BLOOMINGTON – IU had four starters score in double figures Saturday against Penn State. For most teams, that’d be a positive sign for the chances of winning games. Those four players — Kel’el Ware, Malik Reneau, Mackenzie Mgbako and Trey Galloway — combined for 66 points.

Moderate production from the bench should’ve been enough to take down a Penn State team that entered the day with a losing record (10-11) and without its leading scorer. But Indiana’s bench was essentially nonexistent in this one, leading to a devastating 85-71 loss to the Nittany Lions.

Just three of the Hoosiers’ points came from the bench. Those three points? They came from a CJ Gunn three-point play while IU trailed by 18 with 2:13 left.

Doyel: IU fans seem to be done with Mike Woodson after loss to Penn State, and they have a point

The lack of contribution from Indiana’s reserves has been an issue all season. Indiana coach Mike Woodson has shown little faith in what his backups provide, and they haven’t given him much reason to be called upon.

With starting point guard Xavier Johnson sidelined Saturday with an elbow injury, Woodson’s rotation shrank. Only three players — Gunn, Anthony Leal and Anthony Walker — came off the bench against Penn State. Those three players combined to play just 30 minutes. In that span, that group shot 1-for-6 from the field, grabbed three rebounds and had two assists.

Leal followed a career-high scoring night by missing his two 3-point attempts. Gunn continues to struggle with a field goal percentage of 32.9% in his sophomore season. After a promising December, Walker has trailed off, scoring more than five points twice since the calendar flipped to 2024.

Because of Johnson’s consistent injuries, IU has only had four guys it trusts to score. Point guard Gabe Cupps was the fifth starter Saturday, and he logged two points on 1-of-2 shooting in 33 minutes of action. That brought the freshman’s scoring average down to 2.8 points per game.

Indiana’s shortage of depth represents a poor job on Woodson’s part with the construction of this squad.

Cupps was supposed to be a sharpshooter, but he rarely looks for his own shot. Gunn’s best trait coming from Lawrence North was his shooting, and at this point, it appears he looks for his own shot too much. Leal has made 10 of his 14 shots this season, but he’s only played 108 minutes through 22 games. Walker wasn’t deemed a scorer in his four seasons at Miami, so it’s no surprise he’s not giving the Hoosiers much in that department.

Remember Kaleb Banks? If you don’t, I don’t blame you. The sophomore forward has three straight DNPs and has only seen 13 total minutes of action since Jan. 9.

Backup big man Payton Sparks was brought to Bloomington this year to provide a jolt off the bench after two All-MAC seasons at Ball State. He got a DNP too Saturday and has had one game all season in double figures.

Freshman guard Jakai Newton is the only other scholarship player on this roster. Newton had a procedure done on his knee in August and is redshirting.

All in all, Indiana’s second units have been disastrous this year. When the bench starts filling in games for the Hoosiers, the question isn’t if a reserve can provide a spark and make something happen; it’s, How much ground will Indiana lose in this span?

Sure, the games Johnson and Ware have missed due to injury have dampened IU’s depth throughout the year. But injuries are to be expected, and when IU has a starter go down, it doesn’t have a fifth guy to depend on. Let alone a sixth, seventh or eighth guy.

“That's been the frustrating part for me from a coaching standpoint because I do think if we're pretty healthy and guys do what they're asked to do, we could be a pretty decent basketball team,” Woodson told the media Friday. “But it's been a struggle because we just haven't had a full deck, and I don't know if we're ever going to have one, to be honest with you.”

Woodson and his staff crafted a roster without dependable scoring off the bench and with obvious long-range shooting deficiencies. Despite having an idle scholarship spot, Indiana’s bench is dreadful.

The loss to Penn State sank the sliver of NCAA tournament hopes IU had left. To avoid being in this same spot 12 months from now, the Hoosiers have to re-tool their bench. Several players on the current bench seem transfer portal-bound — whether by their own doing or a nudge from the coaching staff.

Fresh off an offseason in which he had to replace seven scholarship players, expect Woodson to be busy again turning over a roster with obvious warts. How he manages that this spring and summer will likely make or break his tenure as IU coach.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball bench scores 3 points in bad loss to Penn State