Indiana improved to 6-4 on the season and picked up its first Big Ten win on Wednesday by defeating Penn State in overtime, 87-85.
In a game where Indiana led for all but 2:37, seeing the game end the way it did wasn't all too pleasing.
It was a win, nonetheless, and Indiana now focuses on a Maryland opponent on Monday that beat No. 6 Wisconsin just a few days prior.
Here are the main takeaways from Indiana's win over Penn State.
Veteran guards show up, break out of slump: Al Durham and Rob Phinisee were both struggling to find much consistency this season and it was hurting Indiana in a big way. The duo, however, combined for 29 points on 11-of-22 shooting. Durham finished with 18 and hit some big shots throughout the game. Phinisee added 11 and the game-winner. Before Wednesday, Durham was shooting 13-of-41 in his last five games, and Phinisee was averaging 3.7 points per game in the previous three. Now, it's important to keep that effort up longterm.
Trey Galloway needs to remain a starter: The freshman guard has proven to be Indiana's best playmaker on the floor. Not only is he able to break down the opposing defense, he is a skilled passer as well. He is now second on the team in assists and in his three starts, has put up eight assists to just two turnovers. He had 10 points and five assists on Wednesday.
Rebounding isn't getting better anytime soon: Before the tip on Wednesday, it was announced that Joey Brunk had back surgery and would be out indefinitely. IU responded by getting outrebounded, again, 34-26. With no Brunk, it is clear that this is not a good rebounding team and outside of Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis, there aren't consistent enough pieces to help on the glass. IU is going to have to find some way to be more efficient on the glass.
Race Thompson becoming a steady rim protector: We knew the consistent effort that Jackson-Davis could provide at the rim on the defensive end of the floor, but finding another player to protect the rim was important. Thompson had four blocks against the Nittany Lions and now ranks fifth in the Big Ten in blocks per game (1.7) and block percentage (6.7%).
IU needs a full 40-minute performance: Indiana once again struggled to put together a full game. After leading by 12 midway through the second half, IU failed to put the game away, allowing Penn State to come all the way back to take its first lead of the game with 20 seconds left. We have now seen a few less than full performances from Indiana against Butler, Northwestern and now Penn State over the last month.
Still need more from the bench: With Rob Phinisee seeing a bench role in the past few games, he did provide a spark with his outing on Wednesday. Outside of that, however, the only other bench player to provide any impact was Jerome Hunter (four points). Khristian Lander played just three minutes and had two fouls. Jordan Geronimo played two minutes and didn't record a stat. IU needs more in order to be successful.
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.
