Indiana basketball vs PSU player ratings: Oumar Ballo dominates on the road

Posted by Admin January 5, 2025 Basketball

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Indiana basketball closed out a 77-71 win over Penn State at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.

The largest lead for either team at the half was four points, but the Hoosiers (12-3; 3-1 Big Ten) opened up a 16-point advantage by going 6 of 8 from 3-point range to start the second half.

The Nittany Lions (12-3; 2-2) had the ball with a chance to make it a one-possession game in the final minutes, but turned it over and missed their last six shots as IU closed out the victory from the free-throw line.

Here’s how the Hoosiers graded out individually:

STARTERS

∎ Myles Rice: 5/10

Rice’s roller coaster season continued in Philadelphia. He didn’t attempt a shot until there was 6:37 left in the first half and had a quiet first half (zero points and two turnovers) after putting up 21 on Rutgers. He did a nice job of handling PSU’s full court pressure until he made a pivotal mistake in the final two minutes by drawing a 10-second violation when the Nittany Lions backed off the press. Rice finished with nine points (2 of 9) and four assists.

∎ Trey Galloway: 7/10

Galloway stopped Penn State’s late run by coming up with a steal on an attempted dribble hand off with 1:49 to go. It was a heads up play from the veteran guard with the Nittany Lions looking to make it a one possession game. He set up his teammates all game long — he had a team-high six assists — and continues to shine whenever he’s IU’s primary ball handler.

∎ Mackenzie Mgbako: 7/10

Mgabko had an 8-0 run in just 56 seconds all by himself coming out of halftime to give IU a 37-29 lead. He matched the Hoosiers entire first-half output from long range during that stretch with a pair of 3-pointers. He followed that up with a turnaround jumper from the corner that even drew the praise of the Penn State player defending him and finished the game with 20 points.

∎ Luke Goode: 6/10

Goode knocked down some key shots as part of IU’s 3-point shooting barrage early in the second half. He played through some early foul trouble and continues to make the kind of hustle plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet. He was one of three Hoosiers in double-digits with 12 points.

∎ Oumar Ballo: 8/10

Penn State had to throw a lot of bodies at Ballo to try to slow him down. He was the focal point of IU’s offense in the first half and he went into halftime with a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds. He was moving well off the ball and was assertive in the half court. He had a key 3-point play when the game tightened up with less than six minutes to go. He led all scorers with 25 points and had his second straight double-double.

RESERVES

∎ Langdon Hatton: 6/10

While Hatton only played eight minutes, he was the first player off the bench for coach Mike Woodson. He’s given the Hoosiers quality playing time off the bench while the Hoosiers have been short-handed in the front court. He played down the stretch as well after Ballo picked up his fourth foul with 7:25 to go.

∎ Anthony Leal: 6/10

Leal played double-digit minutes for the sixth time in seven games. He’s earned a spot in the rotation with his consistent effort on both ends of the floor and earned a key defensive assignment in crunch time defending Penn State’s star point guard Ace Baldwin Jr.

∎ Bryson Tucker: 5/10

Tucker had a nice cut to the basket for a bucket at the rim early in the game, but the freshman was quiet after that.

∎ Kanaan Carlyle: 3/10

Carlyle’s season-long slump continued with him missing a wide open look from 3-point range midway through the first half. He’s gone 1 for 14 from 3-point range over the team’s last five games and is shooting under 25% on the season. He only played two minutes in the second half.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.