Indiana basketball takes ‘a big step forward’ in first notable win of season. Now, it could be the turning point moving forward: ‘When things got tight, they didn’t go the other way’

Winning isn’t always and doesn’t always have to be pretty, and sometimes it’s the gritty and ugly wins that mean the most to a team. That was the case on Sunday as Indiana basketball saw many ups and downs in its 77-71 road win over Penn State.

Indiana came into Sunday’s matchup knowing it needed a win. Not only for its NCAA Tournament resume, but also for its confidence. Despite its 11-3 record this season, there have been only a few wins that have elevated Indiana from a metrics standpoint. Sunday’s win over Penn State was IU’s first Quad 1 win of the year.

But more importantly, Indiana’s win could be the jumpstart it needed from a confidence perspective with just how difficult it is to win on the road.

“It’s a huge win, going on the road and handling business because we know it’s not easy to win on the road,” IU sophomore wing Mackenzie Mgbako said postgame. “We go back home, we don’t lose at home, so this is a big step forward in what we are trying to accomplish this season. As long as we can stick with what we’re doing and follow the game plan we are going to have great success this year.”

After a 29-all halftime score, Indiana — and Mgbako specifically — started on an 8-0 run out of the half. It blossomed into a 12-0 run and an eventual 16 point lead at the 10:20 mark. Through 10 second half minutes, Indiana basketball was scoring 1.813 points per possession and scoring on over 75 percent of its possessions. Everything was clicking from an offensive perspective, and defensive.

“Just playing hard,” Said Mgbako when asked about IU’s strong surge. “We came into the half with a lot of energy, a lot of grit, a lot of toughness.”

Then it was Penn State who took control, who went on a 15-4 run over the next five minutes to get mack within striking distance. After a few back-and-forth possessions, another quick 6-0 burst from Penn State made it just a two-point game with 1:43 left.

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Despite a performance for the first 35 minutes that seemed to have changed the tone of the Indiana basketball season, the late breakdowns looked like the Indiana of the past. Turnovers, missed shots, poor decisions and defensive lapses let the Nittany Lions back in the game, with a chance to win it.

But, Indiana found a way to dig deep and finish.

“I’ve seen some of that throughout some of the early parts of this season. When things got tight, they didn’t go the other way,” IU head coach Mike Woodson said. “We made their free throws — I mean I ran out of timeouts so it was critical to get the ball in bounds and when they trapped, get the ball up the floor and finish the game.”

The result? A much-needed win and a win that seems to be exactly what Indiana needed. Now, the next step is using this as a building block — and potentially the key turning point of the season.

“When you get a chance to win on the road in the Big Ten, it’s big time,” Woodson said. “You’ve got to compete like hell when you’re on the road.”

“Winning on the road in the Big Ten is really hard so we don’t take that for granted,” Indiana center Oumar Ballo added. ” … we know it’s hard to win on the road … We played on the road at Tennessee in the beginning of the year in a great environment and we were able to win. To do it today was huge. We needed to win it, and we got it.”

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