BLOOMINGTON – An eight-day layoff — and facing a Chattanooga team Saturday afternoon that couldn’t match its size or athleticism — seemed to be the right ingredients for the Indiana basketball team to rebound following an ugly Dec. 13 loss to Nebraska.
Instead, the Hoosiers struggled to put away the pesky Mocs, surviving for a 74-65 win before a sleepy Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd that was still recovering following the Indiana football team’s loss late Friday in the College Football Playoffs.
With the exception of a few highlight-reel plays, there wasn’t much for the Indiana faithful to cheer about, especially early. The Hoosiers (9-3) were sluggish at the start, allowing Chattanooga (8-5) to score on easy looks both inside and out as the Mocs took a 21-14 lead behind blistering shooting.
“We prepared all week for this team and worked on a lot of things, but I didn’t see a lot of good things from my work,” said IU coach Mike Woodson. “That’s discouraging, but the bottom line is we’ve got to keep working through it, keep pushing guys and getting better.”
It’s a familiar refrain for the Hoosiers, who have struggled to consistently play sound defense and hit shots from deep. Indiana shot 50% from the field for the seventh time this season, but hit on just 5-of-20 (25% from 3-point range. Normally a reliable team at the foul line (75% entering the game), Indiana made just 11-of-20 (55%) Saturday.
Indiana’s bench nearly matched its starters in scoring in the first half with 19 points, as the Hoosiers clawed back to take a 41-38 lead heading into the break. Sophomore Kanaan Carlyle scored all eight of his points in the first half to pace the reserves. Freshman Bryson Tucker finished with nine points to lead the bench.
“Our bench was pretty good for us,” Woodson said. “They came in and played solid, I thought. Probably should have played them the whole game and sat the starting unit down. But at the end of the day, I have to get all the guys clicking when they’re on the floor playing. It’s a work in progress still, but there’s still a long way to go and I’ve got to keep pushing.”
Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau led Indiana with 14 points apiece, with Reneau scoring 10 in the second half, including a one-handed dunk that provided one of the few highpoints of the day and gave Indiana its largest lead of the game at 61-48 with 12:37 left.
The Mocs wouldn’t go quietly, though, putting together a 17-8 run to pull within 69-65 with just under 2 minutes left. Reneau gave Indiana a buffer with a second-chance putback, Myles Rice (4 points, 2-of-8 shooting) added a driving layup, and Reneau found Trey Galloway (8 points, six in the second half) for a breakaway basket to ice it.
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Junior guard Honor Huff led Chattanooga with 20 points, hitting 6-of-12 from 3.
“It just comes down to slowing the game down, getting into our offense, looking for the open player and run the offense coach wants us to run,” Mgbako said. “I feel like if we slow down, we can make anything work for us in the half court.”
Indiana has one nonconference game remaining before the heart of the Big Ten schedule arrives. The Hoosiers host Winthrop on Dec. 29 before turning their attention to Rutgers on Jan. 2.
“I felt like we had great practices coming into this week,” Reneau said. “We still have to bring the practice (intensity) into the games and execute how we execute in practice. Definitely, the defensive side is the side we need to focus on the most and keep working at that and get better. I feel like this break will help us out in clearing our minds, so we come back ready to work and ready for Big Ten play.”
