BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - On Sunday, Indiana opens up its 2023-24 exhibition season with a matchup against the University of Indianapolis.
The Hoosiers and the Greyhounds meet for the sixth time in the history of the two programs on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Last season, Indiana went 23-12, falling in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals to Penn State. The Hoosiers made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed and defeated No. 13 Kent State in the first round before falling to eventual final four participants No. 5 Miami.
UIndy went 26-5 a season ago, going 17-3 in conference play. After losing in the semifinal in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, the Greyhounds exited the DII NCAA Tournament in the first round with a loss to No. 8 McKendree.
Ahead of Indiana's first exhibition of the season, here's everything you need to know for the Hoosiers to take on the Greyhounds.
The Last Meeting
The last time these two programs met was in November of 2017. Indiana took down UIndy 74-53 in an exhibition matchuo.
In that game, Robert Johnson led Archie Miller's Hoosiers in scoring with 18 points. De'Ron Davis and Freddie McSwain Jr. each added 11 and 12 points respectively in Indiana's dominating victory over UIndy.
Injury Report
On Friday, Mike Woodson told the media that everyone would be available except for Jakai Newton and potentially Kaleb Banks.
"Everybody is healthy except Kaleb Banks and Jakai (Newton)," Woodson said. "Banks could play if I wanted to play him. But I've dealt with players with groin or calf pulls, and it's nagging. I'm going to need Kaleb Banks, so we might not play him (Sunday) for sure."
Storylines
Freshman Mackenzie Mgbako ready to play Sunday.
Earlier this week, Indiana freshman Mackenzie Mgbako was arrested on two class A misdemeanors. The incident, first reported by Zach Osterman of the IndyStar netted Mgbako with a formal charge of criminal trespass from the Monroe County prosecutor's office.
It was unclear whether or not Mgbako would face any discipline from the Indiana basketball program itself. When asked Friday, Mike Woodson said Mgbako would not receive any further punishment.
"(Mgbako) will be playing," Woodson said about Mgbako, Sunday's exhibition versus UIndy being the first opportunity to get on the court against an opponent. "He's been practicing. All that's behind us. We got to move forward."
What will Indiana's rotation look like against UIndy?
While yes, this is just an exhibition matchup against UIndy, there are still a few things fans will be able to take away from a rotation stand point.
The starting lineup figures to feature captains Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway, along with freshman Mackenzie Mgbako and sophomores Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware.
Who will be the first off the bench for Indiana? Will Gabe Cupps get the backup point guard minutes, or will Woodson stagger Johnson and Galloway's minutes and have one of them operate as the backup point guard?
Most of what we see on Sunday will not be concrete looking forward, especially from a rotation standpoint, but it will still be interesting to see what Woodson and the staff decide to do in the first exhibition of the season.
Quick Hitters
Who?: Indiana (0-0, 0-0 in Big Ten play) vs. UIndy (0-0, 0-0 in the Great Lakes Valley play)
When?: Sunday, October 29th, 1:00 p.m. ET
Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: Big Ten Plus – Zion Brown (play-by-play), Austin Platt (analyst), Amanda Foster (sideline)
Radio: IU Radio Network, Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (analyst), John Herrick
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