Indiana’s failing season continued Saturday afternoon, losing to Penn State 83-74 at the Bryce Jordan Center, extending its losing streak to four.
“I thought we battled,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “When I look at the stat sheet and look at the free throws and the missed opportunities to make 3s, I thought that was the difference.”
Indiana entered the game with the least amount of 3s made in the Big Ten as well as the worst free throw percentage, and that trend continued as they shot just 2-for-15 from beyond the arc and 14-for-25 from the charity stripe versus the Nittany Lions. They are now 134-for-426 from 3 on the year (31.5%) and 401-for-614 from the free-throw line (65%).
“We’re getting a lot of good looks,” Woodson said. “I just think it’s from a mental standpoint, and I got to get them where they’re comfortable and just making them because we haven’t made them this season.”
Turnovers and foul trouble once again plagued the Hoosiers, as their eight cough-ups in the first 20 minutes were part of the reason Penn State was able to score 40 points. Mackenzie Mgbako, who was coming off two 20+ point performances, only played five minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls.
While Mgbako sat the first half, Kel’el Ware missed the bulk of the second half after earning his third and fourth foul just three minutes in. The 7-foot center’s absence hurt the Hoosiers — he was their top player up to that point with 11 first half points and five rebounds.
“We [had] too much deficit at halftime and then we try to bring it back coming into that second half,” Malik Reneau said. “We’re trying to fight our way back every time and every game, so we really got to jump out on people and see what they do and see how they feel about it.”
Reneau stepped up and was a bright spot for Indiana. He had 27 points and six rebounds over 35 minutes. Reneau almost single-handedly willed the Hoosiers back in front in the second half, but Penn State ultimately had full control as the Nittany Lions shot 45% from the field, 9-for-21 from 3 and 26-for-30 on free throws.
“Being close to the basket and being a threat,” Reneau said. “Just trying to assert my dominance down low, get wide open shots by the basket, put pressure on [Penn State], and get fouls on them and stuff when I'm down low.”
Of Indiana’s 74 total points, 64 came from inside the paint or free throws.
“I’m upset with the way we played, the way I’ve coached this team this whole season,” Woodson said. “I’ve always felt I could take any team and go win with it. We’ve had our struggles this year, but we’ve got to try to finish this season out on a high note.”
The Hoosiers have not won at Penn State since 2018 and this is the first time being swept by the Nittany Lions since the 2008-09 season. Penn State plays with the fastest tempo in the Big Ten, helping them reach 83 points. This marked the ninth time Indiana allowed 80 or more points to an opponent this year.
“It’s just hard to overcome when you let some of the games slip by and the season slowly passes by you and then you realize that you’ve got four games left,” Reneau said. “It’s just hard to fight back from that.”
Now 14-13 and 6-10 in conference play, Indiana has fallen to 11th in the Big Ten with limited opportunities for redemption remaining. The Hoosiers’ next chance to stop the bleeding will be Tuesday evening in Assembly Hall against Wisconsin.
