It was the same ol’ tale of Indiana basketball, where the Hoosiers got faced with adversity early in the season, and narrowly pulled through.
The Hoosiers managed to come out on top in their season opener over SIU-Edwardsville, 80-61 in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday night.
“We just got stale from an offensive standpoint in terms of moving the ball, making the extra pass,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “This team was able to hang around. A lot of that is because we just didn’t execute.”
Indiana finished the night with 16 turnovers, and the Cougars capitalized with 14 points off of those. Off the boards, SIUE held the advantage with 16 offensive rebounds, compared to Indiana’s nine.
Lack of execution came to be the weakness for Indiana on Wednesday. But even with the struggles, one thing was clear.
The Hoosiers have the pieces, they just haven’t put everything together.
“I do know we can score the basketball,” Woodson said. “I expect our players to play at a high level. I thought in stretches we did tonight. I just got to get us where we’re playing 40 minutes a game throughout the game no matter what, no matter who we play.”
But holding the cream and crimson together through all 40 minutes on Wednesday night was sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako.
Making yet another jump heading into the 2024-25 season, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year set a career high with 31 points, shooting 13-for-17 overall and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.
Mgbako made the season opener his night.
“People don’t see it, but we all see. He puts in the work,” Indiana guard Trey Galloway said. “Tonight was Mackenzie’s night and he played really well for us.”
The 30-piece is his best performance since March 3 against Maryland, where Mgbako had set a career high of 24 points.
Now in his first official game back, the forward shattered his previous record with a lot more ball left to be played. Mgbako had set the tone on both sides of the ball, leaving a standard to his teammates around him.
“I thought tonight was one of the best games he’s had since he’s been here,” Woodson said. “This team, there’s enough to spread the wealth all around the team if guys play the right way. I don’t think in stretches we played the right way tonight.”
Hoosier basketball wasn’t played in the way that its reputation precedes in its season opener.
But an entire basketball season lies ahead.
With high expectations leading in, this team knows that if they play the right way, trust what they have, and focus on one game at a time, good things are in store for Indiana basketball.
“Obviously there are expectations, we’re Indiana,” Galloway said. “The history of this place is phenomenal. I think just like I said, taking it one game at a time and coming together, it’s going to be huge for us.”
Indiana (1-0) will look to identify its weaknesses and piece together its strengths on Sunday afternoon, when Eastern Illinois (1-1) travels to Bloomington for yet another non-conference matchup. Tipoff is set for noon, back at Assembly Hall.
