to the training room and was not seen again until the end of the half. Ballo went in for Reneau after the injury and ended up playing most of the game, with more hustle and effort than seen from him so far this season. The center played a total of 32 minutes for Indiana and provided the Hoosiers with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. For Indiana fans, it was great to see Ballo really crashing the boards and running the floor. His offensive rebounds especially made a difference as it led to lots of second chances. This will continue to be important since this team has not shown much consistency behind the 3-point line, although the game against Rutgers showed some shooting improvement.

Ballo also seemed to play with more confidence as the game went on and he began to hit his stride. In an interview after the game, Woodson explained that he wants to do as much as he can to keep the bench positive and have a better flow. Ballo’s performance off the bench was a great representation of this plan in action.

Takeaway #3: Myles Rice continues to be key to Indiana’s success

If there’s one thing that you can expect to see from Myles Rice in a game, it’s intensity. Rice’s effort and hustle are always evident when watching him play. This has been huge for Indiana so far this season and it was no different in the game against Rutgers. Against the Scarlet Knights, Rice had 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Even though he went 1-4 from behind the 3-point line, Rice once again proved how successful he is at finishing at the rim. In an interview after the game, Rice explained that his outstanding performance was largely due to him trusting the preparation that he and his teammates had done leading up to the game. Hopefully Indiana continues this same preparation moving forward because their performance Thursday night was looking more and more like a typical Hoosier basketball team that fans know and love.

Up next for Indiana (11-3, 2-1): at Penn State (12-2, 2-1) – Jan. 5 at Noon

Up next for Rutgers (8-6, 1-2): vs. Wisconsin (11-3, 1-2) – Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.