INDIANAPOLIS – The Hoosiers headed out of the locker room for second half warmups, and Xavier Johnson was nowhere to be seen. Gabe Cupps started in his place, and Johnson would not see the court for the remainder of the game. Three minutes into the second half, Malik Reneau headed to the locker room, only to be seen back dominating on the court with 14 minutes left to go in the game.
Indiana defeated Harvard with a final score of 89-76 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon, but with injuries evident throughout the day, it was not a walk in the park for the Hoosiers.
Heading into Sunday’s matchup questionable on the Big Ten availability report, Indiana’s starting point guard, Johnson, headed to the bench with just under four minutes remaining in the first half following a made jumper and foul. Johnson returned to the Indiana bench dressed in warm up attire and ice wrapped around his left foot.
“Once I go in, I’ll see where we are with Xavier [Johnson] because I have no idea at this point,” Mike Woodson stated in the postgame press conference. “We’re going to need Xavier to be healthy to help us win basketball games.”
The concerns would not end there for the Hoosiers after Reneau headed to the locker room in the beginning of the second half, grabbing at his lower back and pumping his fists following a Kel’el Ware 3-pointer.
But with 14 minutes left in the game, the key piece in Reneau returned, and he returned with a vengeance. Ending the game with 17 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, Reneau continued to prove his growth and dominance on the court.
And with an emerging star in the frontcourt and growing chemistry with a seven-foot powerhouse, success is inevitable.
It was a game of the big men with Reneau and Ware dominating the court once again with their “buddy ball” approach. Four of Reneau’s five assists in the game connected with Ware, who had yet another standout performance, finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
“It’s great, you know, Malik saw a lot of that last year with Race [Thompson] and Trayce [Jackson-Davis], and he hasn’t forgotten it,” Woodson said postgame. “[Malik Reneau] and [Kel’el Ware], they’re kind of connected now a little bit, which is kind of nice to see.”
Another big factor to the victory was the contribution and the breakout game of freshman Mackenzie Mgbako. Eighteen points and eight rebounds proved to be his best performance of the season, in one of the most dire times Indiana has seen this season.
“It doesn’t just help me, but I feel like it helps the whole team. It helps open up the floor more,” Ware said on Mgbako’s contributions postgame. “As long as we’re playing hard, I feel like we’re going to be good.”
The Hoosiers have a tough stretch ahead of them and will hope to be at full strength as they will begin Big Ten play on Friday facing the Maryland Terrapins back at Assembly Hall for a 7 p.m. tip.
