Indiana sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako has been one of the most consistent scorers for IU’s offense so far, and arguably has the highest celing. Despite not having his best day from the field shooting 5-for-12, he was still able to add 13 in Indiana’s first Big Ten game of the season against Minnesota. It’s a solid number, but that 13 points was fifth on the team.
With all the struggles of this early season for the Hoosiers, hardly any of them have been on the offensive side of the ball. The offense had been great against almost all of Indiana’s mid-major opponents.The question was how would it do against Big Ten competition. And it didn’t miss a beat against the Gophers, taking home an 82-75 victory.
There’s been one main reason for the high-scoring displays: balance.
With five players in double figures Monday, that marks the fifth time they’ve had at least four with 10-plus, and the second time with five — the only other being in their 87-71 win over South Carolina, another power conference opponent.
Indiana’s now had eight different guys score 10 or more in a game this season, and it can make for some tough decisions for Mike Woodson.
“Well somebody’s gotta come off the bench,” Woodson said after the win. “It’s not about who starts off the bench. It’s the minutes you get and what you do with those minutes.”
A big reason for the balance in this particular game is because of a couple breakout performances from two newcomers off the bench. Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle had missed the last three games before Monday and didn’t get the start because of that. But he had his best performance in an Indiana uniform so far, scoring 14 on 5-for-8 shooting and knocking down a couple of 3s.
“It wasn’t the pressure, it’s just reps and getting back in the rhythm of playing,” Carlyle said after his first game back. “Especially with a new team in a new environment, it’s about getting comfortable again.”
Hoosier freshman guard Bryson Tucker had been available for the last few games, but struggled from the field. Monday, he had his career high in points with 16.
Despite taking a little bit to get going, Tucker has looked extremely comfortable in one are: the mid-range. Five of Tucker’s six made field goals Monday came in the mid-range, three of them being off the dribble. In a modern era of college basketball where it’s frowned upon by college coaches and analytics-lovers alike, Tucker has been catching defenses off guard in the 12-18 feet range.
Those mid-range looks and shots in the paint are what’s been killing opponents’ defenses so far.
That brings up what’s been maybe the most impressive thing to consider when looking at these scoring displays: They haven’t been lighting the world on fire from 3. IU scored 82 points on Wednesday, led by Oumar Ballo with 18, despite only making four 3s.
“We got guys that can make ‘em, but we’re probably not taking more than most teams,” Woodson said about shooting from the perimeter. “But he [Tucker] is good in mid-range, and those count too. Tonight, we were pretty good in that area.”
Indiana will look to keep the offense hot when they travel for their first true road game of the year, heading to Lincoln to take on Nebraska on Friday night.
