Christian Watford out indefinitely

Add one more to the injury list.

Sophomore forward Christian Watford is out indefinitely after suffering a broken left hand during the Hoosiers’ 84-83 loss to Michigan State on Sunday, IU coach Tom Crean announced Tuesday. Watford had surgery to repair the injury the same day.

“We feel for him, because he’s coming off his best week,” Crean said. “He was absolutely relentless on Sunday and was a huge part of why we had the game that we had.”

The Hoosiers are already without junior guard Verdell Jones and sophomore guard Maurice Creek, who are both out indefinitely with knee injuries. Jones has knee inflammation which has kept him out since Jan. 23, while Creek fractured his knee on Jan. 15 and will likely miss the rest of the season.

Watford said following the game last weekend he hurt the hand after scoring a basket. He said it would be all right, though his hand was protected by a cast.

Watford is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17 points per game. He is also sixth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage at 83.5 percent. He led the team in scoring with 21 points against Michigan State, a game in which he also banged knees with a Spartan.

Wednesday’s home matchup with Minnesota will be the first game Watford will miss in his college career. He started all 31 games last season and the first 22 games this season.