Indiana men’s basketball sophomore center Kel’el Ware and senior guard Trey Galloway recorded double doubles to lead the Hoosiers to a 70-58 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
Indiana stormed to an 8-0 run to start the contest, punctuated by a fastbreak slam from sophomore center Kel’el Ware. The 7-foot Ware was the catalyst for most of the Hoosiers’ output on both ends of the floor, notching 12 points and grabbing eight boards in the first half alone.
After Indiana’s scorching start, turnovers allowed Minnesota to gain momentum. The Hoosiers’ senior backcourt pairing of Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway turned the ball over a combined seven times in the first period, and the Gophers took a 23-18 lead with a little under eight minutes remaining in the half.
In the final 7:27 of the period, though, Indiana outscored Minnesota 12-2 and headed into the break leading 30-25. That stretch of play came without the services of sophomore forward Malik Reneau, who spent all but seven minutes on the bench with a pair of fouls.
Despite recording consecutive outings with at least seven or more made triples, the Hoosiers started Wednesday night’s contest completely ineffective from deep. In the first 20 minutes, Ware shot and missed the team’s only 3-point attempt.
Ware picked up a third foul and was relieved by senior forward Anthony Walker a little over three minutes into the second half. Roughly 20 seconds later, Walker landed awkwardly on a layup and writhed in pain, grabbing his right knee.
Foul trouble for the Hoosiers’ front court persisted. Reneau was assessed for a third foul within a minute following Walker’s injury and was immediately sent to the bench. Still, Minnesota’s shooting woes allowed Indiana to retain a comfortable lead.
Ware kept Gopher center Dawson Garcia in check, as the junior could hardly produce anything on the offensive end. The Hoosiers held a double-digit advantage over the Gophers in points in the point, and Indiana’s offense ultimately found success from deep.
Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako drained back-to-back triples near the midway point of the second half to put the Hoosiers ahead 47-32, and he knocked down a third shortly thereafter. While Indiana made four 3-pointers in about four minutes, Minnesota shot an abysmal 2-of-19 until the 5:55 mark of the second half.
The Gophers started to heat up for a few moments, but it proved short-lived as the Hoosiers coasted the rest of the way. Ware finished with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Galloway added 13 points and logged 11 assists.
Mgbako poured in 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, helping lead Indiana to a third consecutive victory. With the win, the Hoosiers moved to 17-13 on the season and 9-10 in conference play.
Next, Indiana returns home to host Michigan State in the regular season finale Sunday afternoon. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m. and will be televised on CBS.
Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
