BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sports myth suggests that everything — good and bad — balances out. If you miss enough shots, you’ll make enough to matter.
On Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, myth turned real, and it absolutely mattered. IU (11-3 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten) set a season high with 12 3-pointers and beat Rutgers 84-74 for its third-straight victory.
“Our goal was to play together, play as a team, play team defense, be in the right spots at the right time and knock down open shots,” swingman Mackenzie Mgbako said. “Stick to our cues and make the right plays.”
Mission accomplished.
IU, so bad from 3-point range in recent games and shooting just 30.6% for the season, found beyond-the-arc magic against Rutgers (8-6, 1-2), highlighted by guard Anthony Leal’s near-half-court, turnaround 3-point buzzer-beating bank shot that gave the Hoosiers a 41-34 halftime lead.
Luke Goode, Mgbako and Trey Galloway each had three 3-pointers. Leal, Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle each had one.
“Guys stepped up,” coach Mike Woodson said. “They made them. It was nice to see. I hope it continues.”
IU was 12-for-27 against Rutgers after going 1-for-20 a few days earlier against Winthrop.
“(Against Winthrop), we had good looks and didn’t make them,” Woodson said. “Tonight, guys knocked them down. We need that moving forward.”
Woodson said he didn’t do anything different in practice to generate the improved shooting.
“As a coach, every time they shoot it, I think it’s going in. They had same looks and put it in the hole.”
Leal’s 3-pointer put a charge into halftime.
“I chased it down. I knew the clock was winding down. I turned around and shot it. Weird things seem to happen to me. I’ll take it, but it was a lucky shot.
“I never focus on my own stats. It’s cool that it went in, it was cool to celebrate, but we had to make sure we got the win.”
IU did. Rice led the way with 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Hoosiers thrived on second-chance points with a 34-8 advantage.
“Early on, we noticed they weren’t boxing out,” Leal said, “and we saw the opportunity to get some offensive rebounds. They got tired and we’re going after rebounds.”
For the second straight game, Goode started in place of center Oumar Ballo, who came in 30 seconds into the game after a Malik Reneau knee injury. Ballo finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
“Ballo played great,” Woodson said. “He was a big part of us winning. He plugged the hole for us like he’s supposed to.”
As for Reneau, who spent the rest of the game with an ice pack on his knee, Woodson said, “We have to evaluate and see where he’s at. He couldn’t come back in. He’s a big piece to the puzzle. If he can’t play, it’s next man up.”
Rutgers was without Big Ten leading scorer Dylan Harper and his 22.8 average. Fellow freshman Ace Bailey did his part to make up for it with a game-high 39 points.
“He’s special,” Woodson said. “He’s a good player. He’s young. We threw a few things at him and he made some tough shots. That’s what great players do.”
Leal was among the Hoosiers who guarded Bailey.
“He’s super skilled,” Leal said. “He’s obviously a tough matchup. We knew he liked to favor his right hand. We wanted to force him to his left and make it tough on him.”
As for the game, four points each from Rice and Mgbako boosted IU to a 10-7 lead. A Galloway 3-pointer off a Goode rebound, and then a Goode 3-pointer, pushed the Hoosiers ahead 16-10. The Scarlet Knights scored 13 straight points and built a 26-19 lead. Three-pointers from Galloway and Mgbako, and then a Rice rebound basket, got IU within 28-24. The Hoosiers regained the lead at 30-29 on a Carlyle 3-pointer with six minutes left.
Baskets from Mgbako and Ballo pushed the Hoosier lead to 34-29 with four minutes left. Leal’s half-court buzzer beater gave IU a 41-34 halftime lead.
Mgbako led with nine points. Rice had eight.
IU pushed ahead 47-36 four minutes into the second half. Four minutes later, it was 54-38. At that point, the Hoosiers had a 27-3 edge in second chance points, plus 11 assists against three turnovers.
Rutgers got the lead under 10 with nine minutes left. A Bailey 3-pointer made it 58-52. A Rice 3-pointer restored the Hoosiers’ double-digit lead. Goode’s second 3-pointer put IU ahead 65-53 with seven minutes left.
The Hoosiers stayed in control the rest of the game. They travel to Penn State on Sunday.