Indiana basketball weighed drastic measures to ensure Malik Reneau joined Hoosiers on West Coast trip

[ad_1]

SEATTLE, Wash. — Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson wanted Malik Reneau to join the team on its West Coast Trip

He didn’t want to risk everyone else getting sick.

Reneau came down with an unexpected illness and visited the emergency room on Wednesday night instead of facing Penn State. His status was up in the air with the Hoosiers set to fly out to Seattle on a charter flight the next day.

More: ‘Urgency is the word I come back to’: Why Indiana basketball is surging towards NCAA Tournament bid

Indiana basketball forward Malik Reneau drives through the lane in a 78-62 win over Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

“We had talked about maybe flying him out separately,” Woodson said, after the game. “But our good doctor, doctor (Larry) Rink suggested that it would be okay, so it all worked out.”

Reneau showed no lingering effects from his hospital visit in IU’s 78-62 win over Washington on Saturday. He had a game-high 22 points coming off the bench — he was 6 of 6 in the first half — and the Huskies simply didn’t have anyone athletic enough to handle him in the post.

Washington coach Danny Sprinkle said Reneau played like an “all-league guy” and was “tremendous.” He also pitched in to help IU hold Washington’s leading scorer Great Osobor, who had a season-low four points with no field goals and three turnovers.

“He’s great,” IU forward Luke Goode said of Renau. “He’s one of the better bigs in the conference in finishing and getting to his left hand…it’s really nice to have him on a two-game road trip. Credit to him, he played his butt off tonight and we’re going to need that type of production against Oregon.”

It was the third time in Reneau’s last four games that he’s come off the bench and he’s averaged 18.3 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 59% from the field as a reserve during that stretch.

Woodson initially resisted the idea of Reneau coming off the bench back in January while he missed time…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/indiana-basketball-weighed-drastic-measures-065223258.html

Author : The Herald-Times

Publish date : 2025-03-02 06:52:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.