Quick thoughts on the 75-71 loss to Kansas:
how did that happen
The Assembly Hall was electric, and Indiana had a great first half performance against the No. 2 Jayhawks. The Hoosiers played hard, moved aggressively to score or fouled and made some timely 3-pointers. Trey Galloway was excellent going 6-for-8 from the field with 13 points, and newcomer Mackenzie Mgbako wasn’t far behind with 11 points in the first 20 minutes. The Hoosiers led by 12 points at one point but had to settle for an eight-point lead at the break. Fouls were an issue for both teams, with KJ Adams and Kevin McCullar Jr. both having trouble. Two Kansas players, and four different Hoosiers — Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Gabe Cupps, and Kaleb Banks — each committed at least two fouls. Kansas was allowing its opponents to shoot just 42 percent on 2s, but Indiana made 57.9 percent from 2s in the first half.
The Jayhawks cut Indiana’s lead to five at 42-37 with 17:07 to play, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Mgbako and Galloway pushed the lead to 11, forcing Bill Self to take a timeout with 15:46 to go. He plays. While the Hoosiers struggled to get things going offensively, Kansas couldn’t capitalize. By the under-12 media timeout, Indiana’s lead remained in double digits at 54-44. But Kansas finally broke through. The Jayhawks went on an 11-4 run to close within three at 58-55 with 8:39 to play, forcing Mike Woodson to take a timeout.
After Kansas held within one point at 59-58, Gabe Cobbs answered with a layup to give the Hoosiers a 3-point advantage. The Jayhawks took their first lead on a Hunter Dickinson bucket with 4:53 to play. But Indiana answered with a bucket from Reno to make the score 63-62. Kansas regained the lead 64-63 on a DaJuan Harris bucket with 4:16 left in the game. Galloway split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 64 with 3:51 remaining. McCullar’s 3-pointer gave Kansas a 3-point advantage with 3:29 to play. The Jayhawks pushed the lead to five with Dickenson’s bucket with 2:33 left.
Indiana had a chance to tie or take the lead with less than 30 seconds left, but Galloway’s 3-pointer missed and the Hoosiers were forced to foul out. McCullar missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Indiana couldn’t secure the rebound when it went out of bounds outside of Ware. Indiana fouled out again and McCullar made both to make it 73-69 Kansas. Weir’s bucket off Mgbako’s missed 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds left made it 73-71 Kansas. The Hoosiers had to foul again, and McCullar made both, giving the Jayhawks the 75-71 win.
Outstanding performance
It was a career day for Galloway, who finished with a career-high 28 points in 38 minutes.
Statistics that stand out
Indiana’s offense struggled in the second half as the Hoosiers scored just 31 points on 33.3 percent shooting. Meanwhile, Kansas shot 51.9 percent in the second half and scored 1.19 points per possession.
IU’s final individual stats
Rhythm-free final statistics
Post-game show Assembly Call
Submitted to: Kansas Jayhawks
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