IU finds 3-point shot, loses Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo returns in win vs. Rutgers

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BLOOMINGTON — Forget style points.

It’s all about survival for IU basketball these days.

The Hoosiers (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) pulled out an 84-74 win over Rutgers (8-6, 1-2) at Assembly Hall with both teams missing their leading scorers. Malik Reneau, IU’s leading scorer, suffered a knee injury less than 30 seconds into the game while Scarlet Knights standout freshman guard Dylan Harper was sidelined with an illness, according to the Peacock broadcast.

IU vs Rutgers player ratings: Transfers key win despite Ace Bailey’s 39 points

Indiana never trailed in the second half and pulled away down the stretch with a rare display of impressive 3-point shooting. Indiana went 4-of-5 in the final 10 minutes from long range with makes from Myles Rice, Luke Goode and Trey Galloway after the team combined to go 1-for-20 against Winthrop.

The Hoosiers hit a season-high 12 3-pointers and it was the first time since a win over North Alabama on Dec. 21, 2023, the team made double-digit 3-point shots. It was only the third time this season they shot better than 40%.

Rutgers freshman Ace Bailey looks NBA-ready

The biggest challenge for IU was figuring out the best way to defend Rutgers dynamic freshman Ace Bailey. The talented 6-10 forward looked like he might be able to single-handedly keep Rutgers in the game with 19 points in the first half while his running mate Harper sidelined.

Bailey took on double teams, knocked down contested shots and looked a step quicker than anyone IU had defending him.

Indiana backup guard Anthony Leal eventually landed the job of guarding Bailey, and his scrappy approach — he did a nice job of taking away Bailey’s first step — knocked the five-star prospect out of his rhythm.

He went nearly 12 minutes of playing time without any points starting with 3:53 to go in the first half as IU built an 18-point lead.

Bailey, who finished with career-high 39 on 16-of-29 shooting, got hot again with less than 10 minutes to go with a pair of 3-pointers in the corner right in front…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iu-finds-3-point-shot-040722919.html

Author : Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2025-01-03 04:07:00

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