BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana defeated Kennesaw State by a final score of 69-55 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Friday evening.
The game was tied 27-all at halftime. The Hoosiers were led in the game by Tamar Bates with 19 points, and Jalen Hood-Schifino added 18. Race Thompson tied his career high with a team high 14 rebounds.
Indiana (10-3, 1-1) will now have a long layoff before facing Iowa on Jan. 5.
See also: Mike Woodson and Tamar Bates post-game
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Indiana has the adjustments. Indiana struggled offensively early in the game as Kennesaw State packed the paint and doubled the post. But IU went with a smaller lineup and pulled their big men out to the arc to set screens — and it changed the game. IU outscored Kennesaw State 54-33 over the last 25 minutes of the game.
2. Good shooting from the guards. Indiana had lacked guards who could score efficiently in recent years, but that wasn’t the case on Friday. Guard trio Tamar Bates, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trey Galloway combined to go 16-of-24 from the field for 46 of IU’s 69 points. Galloway hit a couple 3-pointers in the first half to wipe out an Owls lead, and Hood-Schifino and Bates combined for 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the second half alone.
3. Responding to adversity. The Hoosiers were playing without arguably their two best players — Trayce Jackson-Davis and Xavier Johnson. And they trailed 22-15 in the first half in a game that felt like it could end up with a loss. Kennesaw State led by four with just 12 minutes remaining. It was clearly going to take mental toughness, and the Hoosiers had it, with a 33-15 run to close the game.
HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL BOX SCORE AND SPECIALTY STATS
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
