MINNEAPOLIS — Indiana defeated Minnesota Wednesday evening at Williams Arena by a final score of 70-58.
The Hoosiers led at halftime 30-25 and were led in the game by Kel’el Ware with 26 points.
The three keys to the game, highlights and expanded stats are below.
See also: Mike Woodson postgame | Ware and Galloway postgame
Indiana (17-13, 9-10) will host Michigan State on Sunday afternoon.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Hoosiers navigate foul trouble, Ware dominates. Indiana big men Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau both picked up two first half fouls. They each got a third fairly early in the second half, and Mackenzie Mgbako picked up a fourth midway through the second half. But IU coach Mike Woodson stuck with Ware with two first half fouls, and played a smaller lineup in the second half. Ware was able to play 34 minutes despite the fouls, and staying in the game kept him in rhythm and resulted in a massive stat line — 26 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal.
2. Mgbako gets hot again. As part of the smaller lineup, Mgbako played power forward for a critical stretch of the second half when he made three 3-pointers to help IU pull away. Those makes came in a just over three minute span that saw the Hoosier lead expand from nine to 16. Mgbako finished with 15 points.
3. Minnesota shooting woes. IU’s defense forced 18 Minnesota turnovers and limited the Golden Gophers to 38.6 percent shooting overall and 19.2 percent from three. Minnesota missed plenty of open looks, but IU had something to do with the poor shooting as well. The Gophers missed 19 of their first 21 threes, and at one point were just 11-of-39 from the field overall before a late flourish.
HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL STATS
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