2/20/2022 basketball Edit

IU continues with short-handed roster as big matchup with Ohio State looms

Alec Lasley • TheHoosier

Senior Writer

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With five games left in the regular season, nagging injuries continue to hit the Indiana roster.

The Hoosiers have been without backup point guard Rob Phinisee for the last eight games and there still doesn't seem to be a firm date on when the fourth-year guard will be back on the floor.

"He (Rob Phinisee) will not be back anytime soon," IU head coach Mike Woodson said on Saturday.

Phinisee has not played since suffering a foot injury that was later diagnosed as plantar fasciitis against Penn State on January 25.

At the same position, second-year guard Khristian Lander has been working through multiple minor injuries for much of the season. His availability for Monday's game at Ohio State is in question.

"We did not have Khristian Lander today (Saturday) and there is a chance he might not play," Woodson said. "We are shorthanded but there are plenty of other guys that are wearing a uniform that have to step up until those guys get back."

Lander has played sparingly this season and is averaging 3.0 points and 1.0 assist per game in 9.1 minutes. He has appeared in 12 games. He has missed a few games due to 'lower leg soreness'.

Phinisee was averaging 5.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 19.5 minutes off of the bench. Two games before his injury, he had a career-high 20 points and the game-winning three against Purdue - Indiana's first win over the Boilermakers after nine straight losses.

With just Xavier Johnson as the lone point guard on the roster at full health, it will once again be a team effort off of the bench against Ohio State on Monday to provide some spot minutes of rest for Johnson.

"I think that Anthony Leal comes into play, same with Tamar Bates," Woodson said. "They do not press a lot but will play a 2-2-1 occasionally back to a 2-3 zone. They do not trap a lot, so we have guards that can get the ball up the floor. Initiating and getting us into our offense based on our quick strikes, they are not used to doing that.

"It is what it is. I cannot worry about the fact that we don’t have certain guys. We just have to mix and match and see what happens."

The Buckeyes are led on the defensive end by point guard Jamari Wheeler. Wheeler is terrific and was first in the Big Ten in steals per game in each of the last two years. This year he is fourth at 1.5 steals a game. Overall, his steals percentage is second in the conference at 3.2 percent.

Indiana sits at 16-9 (7-8) and are ninth in the Big Ten after losing four games in a row. The Hoosiers also sit at No. 48 in the KenPom rankings and No. 44 in the NET. In most projected NCAA Tournament brackets, they sit at one of the 'last four in' or 'first four out' categories.