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    • Another poor performance in a loss
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    Another poor performance in a loss

    Vaseline Posted on

    Basketball No. 15 IU lost 89-73 to No. 4 Gonzaga in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday afternoon.

    Gonzaga pulled away late in the first half on a 16-0 run to take a 49-31 lead and the Hoosiers (4-2) never cut the lead to less than 15 points in the second half.

    Takeaways: IU has some soul searching to do after another tough loss

    ‘We just have to toughen up’ IU guards get outplayed by Louisville

    Here are the match ratings:

    APPETIZERS

    ∎ Myles Rice: 2/10

    Mike Woodson seemed unhappy with Rice’s play right after the game tipped off. He took his starting point guard off the floor for less than two minutes and played him for just eight minutes in the first half. Rice was expected to be one of IU’s most dynamic players, but he was held scoreless in the first half for the second straight game and didn’t get a single assist until the 2:10 mark. He just hung his head when he fouled with 3:19 and made an unnecessary reach-in foul. It was a stark contrast to the performance Gonzaga got from starting point guard Ryan Nembhard, who had a double-double with 11 points and 13 assists. It was the fifth time in seven games that he had double-digit assists.

    ∎ Kanaan Carlyle: 4/10

    He was caught on camera trying to start IU during an early timeout while officials cleared up an egregious foul situation. It gave the Hoosiers a bit of a spark, but Carlyle remains too much of a non-factor on offense. The defining image of the game for the Stanford transfer was him stepping to the three-point line for an open look coming out of halftime and missing badly after IU strung together rare back-to-back stops.

    ∎ Mackenzie Mgbako: 2/10

    Mgabko mixed it up with Graham Ike early in the match and threw an elbow to the back of the head. He also got into a fight with Gonzaga players later in the game, but those were his most notable moments. He was pulled off the floor in the second half for a defensive foul and spent more than five minutes at IU in desperate need of outside shooting. He reached double figures with 13 points thanks to an offensive surge in the final moments, long after the game had been decided.

    ∎ Malik Reneau: 3/10

    Reneau sat offside for much of the first half after picking up two fouls in less than five minutes. It’s all too common for a third-year player with more than 40 career starts under his belt. The referees blow the whistle quickly, but he can no longer take himself out of games. He did not make a significant contribution in the second half.

    ∎ Oumar Ballo: 4/10

    Ballo was IU’s only source of consistent offense — he scored a game-high 25 points — and showed a confidence in the low post and nice touch around the rim that was missing earlier in the season. With seven minutes left in the first half, he had already scored a season-high 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting, while the rest of the team had 14 points on 3-for-12 shooting. So why the low score? The rest of Ballo’s play wasn’t as impressive. In the first half, Gonzaga scored 36 points in the paint, outrebounded the Hoosiers 26-13 and had 17 second-chance points. Ballo was recruited to be the kind of rim protector that Kel’el Ware was, but he hasn’t shown the ability to do that against tougher competition.

    RESERVES

    ∎ Trey Galloway: 6/10

    Galloway had some nice moments and led the team with six assists. He played a season-high 29 minutes and IU needs him at 100%. The hope is that he can find his jump shot to match his improved playmaking ability.

    ∎ Luke Goode: 3/10

    Goode came off the bench and buried his first three-point attempt as part of a 15-3 run, but that didn’t help him get into a rhythm. His season-long slump remains a problem for an IU team in need of points off the bench and more outside shooting. The Hoosiers finished the game as a team, shooting 4-of-18 from three-point range.

    ∎ Bryson Tucker: 3/10

    Another decent effort from the true freshman, but he didn’t play many minutes and only attempted three shots.

    ∎ Langdon Hatton: 8/10

    Hatton got longer minutes, with Reneau and Ballo getting into big trouble. In the first half, he made three separate trips to the free throw line and had a block and a steal. He scored as many points (six) on Thursday as he scored in the first five games combined. He was active on both ends of the floor.

    ∎ Anthony Leal: N/A

    The only playing time he got came in the final 38 seconds of the first 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.

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