NCAA Basketball: UConn, Indiana, Texas and Louisville takeaways from 2023 Empire Classic

3rd place – Indiana Hoosiers

Positive takeaway: Malik Reneau starting to come into his own

The star of the Hoosiers in the first three games was Kel’el Ware, the Oregon transfer who led the team in both scoring and rebounds. But against UConn and Louisville’s frontcourts, the former five-star recruit was just okay, averaging 11.5 ppg in two games. The player who stepped up in his place was starting forward Reneau, who led the team in scoring overall.

The other former five-star recruit was the lone brightspot for the Hoosiers in the 20-point loss to UConn, scoring 18 points. And he also had 12 points and 20 minutes in the tight win over Louisville. How he fits next to Ware in the frontcourt will always be a question but it’s good to know that Indiana has another big to rely on in case Ware doesn’t have it that day.

Negative takeaway: Hoosiers need to do something about Mackenzie Mgbako

The five-star freshman forward has struggled throughout the first five games, including against reach competition. He had two points and didn’t make a field goal in 23 minutes against Texas while being limited to just nine minutes played due to foul trouble versus Louisville.

Mgbako’s minutes are starting to get less, with guys such as CJ Ginn and Anthony Walker benefitting as a result. The team just has no spacing when he’s playing the three-spot and he’s certainly not good enough to take minutes away from the true frontcourt players. If Mgbako doesn’t find a way to impact the game in a winning way, Coach Mike Woodson is going to have a difficult decision to make with him going forward.