Indiana Basketball defeats USC en route to fifth straight victory

Indiana Basketball extended their winning streak to five games after defeating USC 82-69 in Bloomington. The Hoosiers improved to 13-3 on the season and 4-1 in the Big Ten.

USC jumped out to a hot start taking a 22-12 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the ball game. The Hoosiers weathered the storm and were able to go into halftime tied at 38.

Oumar Ballo put together another dominant performance for Indiana basketball. The 7-foot center finished the game with 23 points while shooting 9-11 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line. Ballo also had eight rebounds and two blocks in the win.

Ballo led another strong rebounding performance for Indiana basketball. They won the rebounding battle 40-33 and had 11 offensive rebounds.

Luke Goode continued his stellar play in the starting lineup as he finished the game with 16 points, and four rebounds while shooting 4-5 from three. Goode has been red hot for Indiana basketball as he has shot 66.7% from three over the last three games.

Mike Woodson got a balanced effort from his lead guards as both Trey Galloway and Myles Rice had strong performances in the win.

Myles Rice had a great all-around performance as he finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in the win. He also had a block and a steal for the Hoosiers.

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His backcourt mate, Trey Galloway, put together a good game with 11 points and six assists in the win. Nine of his points came in the second half.

Freshman Bryson Tucker played a pivotal for Indiana basketball. Tucker was the leading scorer off the bench with nine points on 4-9 from the field.

While there were plenty of positives for Indiana basketball, Mackenzie Mgbako was not one of them. Mgbako was held scoreless while shooting 0-8 from the field in the win.

After a slow start, the Hoosiers locked in defensively and shut down the Trojan offense in the second half. Indiana held USC to just 31 points in the half while shooting 34.5% from the field and 2-12 from three.

The Hoosiers used a strong start to the second half to take control of the game early in the half as they didn’t trail during the final 19 minutes of the game.

Indiana basketball will be back in action looking to win their sixth straight game on Saturday night when they face Iowa on the road.

SEE ALSO: Key takeaways from the Indiana basketball 82-69 win over USC

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