Author: Mike Schumann

As Kel’el Ware walked back into the IU locker room on Tuesday evening, game ball in hand, he fist-bumped everyone along the way back to his seat. Ware had just made 11 shots (on 12 attempts), and more than half of them (six) were assisted by Trey Galloway.  The 7-footer knew Galloway played a major role in his 27-point performance in a 74-70 win over Wisconsin — an effort that probably moved Ware up NBA Draft boards. Before he sat down, Ware and Galloway connected one more time in the locker room with an embrace. Ware and Galloway had never…

Sound the alarms, Indiana won!  Too soon for alarm jokes? The Hoosiers started strong against nemesis Wisconsin, running out to a 32-17 lead with 6:09 left.  But from there the Badgers started to chip away, and trailed by just five at halftime.  At the 10:31 mark of the second half, Wisconsin completed the comeback, tying the game at 54.  After the game was suspended for 20 minutes due to a fire alarm, Wisconsin led by two with 2:06 left.  But Indiana closed the game on a 6-0 run to win it. Let’s take a deeper look at how IU won…

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana defeated Wisconsin on Tuesday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall by a final score of 74-70. The Hoosiers led at halftime 38-33.  They were led in the game by Kel’el Ware with 27 points.  Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako each added 14. The three keys to the game, highlights and final stats are below. See also:  Woodson and Ware discuss the win over Wisconsin. Indiana (15-13, 7-10) will travel to Maryland to face the Terrapins on Sunday. THREE KEYS TO THE GAME 1. Strong shooting performance.  IU shot 61.7 percent from the field including 42.9 percent from three. …

Indiana’s game against Wisconsin was evacuated in the second half after fire alarms sounded inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Building security told fans to leave the building with the game tied at 54 and 10:06 remaining.  The alarms could be heard during the game before it was stopped. Here’s the official statement from IU Athletics on what transpired: “It was determined a fire alarm went off in the balcony. Emergency management officials stationed in the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Command Center followed state law and evacuated the arena for the safety and well-being of everyone in attendance. Once it was…

Indiana appears to be back to full strength on Tuesday evening. Sixth-year guard Xavier Johnson is in uniform for pre-game warmups. Johnson has not played since a Jan. 30 game against Iowa. According to Don Fischer on the pregame radio show, Johnson is expected to come off the bench tonight. Trey Galloway and C.J. Gunn were both listed as questionable on the Big Ten’s availability report, but both players are in uniform for pre-game as well. On the season, Johnson is averaging 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 40.7 percent from the field. Indiana is 8-6 in…

IU coach Mike Woodson has had choice words for his players in the immediate aftermath of multiple losses this season. And let’s be honest, to varying degrees, that’s nothing new in the sports world. At Nebraska in early January, Woodson said his starting guards (Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway) played “awful.”  After a loss to Northwestern, Woodson called out starting forward Malik Reneau.  “He didn’t play tonight,” Woodson said on his postgame radio spot.  “He was awful.” He’s called out players by name for missing open shots, questioned Kel’el Ware’s toughness in the first game against Purdue, highlighted Galloway’s six…

When it comes to IU basketball freshmen, Mackenzie Mgbako joined an elite group on Monday. Mgbako was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after he averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal per game for the Hoosiers. The former McDonald’s All American was one of four major conference freshmen to post at least 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in conference play last week. The Gladstone, N.J., native secured a career-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and one steal against Nebraska on Feb. 21. He followed that up with seven points, three…

It looks like a case of too little, too late, but Xavier Johnson appears to have a chance to finish his college career where he wants to be — on the court. Johnson injured his left elbow on Jan. 30 during a home game against Iowa.  He’s generally been seen wearing a brace on that elbow since, although he didn’t have it on Saturday at Penn State.  That was the first sign Johnson was trending towards a return, and the next clue came today via head coach Mike Woodson. “He did some things yesterday (Sunday) on the floor, not a…

It’s time to put Indiana class of 2024 signee Liam McNeeley on the one-and-done radar. The 6-foot-7 small forward from Texas is projected by ESPN to be a lottery pick in their 2025 mock NBA Draft. That outlet’s Jonathan Givony projects McNeeley will be chosen with the No. 11 pick in June of 2025. Playing on the national No. 1 high school team (Montverde Academy, 28-0), McNeeley has elevated his name on a roster full of future NBA players.  His teammate Cooper Flagg is the projected overall No. 1 pick by ESPN in 2025. McNeeley is Indiana’s lone signee in…

Losers of eight of their last ten games, Indiana appears on track to finish with an overall losing record for just the 18th time in the last 100 years. But peeling back the onion a bit, things are even worse than just the basic won/loss record. Holistically, analytics site KenPom.com says Indiana is the No. 105 team in the nation as of Sunday evening based on adjusted efficiency margin (difference between a team’s offensive and defensive efficiency).  For context, there are only 82 high major college basketball programs. Adjusted efficiency margin has become an important part of the formula used…