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.

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.

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.

Prior to Indiana’s game against Rutgers, Ballo was again listed as questionable according to the Big Ten availability report. He also participated in warmups. The contest against Rutgers begins at 8:30 p.m. inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Coverage will be available on Peacock.

The Hoosiers (13-3) earned their fourth win in five Big Ten Conference games, the program’s best start since the 2015-16 season.

With Malik Reneau on the shelf due to a right knee injury, Indiana needs Oumar Ballo to play like the dominant big man he's proven to be at times this year and during his previous two years at Arizona.