Malik Reneau entered the locker room at halftime with four points, with the Hoosiers only down by one. At the conclusion of the game, Reneau finished with 23 points and a 71-65 Indiana win over Ohio State in his back pocket.
Stepping up in key moments has become a recurring theme for the sophomore, who is emerging into one of Indiana’s most reliable performers on the court this season.
But getting to the place he has gotten himself to today has not come without its challenges.
“This summer, you know, he put a lot of work in. [He] never really left campus,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “So you just got to tip your hat to him. He put the work in this summer and it’s paying off.”
Certainly, that work is paying off at a time when it has been needed the most with Indiana weathering the previous seven-game absence of starting guard Xavier Johnson and as the Hoosiers journey into the heart of Big Ten play.
Along with work put in the summer, Reneau learned the most of his game today when sitting behind and practicing against current Golden State Warrior Trayce Jackson-Davis and former Indiana forward Race Thompson.
Jackson-Davis and Thompson highly contributed to his growth and success in the paint, but a strong suit for Reneau at this point of the season has been his success from beyond the arc. And there is only one former Indiana legend that he can attribute that success to.
“I’ve been working out with Coach [Calbert] Cheaney a lot,” Reneau said following his 25-point showing against North Alabama on Dec. 21. “Just understanding how he played the game, how he was able to work around the court.”
Since his dominating showing against North Alabama in December, Reneau has shot 8-for-12 from the 3-point line, which has brought tremendous versatility for this young Indiana team over these past four games.
On Saturday night, however, it was his success in the paint, specifically in the second half, that guided Indiana toward its third conference win of the season. Following a four-point showing in the first half, Reneau contributed 19 of Indiana’s 34 second half points, unlocking his true potential to get the Hoosiers back on track over the Buckeyes.
“When we went back to the locker room we told [Malik], ‘You got to pick your game up. You’re not playing as well,’” Xavier Johnson said postgame. “Malik responded. I just told him, ‘I’ll find you. I’ll hit you in the pocket passes and go score the ball,’ and he did.”
Shooting 7-for-9 from inside the paint, Reneau was a powerhouse that Ohio State was struggling to stop in the second half of play. Along with Reneau’s 19-point contribution, Johnson collected 10 points in those final 20 minutes of the game in his first on-court action back in Assembly Hall since Nov. 16, 2023 against Wright State.
Despite his uncommon zero-point performance over in Lincoln against the Cornhuskers on Wednesday, Johnson’s absence was immeasurably felt throughout the team over the seven games that he was unavailable to play in due to a foot injury.
“He’s our captain, our guard, so we all look to him for leadership, and he’s done an absolutely amazing role doing that,” CJ Gunn said. “He’s going to help us lead us through this Big Ten [slate] and hopefully win the championship.”
Johnson’s one assist in the second half went to Reneau with 7:45 left in the game in the turning point of the game, where the Hoosiers extended their lead over the Buckeyes by five, and later came away with the victory.
Johnson and Reneau are a one-two punch that should be heard for games to come throughout the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
