‘He just looked out of character’: Malik Reneau non-factor in Indiana basketball loss to Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE — Indiana basketball forward Malik Reneau played all of five minutes in the second half of Saturday night’s 79-59 loss to Purdue.
Reneau committed a flurry of personal fouls coming out of halftime that was reminiscent of the struggles he had staying on the floor as a true freshman.
He committed three fouls in 70 seconds, with two of those coming on the same possession. It was a rare instance of Indiana coach Mike Woodson leaving one of his players with three fouls on the court only to see it instantly backfire.
“I thought Malik tonight just wasn’t Malik tonight,” Woodson said after the game. “I thought they had a lot to do with that from a defensive standpoint. He was trying to do it himself, he just looked out of character. He’s been pretty solid for us this season, but tonight wasn’t his night.”
Reneau went to the bench with 17:15 left in the game and checked back in with 9:48 to go. He fouled out for good with 7:09 remaining on the clock.
Why Indiana basketball needs Reneau on the court
He came into the game leading the Hoosiers at 16.4 points per game, but finished with six points on 3-of-11 shooting and three turnovers. The only time Reneau was less productive this season was when he suffered an ankle injury in the opening minutes of a 74-68 win over Iowa.
His final field goal came with 10:13 remaining in the first half.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said Reneau was the focus of his team’s game plan the first time the teams played, and it was no different in the rematch. Of the four times Reneau has scored fewer than 10 points this season, two of those games have come against the Boilermakers.
The Hoosiers are 0-3 when Reneau has fouled out this season — the other losses were to Illinois and Connecticut. He's averaging a team-high 2.7 fouls per game this season.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball's Malik Reneau 'out of character' in Purdue loss
