Indiana Basketball takes down Rutgers in their first game of the new year

Indiana basketball took down a short-handed Rutgers team 84-74 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in their first game of the new year.

Rutgers was without star freshman Dylan Harper who missed the game due to flu-like symptoms according to NJ.com. Harper has averaged 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on the season and projects to be a top-five pick.

The Scarlet Knights’ other star freshman, Ace Bailey, did all he could to keep Rutgers in this game including a monster first half. Bailey led all scorers with a career-high 39 points while shooting 16-29 from the field. 19 of his points came in the first half. Bailey also added eight rebounds and four blocks in the game.

Indiana basketball was also shorthanded as star forward Malik Reneau left the game after suffering a right leg injury after a collision under the basket on the second possession of the game.

RELATED: Indiana basketball leading scorer Malik Reneau won’t return vs Rutgers after exiting game with lower leg injury in first half

Oumar Ballo, who came off the bench after missing the Hoosiers’ last game, played a pivotal role in Reneau’s absence. Ballo finished the game with 17 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks. Seven of Ballo’s rebounds were on the offensive end.

Ballo played a massive role in Indiana’s dominant performance on the glass. The Hoosiers won the rebounding battle 48-36 and had 18 offensive rebounds which led to a 26-point advantage in second-chance points.

Myles Rice had a really good all-around performance in the win. He scored a team-high 21 points, while also adding five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Indiana basketball had one of their best games from beyond the arc as three different Hoosiers finished the game with at least three made threes. As a team, they shot 12-27 from three. 

Mackenzie Mgbako was one of the three Hoosiers as he scored 16 points on 5-13 from the field and 3-7 from three. He also added seven rebounds in the win.

Trey Galloway and Luke Goode were the other Hoosiers with three threes in the win. Galloway finished the game with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Goode finished the game with nine points and five rebounds while shooting 3-5 from three.

Anthony Leal played a massive role off the bench for Indiana basketball. He finished the game with five points, five rebounds, and four assists. He had the play of the game when he hit a fallaway three at the buzzer to end the first half. Leal also played a big role in trying to matchup with Ace Bailey.

Outside of Bailey, Rutgers had nothing going offensively. The rest of the team scored just 35 points on 11-32 from the field. 

With the win Indiana basketball improved to 11-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten play. They will be back in action on Sunday when they face Penn State on the road. 

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