As Expected, Indiana Too Big, Too Strong in Exhibition Rout of Marian

No one expected Marian to give No. 17 Indiana much trouble in their exhibition basketball game Friday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly. And they didn't.

Indiana had a huge edge in size up front, and it showed for 40 minutes. Forward Malik Reneau and center Oumar Ballo were nearly unstoppable — and nearly perfect on the night — in the Hoosiers' 106-64 win.

Reneau had 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field and Ballo was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field on his 16-point night. Even backup center Langdon Hatton was a perfect 4-for-4 and had 10 points. That's 19-for-20 shooting, which is even good against air.

"We're were good from two and we got a lot of good looks,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "Ballo is proven, what he did at Arizona. He's a double-double guy and he plugs the middle up. There's a reason why we went after him hard. He and Malik, they're good at buddy ball, like we like to call it. They both can pass the ball and they both can score down low. That's a nice combination.''

"We just need to get him in tip-top shape. He's heading in the right direction.''

Senior guard Trey Galloway saw his first action of the year after sitting out last Sunday's exhibition game at Tennessee, and had three points. He's coming back from offseason knee surgery, but got the start instead of Kanaan Carlyle, who watched the game in street clothes. He was out with bruised ribs. Senior guard Anthony Leal (knee) also didn't dress.

Freshman Bryson Tucker made his Indiana debut as well, and was impressive. He missed Sunday's game with a bruised thigh. He scored a team-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Indiana shot 65.7 percent from the field.

"Tuck is definitely advanced. He's crazy athletic and he's going to be a big piece for us this year,'' said redshirt freshman Jakai Newton, who saw his first action as a Hoosier after missing all of last season with a knee injury.

The Hoosiers led wired to wire. Five players were in double figures — Mackenzie Mgbako was the fifth, with 10, and three others had at least six, Gabe Cupps (8), Myles Rice (6) and Luke Goode (6.) Goode, who missed his first 10 three-pointers as a Hoosier after transferring in from Illinois, nailed two threes late in the game.

Indiana was 0-for-11 from three in the first half at Tennessee and were just 1-for-11 Friday night. They finished 4-for-19 in Knoxville and were 6-for-25 Friday. That's 10-for-44 total, a measly 22.7 percent.

"This is the deepest team that we'e had since I've been here, but we're not shooting the ball well from the three-point,'' Woodson said. "But we'll keep working on it.''

Things start for real on Wednesday night when Indiana hosts Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the regular season opener. The Cougars, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference, were 17-15 a year a go. The game starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.