At the Buzzer: Indiana 83, North Alabama 66

Quick thoughts on an 83-66 win against North Alabama:

How it happened

After Tuesday’s close call against Morehead State, Indiana bounced back with a better start on Thursday night. The Hoosiers led by as many 13 points, made six 3-pointers and got 13 bench points in the opening 20 minutes. Malik Reneau led the way, scoring 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including a trio of 3-pointers. The Hoosiers also turned it over just three times and scored 1.27 points per possession. The defense, however, could have been better. Indiana allowed North Alabama to score 34 points on 46.4 percent shooting. The Lions got within six points late in the first half before a pair of Indiana 3-pointers, including one by Reneau near the end of the half, stretched the lead to nine.

Indiana stretched its lead to 15 at 52-37 after a 7-0 run over a span of 1:41, leading Tony Pujol to take a timeout with 16:05 remaining. The strong 3-point shooting continued into the second half as Indiana’s ninth made 3-pointer, courtesy of Mackenzie Mgbako, stretched the lead to 64-44 at the 11:51 mark. The lead ballooned to 25 on Reneau’s fourth 3-pointer of the game with 8:26 to play. The Hoosiers were never challenged the rest of the way, cruising to their ninth win of the season ahead of an eight-day break.

Standout performers

Reneau scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including 4-for-4 on 3-pointers. Reneau also had seven rebounds in 27 minutes. Trey Galloway dished out a career-high nine assists to go along with eight points in 29 minutes.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana finished 12-for-24 on 3s, its most makes in a game from the perimeter in the Mike Woodson era. It was the most made 3-pointers for the Hoosiers since an 87-52 win against North Alabama on Dec. 13, 2020. Indiana made 13 3s in that win.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

Filed to: