Indiana basketball returns to Big Ten action with a home game against Rutgers.
The Hoosiers (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) completed nonconference play with another unexciting win, this one over Winthrop. IU has gotten progressively worse from 3-point range (18.7% over the past three games) while improving from inside the arc (65.4% over that stretch).
The Scarlet Knights (8-5, 1-1) go as far as Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey take them. The freshmen, who are projected as top-5 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, are Rutgers’ only double-figure scorers. Harper had a triple-double Monday against Columbia.
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Zach Osterman and Michael Niziolek keep up with IU all season. Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Please refresh for the latest updates and highlights.
Zach Osterman, IndyStar: Indiana 74-71
These teams enter the new year substantially talented, and far from fully formed. Rutgers has taken more lumps, but can still hurt the Hoosiers. This isn’t the prototypical Steve Pikiell team that’s given IU so much trouble in recent years, but it will cause problems.
8:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.
via BetMGM
Favorite: Indiana by 5.5 points
Over/under: 157.5 total points
Moneyline: Indiana -250, Rutgers +195
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Indiana a 67.8% chance of winning.
| . | IU | Rut. |
| NET | 66 | 91 |
| KenPom | 56 | 83 |
| EvanMiya | 49 | 82 |
Remember IU’s great football season with our commemorative book
- Dylan Harper (22.8 points, 37.3% 3-pointers, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists)
- Ace Bailey (18.2 points, 7.6 rebounds)
- Emmanuel Ogbole (4.3 points, 3.9 rebounds)
- Jamichael Davis (3.2 points)
- Jeremiah Williams (7.8 points)
Dec. 21: Indiana 74, Chattanooga 65
Dec. 29: Indiana 77, Winthrop 68
Thur., Jan. 2: vs. Rutgers, 8:30 p.m., Peacock
Sun., Jan. 5: at Penn State, noon, BTN
Wed., Jan. 8: vs. USC, 7 p.m., BTN
Dec. 21: Princeton 83, Rutgers 82
Dec. 30: Rutgers 91, Columbia 64
Thurs., Jan. 2: at Indiana, 8:30 p.m., Peacock
Mon., Jan. 6: vs. Wisconsin, 7 p.m., FS1
Thurs., Jan. 9: vs. Purdue, 6 p.m., FS1
