With 10:53 remaining in the second half, Trey Galloway received a handoff and a screen from Oumar Ballo and drove right. His scoop layup was too strong off the back side of the rim and fell softly into the outstretched arms of Ballo. Ballo patiently used his strength and touch to power through Eian Elmer for the jump hook.
The basket gave Ballo 12 points and 15 rebounds. He finished the game with 14 points, 18 boards, and a career-high six assists on 5-for-6 shooting in Indiana’s 76-57 victory over the Redhawks. The 18 rebounds are good for the second most in his career.
“This is really the first time Ballo in his career has been featured,” head coach Mike Woodson said in his postgame press conference. “I mean, he's such a big load. We had the size advantage tonight. I thought we took advantage of it.”
Ballo notched his first double-double for the Hoosiers, the 35th of his career, and his first since he recorded 15 points and 15 boards in Arizona’s Sweet Sixteen loss to Clemson on Mar. 28. All of this is to say that the Mali native is playing some of the best basketball of his career, but why is it not translating to more success for the Hoosiers?
One possession after the aforementioned Ballo basket, Luke Skaljac drilled a three-point shot to cut Indiana’s lead to just five. That would be as close as Miami would get as Indiana went on a 12-0 run to put the game on ice. It wasn’t until Luke Goode’s and one at the 5:11 mark that the game seemed out of reach.
“We shouldn't go into halftime only up three,” Galloway, who provided 13 points as a starter, said. “We got to find ways to fix that. Obviously, we're a better team than that. So just coming out with that sense of urgency in the second half, trying to extend the lead.”
This is not the first time this season that Indiana has allowed a presumed inferior opponent to hang around late into the second half. This has been an issue in most wins so far this season. Below is a list of Indiana opponents and a show of its slim leads substantially late into halves:
Nov. 6 vs. Southern Illinois Edwardsville: 55-46 - 11:38
Nov. 10 vs. Eastern Illinois: 43-40 - 17:49
Nov. 16 vs. South Carolina: 79-71 - 1:19
Nov. 21 vs. UNC Greensboro: 65-58 - 1:27
Friday marks the fifth home game in which Indiana has failed to fully accelerate past its opponent in the second half. Turnovers have been a story in those games and the same sentiment occurred tonight: The Hoosiers gave the ball away 16 times, translating to 20 RedHawks points.
The tight second-half games, of course, result from sub-par first halves. The Hoosiers entered the halftime locker room up 39-36 even though they shot 58% from the field compared to Miami’s 37%.
“We did get off to a great start,” Woodson said. “We went to the bench, then they were able to get back in it. We couldn't find it. We had I think four turnovers coming down the stretch of that first half that gave them the opportunity to get back into the game.”
Indiana once again struggled to get out and score in transition, only scoring 14 fastbreak points. In its two largest victories of the season, a 97-71 victory Tuesday over Sam Houston State and a 90-55 stomping of Eastern Illinois, the Hoosiers recorded 25 and 31 points in transition, respectively.
Indiana has returned to Bloomington with two respectable victories after a disappointing trip in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. But, as they open Big Ten conference play on Monday against Minnesota, Friday has to be of concern for Indiana. In non-conference games, poor first halves leading to close second sessions can be survived, but, in Big Ten play, that pattern has the potential to not result positively for the Hoosiers.
