BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s men’s basketball team showed Hoosier fans a little something Sunday when the No. 17 Hoosiers went to No. 12 Tennessee and pulled out a 66-62 road victory.
Yes, it was just an exhibition game, but it was played like a regular season game between two high-quality teams. Indiana wasn’t perfect, but the Hoosiers showed some toughness, some stopping power, and finally some shooting in the second half.
Friday’s 7 p.m. ET exhibition against Marian at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall won’t have the same glitz as a Power Four showdown does, but what Indiana’s fans want to see is no drop-off in performance from what Indiana demonstrated in Knoxville.
Marian brings former Hoosier Pat Knight back to Bloomington in a coaching role. Knight played for his father, Bob Knight, at Indiana from 1991-95 and was later on his father’s staff at Indiana and Texas Tech before he took over as head coach of the Red Raiders from 2007-11. Knight also coached at Lamar from 2011-14. He was hired at Marian in May.
Here are three things to watch for as the Hoosiers battle the Volunteers.
1. Can Indiana Shoot It More Consistently?
There was a kind of all’s well that ends well vibe about Indiana’s 3-point shooting against Tennessee. The Hoosiers missed all 11 of their first-half attempts from beyond the arc at Thompson-Boling Arena. Indiana made amends in the second half with a 4-for-8 recovery. Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Kanaan Carlyle all found the mark from long range.
The feast-famine vibe mimicked some of Indiana’s performances in 2024. For example, in Indiana’s 76-73 victory at Ohio State in February the Hoosiers were 1 of 7 from 3-point range in the first half with a 4 of 6 turnaround in the second half.
Few teams achieve complete consistency in any aspect, but it would do the Hoosiers good to have two solid shooting halves. Two 4 of 11s in each half would represent a solid night for the Hoosiers.
2. Will Some Of The Injured Players Make An Appearance?
It wasn’t a huge shock that Trey Galloway and Jakai Newton didn’t play at Tennessee, but Bryson Tucker’s absence was a small surprise.
On his radio show this week, Indiana coach Mike Woodson said Galloway has practiced recently and that Newton has practiced occasionally as he tries to get his knee into proper shape. He did not offer an update on Tucker, who injured his thigh in a practice just before the Tennessee trip. Tucker’s injury was thought to be minor.
“We didn’t have Trey Galloway, Jakai Newton or Bryson Tucker playing at the same time, so those are three big contributors for us. Once we get them all back? It will gel us even more and push us to another level we can be at,” Indiana point guard Myles Rice said on Thursday.
If Galloway or Tucker can play, it gives a more complete picture of what the Hoosiers will be all about. It would be understandable if injured players continued to sit to avoid injury risk, but it would be nice for them to be able to shake off some rust, too.
3. Play Fast, Play Mistake-Free
Woodson has said on multiple occasions that the roster make-up should allow the Hoosiers to play at a faster tempo. Indiana tried to do that against Tennessee, but off-season rust plus a good defensive team in the Volunteers made it easier said than done.
“In (playing fast), you kind of open yourself up for turnovers, which we had 10 the first half, but we had three the second half. So that’s promising in terms of how we really want to play,” Woodson said on his Inside Indiana Basketball radio show on Monday.
Rice said playing fast takes time to get right.
“I don’t think there’s such a thing as mistake-free basketball. You’re going to have turnovers, you’re going to have missed reads here and there. It goes back to picking our spots,” Rice said.
“Having a healthy relationship with not only the players, but the coaching staff as well to feed off of one another and knowing where we want to push and how we want to do it,” Rice continued.
Rice himself was mistake-free in the stat sheet with no turnovers against the Volunteers. Six of Indiana’s 13 turnovers were committed by post players Reneau and Oumar Ballo, so if the Hoosiers can continue to calibrate their running game, they might reach that fast and mistake-free sweet spot.
