This is the Trey Galloway Indiana needs.

IU's senior guard won’t score 25 points every game, as he did in the Hoosiers’ 76-73 win at Ohio State. But the combination of aggression and poise Galloway displayed as Indiana dissolved an 18-point second-half deficit is what this team needs from him all the time.

Galloway had a six-point, 2-for-5 first half. Despite tying Malik Reneau for the most minutes in the half (18), Galloway was behind Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako in shot attempts while also not having an assist at the intermission.

Then, Galloway made a 3-pointer early in the second half to chip into Ohio State’s 49-31 lead. From that point on, he was in full attack mode. Every time Galloway touched the ball, he aimed to get down the teeth of the defense. He didn’t force too much, but he consistently made himself a threat to the Buckeyes’ defense.

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“I thought ‘Gallo’ was huge tonight,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “He stepped up, he wanted the ball. We put him in a lot of situations where he could have the ball in his hands and run pick-and-rolls and make plays, and he delivered.”

It was the type of ball-dominant performance Galloway has only had one other time in his four-year career. That came on Dec. 16 against Kansas, when Galloway scored a career-high 28 points to somehow keep the Hoosiers in the game against a much better Jayhawks squad. Galloway shot the ball a career-high 17 times that day. On Tuesday, he took 15 shots, the second-most in his career.

Woodson trusted Galloway to run the whole show from the outside, much like he did with Jalen Hood-Schifino during the back half of last season, or like he did with Xavier Johnson during IU’s push to the NCAA tournament in 2022.

“I think coach really trusts me with the ball in my hands, and I trust myself,” Galloway said. “… I can make plays for other people as well, so just being able to get the ball and make the right play, make the right read, that’s the biggest thing for me.”

Galloway operated an abundance of pick-and-rolls and dribble-handoffs with Reneau and Kel’el Ware throughout the night. Whether the play ended up getting Galloway down the middle of the lane or creating deep post position for Reneau — who had a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds — Ohio State could not slow these actions once IU got rolling.

Galloway’s bombardment of Ohio State’s defense led to a 47-point second half for Indiana. His half of pristine decision-making culminated in the go-ahead basket with 22 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, Indiana drew up another pick-and-roll for Galloway and Reneau, with Ware ready to seal his defender in the center of the paint. Galloway drove right off the screen and when Roddy Gayle helped off Anthony Leal in the right corner, Galloway delivered the pass to Leal, who nailed a rainbow 3 from the corner to put the Hoosiers ahead 74-73.

“That trust we have for each other is special,” Galloway said of the play. “I trusted him with the shot. (I) got downhill, they helped from the corner, (I) kicked it to him, he made it. I want him to shoot that 10 times out of 10.”

Galloway’s second half — 19 points, four rebounds and four assists on 7-for-10 shooting — contained a level of confidence and leadership Woodson has so badly called for from his senior guards during IU’s upsetting season. With Johnson out indefinitely with his left elbow injury, there’s no reason for Galloway not to conduct the offense alongside Reneau and Ware.

The NCAA tournament is still far out of IU’s reach, although Tuesday was the Hoosiers’ first Quad 1 win of the season. Galloway still has an extra year of eligibility should he use it. For the sake of the 2024-25 season, IU should continue to let Galloway get accustomed to running the show from the backcourt.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU basketball: Trey Galloway scores 25 in comeback win over Ohio State