Indiana Basketball rallies to take down Ohio State in massive bubble matchup

Indiana Basketball strengthened their NCAA Tournament chances with a massive 66-60 win over Ohio State in the regular season finale.

With both teams on the bubble, today was a must-win game for the Hoosiers and Mike Woodson and his eight seniors were able to take care of business in their final game at Assembly Hall.

Indiana basketball had a brutal start offensively shooting just 9/29 (31.0%) from the field, 1-9 (11.1%) from three, and 6-10 (60.0%) from the free throw line in the first half. The Hoosiers’ defense kept them in it as the Buckeyes could only take a 29-25 lead at the half.

Once again the Hoosiers came out slow to open the second half as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 46-36 lead with under 12 to go. With Trey Galloway sitting due to foul trouble, Indiana basketball needed to find something to stay alive.

With their season on the line and Galloway on the bench, they responded with a 15-4 run to take the lead behind Anthony Leal’s defensive efforts.

The turning point in the game came when Leal drew an offensive foul that was ruled a flagrant and ignited a fire in Assembly Hall.

Leal set a career-high with eight rebounds while blocking two shots and adding a steal. He also scored four points.

Despite battling foul trouble, Trey Galloway scored his 1,000th point as a Hoosier and played a big role with 16 points and a team-high six assists.

The key moment of the game came with Indiana leading 58-56 late and due to a shot clock error, Galloway was forced to take a deep three which he drilled to give the Hoosiers a five-point lead.

As a team Indiana basketball struggled offensively shooting just 19-54 (35.2%) from the field and 5-20 (25.0%) from beyond the arc.

With the offense struggling Malik Reneau helped shoulder the load scoring 16 points off the bench on 5-10 from the field with five rebounds.

For the first time in his collegiate career, Oumar Ballo’s mother was able to watch him play in person as she made the trip from Mali along with other members of his family. In front of his mother and family, Ballo had nine points and seven rebounds with a block.

While the offense struggled, Indiana used their size advantage to dominate the rebounding battle. Indiana out-rebounded Ohio State 40-31 with 14 offensive rebounds to the Buckeyes’ eight.

For the Buckeyes, it was Micah Parrish who led the way scoring 19 points.

Indiana basketball did a great job against Ohio State’s leading scorer Bruce Thornton, holding him to nine points on 2-10 from the field.

The Hoosiers concluded the regular season with a record of 19-12 and 10-10 record in Big Ten play.

Indiana basketball will be back in action on Thursday when they will face Oregon in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

SEE ALSO: Coach Q&A: Curt Cignetti discusses beginning of spring practice for Indiana football

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