Indiana entered its last road game of the season with a two-game win streak and lots of momentum against Minnesota on Wednesday night. The Golden Gophers had won their last five games in a row at home, but that didn’t stop the Hoosiers from cruising to a 70-58 victory in Williams Arena.
Indiana shot 55% from the field and assisted on 28 of its 30 made shots. Trey Galloway was a huge part of that, as he finished with 13 points, 11 assists and four rebounds. Out of the 107 collegiate games Galloway has played in his career, this was his first double-double.
“I don't think anything’s changed,” Galloway said. “I think Coach just trusts me with the ball in my hands for me to make plays, and I know I can go out there and make plays to get my teammates involved and myself.”
Through the first 23 games of the season, Galloway recorded 89 assists, averaging 3.9 assists per game. Over the past seven games, he has recorded 54 assists, averaging 7.7 APG in that time and raising his season average to 4.8 APG.
“He’s been solid all season for us, done a lot of good things on both ends of the floor,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “I Iook at the stat sheet, we had 28 assists, he had [11] of them, I mean everybody was sacrificing the ball playing unselfish and we made shots behind the pass and that helps a lot.”
One of Galloway’s favorite targets throughout the season has been Kel’el Ware, and that trend continued as Ware finished with 26 points on 75% shooting, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two 3-pointers. It was the sophomore's 13th career double-double — he recorded zero his freshman year at Oregon.
Mackenzie Mgbako also continued his resurgence — he had 15 points including three big second-half 3-pointers to push the lead out of reach for Minnesota. The five-star New Jersey native has recently built a serious case for earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In the past 15 games, he has scored double-figures in 13, and 15 points or more in seven.
“I feel like [Mgbako’s] confidence is higher now,” Ware said. “Just with his shots and attacking the rim but even defending, so as long as he keeps it up, we’re gonna be good as a team.”
Woodson and Galloway both added that it is tough for a freshman to adjust, but Mgbako has stuck with the grind after early season struggles, continued to work, and has greatly improved on both offense and defense.
With just one regular season game remaining, Indiana is closing out its season strong, and are playing like the team they believed they were capable of playing as from the start.
“We’re playing good basketball at the right time, which is good,” Galloway said. “We can’t focus on the past, we just gotta focus on the present and the future. We have to keep winning games and win one game at a time and focus on Michigan State next.”
Now 17-13, Indiana sits at eighth in Big Ten rankings and has a chance to close out its regular season with a four-game win streak on Senior Night. Indiana’s seeding for the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis will be determined after their game on Sunday. The Tournament officially begins on March 13.
