The Indiana Hoosiers have been holding on to their hope for the NCAA Tournament by a thread as of late. They got a boost with a huge win over ranked Michigan State last week, but a late loss against UCLA was a gut punch to a team scarping and clawing to get into March Madness.
Today, in their 73-58 win over No. 13 Purdue, Indiana found a gear they have lacked this season, and that was finishing the game.
The Hoosiers came out of the gate hot, hitting huge shots in front of a packed Assembly Hall. There was some extracurricular play between Anthony Leal and Caleb Furst early on, but it didn't end up resulting in any foul toward either player.
Late in the first half, Purdue went on a big run to build a 37-25 lead heading into halftime, leaving Hoosiers fans feeling like they have seen this story play out before. With Oumar Ballo and Mackenzie Mgbako coming off the bench for the Hoosier, it was up to Malik Reneau and Luke Goodie to lead Indiana on a comeback.
The Hoosiers came out of halftime looking like a different team, going on a 28-3 run to take. massive lead against the Boilermakers that they were never able to recover from.
It was truly a balanced attack from the Indiana starting five, as well as from the bench, as five Indiana players scored in double figures. Reneau was the leading scorer for the Hoosiers yet again with 15 points, tied with Trey Galloway, who also scored 15 for the Hoosiers. Myles Rice followed with 12 points, Luke Goode with 11 points, and off the bench, Ballo scored 12 as well.
Even though Goode was just 2-for6 from beyond the arc, he hit his three-pointers in crucial moments, and all had numerous three-point plays off of made shots and fouls that followed. Galloway was one assist away from a double-double with 15 points and nine assists. Reneau finished with 15 points as well, six rebounds, and four assists.
This was Indiana's second top-15 win in three games, which boasts well on their NCAA Tournament record. However, with no ranked matchups left on their schedule but two Quad 1 games left, the best thing the Hoosiers can do is win out in the regular season and play well in the Big Ten Tournament in order to get a bid into March Madness.
Indiana will return to action on Wednesday, February 26, against Penn State at 8:30 p.m. EST on Big Ten Network.