Mike Woodson Previews Indiana's Game At Northwestern

Indiana continues a challenging stretch of games in Big Ten play with a trip to Northwestern. Tipoff against the Wildcats is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., and the game will air on Big Ten Network.

Coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers are coming off a 77-76 overtime win Friday at Ohio State, a bounce-back victory after two straight 25-point losses to Iowa and Illinois. But before Indiana heads north for Wednesday's game, Woodson spoke to reporters Tuesday on Zoom and discussed recent performances, injuries and his thoughts on the Wildcats.

Here's everything Woodson said.

On Mackenzie Mgbako's recent struggles and how Woodson coaches him through that...

Woodson: "Just gotta keep working through it. I mean, he's taken some good shots and just hasn't made them. So I just gotta – I'm not going to throw him to the curb because he's a big piece of what we do. But we just gotta keep working, man. Practice, that's the only way you get out of a funk when you're struggling to make shots, you gotta come in and put the time in and keep shooting and keep working on it."

On how much Malik Reneau and Bryson Tucker have practiced lately and if he expects them to be available Wednesday...

Woodson: "Well, a lot's going to depend on Malik today. He worked some yesterday. Tucker worked a little yesterday. So I'll gauge it today. We got a 12 o'clock practice before we take off, so I'll get a better feel of where Malik and Bryson is at this point."

On if there has been consistency in practice recently despite ups and downs in games...

Woodson: "Well practice is what it is. We work in practice. There's no days off. They get their days based on the NCAA mandate that allows them a day, so many days a month. But when we're at practice, we work. I mean, we've had a couple of bad games. We went on a nice five-game stretch where we played pretty good basketball, and then we got smacked in the face two games. But we responded, I thought, in the Ohio State game. And now we gotta get ready for Northwestern, who's playing some pretty good basketball."

On trusting Anthony Leal in crucial moments...

Woodson: "Well, he's a senior. He puts the time in practice when we're going through our practice sessions, and I trust him. I mean, that's a big part of it. It's not to say he's gonna come in and make every play that you ask him to make, but when you do throw him in you trust him and you know you're gonna get winning plays. That's important when you're trying to win basketball games. You gotta trust the players that you put out there, and they gotta trust you. Anthony's kind of been that way since I've been coaching him. He hasn't played a whole lot, but I still trust the minutes that I throw him out there that he's gonna give me something positive."

On the reason for Indiana's 3-point shooting inconsistency...

Woodson: "Well, early on we struggled, and then I thought we figured it out and got out percentage up to about 36-37%, so I was feeling pretty good about that. And then we hit a wall again. And I mean, we're not doing anything differently. We shoot them. Guys just gotta be comfortable, man, I gotta get them more comfortable in making them because we are getting some good looks, especially from key guys that we expect to make them. We just gotta keep working. That's all you can do."

On if there's anything besides scoring that he'd like to see Mgbako improve upon, and how he's handled recent struggles...

Woodson: "Well, a few games he's got in foul trouble, and then the game up at Ohio State, hell, we just – listen, man, I'm trying to win basketball games. It ain't always the player. The players gotta adjust to how you're coaching in the game, and we had a group in there that was pretty solid. So if you're about team, it shouldn't matter. I mean, it could be your night the Northwestern game, where we play on Wednesday night. So I mean, we'll keep working with him, and we gotta get him back going, because like I said, he is a big piece to what we do."

On why Luke Goode has been productive, and if he'll stay in the starting lineup when others return from injury...

Woodson: "I don't know what I'm going to do yet, as far as [the starting lineup] is concerned. But Goode had some of the same looks early in the season that he was struggling to make, and you know, he's found his rhythm. The other night he was bigger than ever. It was the most points he's ever scored in a college game, and I tip my hat to him because he works. He comes to work every day. He helps lead. He does everything you want in a player, and you expect that because he's a senior. He's been around. He's done it at Illinois, and so we expect him to do it here. So I'm very pleased in terms of how he's been playing and we're gonna need him to continue to grow and play at that level to help us win games."

On his evaluation of Trey Galloway's play and where he can step up moving forward...

Woodson: "Again, I'm not – Trey Galloway came off a major knee surgery, probably a knee surgery that probably takes a little over a year to bounce back. And he's been – he's giving us all he's got. I can't complain about Trey. Trey's been a workhorse over the years for me. I've gotten to know Trey probably more than anyone that's still left on this team, and I love everything about him because I do know he tries his best when he's out there on the floor. He's had his ups and downs, but hey, I'm willing to go to go war with him every time he steps on the floor. So I'm good with Trey. He'll figure it out as we continue to go. I mean, he hasn't played bad basketball. He's been pretty good off and on for us, and he's helped us win some games. We're gonna need him to stay positive and keep working because that's what he does when he's in practice, and a lot of that you see in the games sometimes because he plays hard."

On close games against Northwestern in the past, what makes them a tough matchup and keys for Wednesday's game...

Woodson: "They play hard. I mean, coach Collins, he pushes those guys to play hard. We've had some close games with them and haven't been able to get over the top. Like I tell our guys before they get on this plane today to head up to Chicago, you can't go in there with a soft attitude or a soft mind, because I mean, they're gonna force you to play hard and you gotta meet that physicality because if you don't, it could be a long night. That's where I think the game is gonna be won tomorrow. Both teams, I think we play hard at times, I just gotta get us playing harder for 40 minutes consistently. They've had their ups and downs this season as a team as well, but when you go on the road you gotta do everything right, man. I mean, it's hard winning on the road. You can't turn it over. You gotta rebound with them, and you gotta make shots. I mean, that's the key ingredient, and win the 50-50 game. So we'll see where we are come tomorrow night."