Has the absence of Malik Reneau made Oumar Ballo better? Many of Ballo’s successful plays feature him in motion, with or without Reneau on the floor.

Oumar Ballo flexed his biceps, shrugged his shoulders and bumped his chest with senior forward Luke Goode — while putting perhaps the final dagger in USC’s hopes of pulling a road upset.

The Trojans take an early 10-point lead, but the former Arizona standout powers his way to 23 points as the Hoosiers prevail, 82-69, and drop the Trojans to 1-3 in Big Ten play.

Behind 23 points from sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo , the (RV/-) Indiana Men's Basketball team (13-3, 4-1 B1G) dispatched of visiting USC 82-69 on

In Ballo’s absence, senior center Langdon Hatton, who entered Sunday averaging just 4.4 minutes per contest, played for a season-high 26 minutes and notched 7 points and 11 rebounds.

Oumar Ballo powered his way to 23 points and Indiana overcame an early double-digit deficit to beat USC 82-69 Wednesday.

Sped Southern Cal (9-6, 1-3) up, slowed his team down, created good shots and made tough ones. Drew several fouls. Finished with six assists and nine rebounds. A very good night. ∎ Trey Galloway: 8/10 Second game running Rice and Galloway have looked so in sync marshaling IU’s scheme.