‘They refused to lose’: Why Mike Woodson changed IU basketball’s starting lineup

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BLOOMINGTON — Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson hasn’t been shy about shaking up the starting lineup in recent weeks.

The Hoosiers debuted their eighth different starting lineup of the season in Sunday’s 73-58 win over Purdue that featured Myles Rice, Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, Luke Goode and Malik Reneau.

It’s tied for the most starting lineups Woodson has used in a single season during his tenure.

Woodson, who is stepping down at the end of the season, gave Rice the starting nod over Mackenzie Mgbako and swapped out Oumar Ballo for Reneau.

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Rice, Galloway, Leal and Goode didn’t leave the floor in the second half as IU outscored the Boilermakers 48-21 and the only reason Reneau’s minutes were limited down the stretch was because of foul trouble. He had seven points with two assists as the Hoosiers opened the half with a 28-3 run in the first 10 minutes.

Indiana’s starting guards kept Braden Smith in check and their on-ball pressure disrupted everything Purdue wanted to do offensively. The Boilermakers All-American point guard turned it over six times and didn’t have a field goal in the second half.

“I kind of rolled the seniors,” Woodson said. “We’ve been in a lot of close games over the last month and a half, and I just haven’t been able to get over the hump. Tonight they refused to lose.”

Woodson started tinkering with the lineup when he started Anthony Leal against Ohio State. It was the first of a series of changes, but Mgbako and Ballo were constants in the starting lineups before Sunday’s game.

After a win over MSU, Woodson told reporters that he had a conversation with Reneau to tell him that he was going to come off the bench for the remainder of the year as IU looked to reduce the amount of time with two bigs on the floor at the same time.

While Mgabko had played reduced minutes in the second half of a handful of games this season, he hadn’t ever come…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/refused-lose-why-mike-woodson-233505580.html

Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2025-02-23 23:35:00

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