ANN ARBOR, Mi. - For the first time since 2018, Indiana is to 2-0 in Big Ten play following a 78-75 road win versus Michigan on Tuesday night.
In the win against the Wolverines, the Hoosiers stuck to their bread and butter, dominating in the paint behind a strong performances from the frontcourt. From the starters to the bench guys, Indiana got contributions from within the frontcourt up and down the roster.
"Our bench played great," head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. "(Anthony) Walker, Kaleb (Banks), Payton (Sparks), they were all great off the bench and we're going to need that."
The combination of Walker, Banks and Sparks entered Indiana's first true road game of the season on Tuesday averaging a combined 10.6 points per game. That frontcourt trio combined for 20 points on 9-12 shooting off the bench for Indiana in the win over Michigan.
Mackenzie Mgbako added 11 points, including two clutch free throws late, and knocked down one of Indiana's three 3-pointers in the game.
However, when push came to shove down the stretch, it was Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware that came through for the Hoosiers like they have all season long.
With 1:14 left on the second half clock, Woodson and the Hoosiers called a timeout with the game deadlocked at 73. Coming out of the timeout, Indiana got the ball down low to Ware and let him go to work in the low post. The sophomore did the rest, converting on a running jump hook that gave Indiana a 75-73 lead with 53 seconds to go.
"(Ware) made a helluva move to drop that bucket in," Woodson said of Ware's late go-ahead bucket. "I thought that was the difference in us securing the win."
"We believe in him, there's a reason we're going to him," Woodson added. "You have to come through and I thought he answered the bell tonight."
Ware has been a revelation for Indiana this season after transferring over from Oregon in the offseason. Through the first eight game of the season, the North Little Rock, Arkansas native is pacing the Hoosiers in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game.
Ware's running jump hook, while perhaps the game-sealing score, wasn't the only big, momentum swinging bucket late in the game.
The basket that proceeded Ware's late jump hook came with 2:35 to go in the second half. Malik Reneau had the ball in the post, looking to go to work. Michigan sent a double-team his way and the sophomore forward wisely passed the ball back out to the perimeter. The possession ultimately ended in a Trey Galloway layup that momentarily put the Hoosiers up by two.
"Coach (Calbert) Cheaney pulled me over and said 'if you're getting double-teamed you have to trust your teammates,'" Reneau said. "I started trusting in my teammates and they trusted me to get the ball out to them and we made some huge plays down the stretch when I kicked the ball out."
Indiana scored 52 points in the paint in the win over Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday night. The Hoosiers, as they've done so often this season, controlled the interior, using their size to their advantage for bucket after bucket in the painted area.
"Overwhelming size," acting Michigan head coach Phil Martelli said when asked how Indiana was able to dominate down low. "They put the ball in positions for (Reneau and Ware) to go get buckets."
"(Indiana) has two really talented bigs down there," Michigan forward Will Tschetter said when asked the same question. "All credit to them, they're really good."
Indiana's offensive attack has continued to be extremely one-dimensional this season with the Hoosiers getting an overwhelming majority of their points in the paint while continuing to be reluctant to shoot the ball from distance. That was once again the case against Michigan, with Indiana going 3-9 from 3-point range.
However, as the saying goes, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' and right now the Hoosiers are winning games. As Mike Woodson said earlier this week, "Maybe we might be that team that makes the tournament not making threes, you ever think about that?”
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