‘I’m one of the best shooters in the conference’: Luke Goode scores career high in points, guides Indiana basketball to 97-71 win over Sam Houston

Indiana men’s basketball returned home following a disappointing performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas. 

Despite Indiana holding a 1-2 record in the tournament, the team was able to regroup in the first game of its homestand, hosting Sam Houston on Tuesday night.

While Indiana was on a slow start across the first five minutes of the game, the substitution that brought in Luke Goode was the game changer. 

Goode was an instant bench spark, hitting four shots from beyond the arc across a four minute span.

Goode’s 12 points over the short span were contagious, as the start of his three point scoring ignited a 19-3 scoring run for Indiana. 

Having a player that can come into the game off of the bench and make a quick impact like Goode is extremely beneficial for any team.

Malik Reneau reflected on how valuable it is to have Goode’s shooting ability on the team.

“Luke shows it in practice every single day, so he gives us that confidence when he’s open, we know he’s going to knock down the shot.”

Goode finished the game with 18 points on five-for-seven shooting from three point range, while shooting three-for-four from the charity stripe. Goode also added one rebound and one steal, finishing the game with a +/- of +23.

The 18 point performance set a collegiate career high in points for Goode. The previous highest scoring game Goode had was 16 points at #1 Purdue on January 5, 2024.

Following the spectacular performance, Goode spoke on his confidence as a shooter.

“I believe in myself and know I’m one of the best shooters in the conference, and I feel that way every day.”

Goode was known to have a strong track record of being an excellent shooter prior to transferring to Indiana. Goode had played three seasons at Illinois, averaging 39.4% from deep on 219 attempts.

Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson credited Goode as a big factor in the victory.

“We been shooting the three ball pretty well. Goode is a big part of it. That was one of the reasons we went out to recruit him. Tonight it showed big time for us. We benefited from it, him making the five threes that he made.”

Woodson and his staff had a variety of different plays tailored around Goode, something that was hinted at during the offseason. 

“I ran a few plays for him where he was able to come off, but a lot we were pushing the pace. He got a few in transition. Couple — one or two he got on kickouts from the post. Couple times I ran plays for him where he came off and made shots.” 

Goode acknowledges Woodson and his teammates dependence in him, being very grateful for the spot he’s in as a player.

“Coach Woodson and my teammates still have faith in me. Every time I miss a shot, it’s give me a high five and say, ‘you’re the best shooter that we know, this is what you do’. It’s a lot of confidence that they give me and I’m very appreciative of that.”

Goode has quickly started to fit into Woodson’s system, seeing a slight increase in playing time as a result of shooting 64% from three across the team’s last three games.

Following the game, Indiana basketball now ranks sixth in the Big Ten conference in three point percentage, shooting 37% as a team.

Indiana basketball will look to carry on its consistent shooting over to Friday, as the team hosts Miami Ohio at 7:00 PM ET.

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