Indiana basketball rides hot start to win over Minnesota

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana basketball enjoyed the friendly confines of Assembly Hall once again on Friday night.

The Hoosiers led the entire way through a 74-62 win over a Minnesota team that had a rough night shooting the ball. The Gophers shot a season-low 38.9% and were 3 of 20 from 3-point range (1 of 14 in the second half).

Indiana basketball (12-5; 4-2 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game win streak for Minnesota (12-4; 3-2) that dated back to the first week of December. The Hoosiers had four starters in double-digits with Mackenzie Mgbako's career-high 19 points leading the way.

While IU had a lengthy scoring drought in the final 10 minutes, its lead never dropped under double-digits in the second half.

The Hoosiers lone loss at home came against then No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 16.

Mackenzie Mgbako finds his footing

Mgbako was as confident as he’s been all season on offense with his effective outside shooting opening up the lane for him. He was smooth off the dribble and put Minnesota’s defenders on their heels when he went to the basket.

While he’s still struggling to find consistency on a nightly basis, he brings a missing element to the Hoosiers offense when he’s clicking. It was central to IU’s hot start in the opening minutes and also helped them push the lead to more than 20 points coming out of halftime.

Indiana basketball has its best start of the season

Indiana was locked in as it jumped out to a 25-8 lead in the first eight minutes. Trey Galloway and Mgbako hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game and they combined for 15 points during that stretch.

The energy at Assembly Hall reached a fever pitch when Mgabko set Galloway for alley-oop on a fastbreak that the guard started on the opposite baseline with a steal.

The Hoosiers had an aggressive approach on offense — they got into the bonus before the under 12 media timeout — and better ball movement while avoiding the turnovers that have plagued them in recent games.

Indiana’s hot start came with Xavier Johnson on the bench. Johnson, who was ejected in the team’s previous game against Nebraska for a shot below the belt to Antwone Woolfolk, was replaced in the starting lineup by Gabe Cupps.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball stays hot at home with win over Minnesota