BLOOMINGTON – IU basketball made easy work of overmatched Minnesota in its Big Ten opener Monday, defeating the Gophers 82-67.
Here’s how the Hoosiers performed as they started conference play with a win:
*denotes man of the match
STARTERS
∎ Myles Rice: 6/10
Quiet night scoring the ball but so in command everywhere else. Finished with six rebounds and three assists to just one turnover. Minnesota could not match or manage the pace he injected into the game, on a night when IU scored 18 points on the break.
∎ Trey Galloway: 5/10
Docked a point for four turnovers. But a similar story to Rice. This was a night when so much of Indiana’s offense came at and around the rim, which meant guards mostly needed to facilitate bigs, and they did. Galloway, who finished with three assists, was no exception.
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∎ Mackenzie Mgbako: 6/10
Scored the ball well. Defended it better, using his length well against smaller covers. This was a night when the big lineups worked. Minnesota had no answer for IU’s post players defensively, and at the other end the Gophers’ small lineups just couldn’t hang. Mgbako was a part of that.
∎ Malik Reneau: 8/10
Dawson Garcia couldn’t guard him at all, and it was a problem Minnesota (6-5, 0-2) never solved. Reneau finished with 16 points on just 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. There were stretches when IU’s offense, flowing through its post players, looked like a layup line.
∎ Oumar Ballo: 8/10*
Similar story. Ballo only grabbed seven rebounds because there simply weren’t that many to collect, especially at the offensive end. And without a natural answer for his size, Minnesota got bulled by the Hoosiers’ big man, who finished with a team-high 18 points.
RESERVES
∎ Kanaan Carlyle: 7/10
Looked really sharp in his first game back from a brief injury layoff, scoring 14 points, and adding three rebounds and five assists. Turned up Indiana’s wider defensive intensity with a series of important possessions at both ends, though he paid for his aggressiveness with foul trouble. Probably the most involved he’s been for IU (8-2, 1-0) in all facets thus far.
∎ Luke Goode: 6/10
Solid, quiet minutes. Goode turned in some good defensive possessions against Garcia, which in a game like this one is as good as points. The Gophers’ leading scorer was always going to find his points, but Indiana kept him relatively isolated within the wider offense. Goode was part of that.
∎ Bryson Tucker: 8/10
A career night for the promising freshman, who finished with a season-best 16 points. Tucker also added six rebounds, and he needed just 10 field goal attempts to get his points. In many ways this role suits a freshman like Tucker, protecting him on off nights and feeding him when he plays well.
Man of the match awards this season: Mgbako (2), Rice (2), Ballo (1), Goode (1).
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball vs Minnesota score, stats, player ratings
