Indiana lost at Penn State 83-74 on Saturday, and sophomore forward Malik Reneau led the way with 27 points. He spoke with the media afterward, and talked about his frustrations during the losing streak, which has now reached four straight against the Nittany Lions.
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00:00 >> I guess a lot to talk about, but first of all, your game today,
00:02 let's just start there.
00:03 What was productive for you, what was working for you?
00:06 >> Just being close to the basket, being a threat,
00:09 they had a little small guy on me the whole game.
00:11 Just trying to assert my dominance down low, get wide open shots and
00:15 that's about the basket.
00:16 And put pressure on them, get fouls on them and stuff when I'm down low.
00:21 So that was basically what I was trying to do today.
00:24 >> Obviously, good talk.
00:26 I believe you guys have had this little free throw issue all year long.
00:29 But today you made nine of your first ten, but
00:31 then you guys kind of struggled in the second half.
00:33 Coach mentioned that maybe it's still just kind of mental with you guys.
00:35 I mean, in your mind, what's going on with that?
00:37 >> Yeah, I mean, when it gets out loud, we gotta knock those free throws down.
00:41 That keeps us in the game, that keeps us close.
00:44 It makes it a game at the end of the game.
00:46 But going down the stretch, we came short on a couple.
00:50 Rushing, not really taking the free throw serious like we need to.
00:54 But yeah, it's definitely mental going up there and
00:58 being confident enough to make the free throws.
01:00 So I think that's what we need to do and focus on.
01:03 Just going up there, be confident while we're going up there,
01:05 shooting free throw shots.
01:06 >> When you talk about free throws or threes, either one,
01:09 is it the individual confidence?
01:11 Is it something collectively you guys can do for each other and
01:14 keep picking guys up?
01:16 >> We definitely can help each other build confidence up.
01:18 But it's definitely individual confidence too, knowing you can,
01:22 every time you've seen yourself make this shot before, going in there and
01:25 shooting a shot and being confident in shooting that shot.
01:28 That you believe in that shot.
01:29 But the team could definitely help out, build courage and
01:33 building confidence for the player to know that.
01:39 If it's me, then I tell Gallo, Gallo, I trust in you to make the shot.
01:43 You know what I mean?
01:43 Like stuff, little comments like that.
01:45 Like, come on, Gallo, you can make this shot.
01:47 Little confidence boosters for them to make shots.
01:49 I really think that's effective.
01:51 >> You guys have lost eight to ten out of the NCAA picture and
01:55 all that, you know what the, why do you think this season's kinda taken a slide
01:58 at us?
01:59 >> Really I have no answer to that one.
02:06 I mean, we're gonna continue to play these rest of these games all hard,
02:11 try to win them all, and see what we can do in the Big Ten tournament.
02:15 >> I mean, how difficult is this to deal with?
02:18 I mean, you got in the tournament last year and
02:21 you're used to winning down in Miami.
02:23 I mean, how difficult is this for you to deal with, the whole team?
02:27 >> It's very difficult as a team, knowing that we got the talent and
02:32 the players to do it and make the tournament, but when stuff doesn't go right,
02:36 we let games slip by, and it's just hard to overcome when you let so
02:43 many games slip by, and the season slowly, and slowly, it just passed by you,
02:48 and by you realizing you got four games left, so boom.
02:52 It's just hard to fight back from that.
02:54 >> Well, how hard is it though, too, that you guys are in these games?
02:57 You guys were in the rest of the game the other night,
02:59 you were gonna have to look to tie the game.
03:01 Here you were down within three, and you guys haven't been able to close them out.
03:05 I mean, is that frustrating?
03:07 >> Yeah, that's definitely frustrating, but our problem is we let the deficit,
03:11 we gave too much deficit at half time, and then we try to bring it back,
03:16 coming into the half, coming into that second half, and
03:19 we try to fight our way back every time in every game.
03:22 So we really gotta jump out on people and see what they're doing,
03:25 see how they feel about it.
03:27 But I mean, that comes by playing hard, playing tough, and
03:32 just really going out there for these last four games and competing.
03:35 >> Thanks, Mike.