“Somebody’s got to come off the bench”: 32 point bench spark fuels Indiana basketball to win in conference opener against Minnesota, 82-67

Indiana basketball opened up Big Ten conference play, hosting the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Minnesota entered the game with a 6-4 overall record, having lost its conference opener against Michigan State in addition to losing three non conference games.

Indiana and Minnesota started the game neck and neck, shuffling leads across the two teams for about the first ten minutes of the game.

The early first half substitution that put Bryson Tucker in the game triggered some excitement for the Hoosiers.

Tucker ignited a 16-1 scoring run for Indiana, having eight of the points in the run. Tucker’s eight points came across a 3:40 span.

Tucker’s impact didn’t end there. 

Tucker would go on to play a total of 20 minutes off the bench, scoring a collegiate personal career high 16 points on six-of-ten shooting from the field. Tucker added six rebounds, two of which were offensive rebounds, and an assist, finishing the game with a +/- of +15.

Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson spoke on what Tucker means as a player to Indiana’s program.

“When we recruited him we thought he would be a big piece to the puzzle and he is. We just got to keep steering him in the right direction and pushing him to play at a high level, play harder and smarter and do the things that we need him to do on the floor.”

Woodson’s offensive game plan seemed to run a lot smoother when Tucker was on the floor. Tucker showcased his ability to hit mid range jumpers, connecting on multiple attempts.

Woodson reflected on Tucker’s stellar outing in the victory.

“I thought tonight he came in and played a solid ball game. Hopefully that will be a nice carryover into our next game against Nebraska.”

Tucker’s strong performance wasn’t the only bright spot from the bench.

Kanaan Carlyle returned to action after being sidelined for Indiana’s last three games, last appearing on 11/28 vs Gonzaga.

Carlyle commented on his injury recovery, explaining what he worked on throughout the recovery process.

“I’m feeling good. It was just rehab treatment, a lot of form shots, a lot of shooting just to get me confidence back, my jump shot back.”

The message was clear that Carlyle had fully recovered from his injury based on his performance in the conference opener.

Carlyle showcased arguably his best game as a Hoosier, exploding for 14 points on five-of-eight shooting from the field and three-of-six shooting from beyond the arc. In addition to the strong shooting performance, Carlyle grabbed three rebounds, had five assists and one steal. Carlyle matched Tucker with a +/- of +15.

Going into the game, Carlyle had started in all six games he had appeared in this season. Despite this, Carlyle was benched for Trey Galloway, who had averaged 11.3 points per game across Indiana’s last three games going into conference play.

The recent success in scoring wasn’t the case for Galloway tonight, who was limited to just one point, missing his lone three point attempt along with three free throw attempts.

Woodson was later questioned on the decision to start Trey Galloway over Carlyle, who had been the starter prior to his injury. 

“I went with Gallo (Trey Galloway) because we had been starting him and K9 (Kanaan Carlyle) just came back and he didn’t take it personal. He just came in and did his job and you know somebody’s got to come off the bench. I can’t start everybody.”

Carlyle responded to Woodson’s decision to bench him, stating he’s willing to be a team player if the team is succeeding.

“I’m perfectly fine with coming off the bench. I want to win games, whether it’s being the sixth man, eighth man, tenth man starting two guard, I don’t care. As long as we win, I’m here to do my job, to play defense and provide what I can on offense. That’s it.”

Having a strong bench is needed, when key rotational players are limited offensively. 

Galloway, Luke Goode and Myles Rice combined for just five points in the win, shooting twenty percent from the field and zero percent from three point area.

For Indiana to have the ability to rely on bench players to take some of the load off of the starters is a huge situation to take advantage of. Offensive inconsistencies could be an issue this season for Indiana, but if a couple bench players can continue to make up for others’ mistakes each night, Indiana may be able to continue to compete even with those struggles.

The win over Minnesota extends Indiana’s win streak to now four games, as the team improves to 8-2 on the season.

Indiana’s conference play continues as the team will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, facing the Cornhuskers on Friday night at 8:00 PM ET.

SEE ALSO: ‘We’ve climbed that mountain’: Curt Cignetti reflects on the journey as Indiana Football focuses on playoff matchup with Notre Dame

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