IU will be in a rare situation against a short Wichita State team Friday where its lack of size won’t be much of a disadvantage.
And the Hoosiers might only get bigger.
IU Coach Tom Crean said he expects junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea to be available for the NCAA Tournament after reinjuring his right knee in IU’s Big Ten Tournament win against Northwestern last Thursday.
Crean classified Mosquera-Perea’s current status as “day-to-day.”
“He’s shooting and has been warming up and rehabbing, moving pretty well,” Crean said Sunday. “We’re on a belief he’s going to be back.”
Mosquera-Perea was injured when he collided with Northwestern center Alex Olah. The Hoosier big man's knee buckled awkwardly as it hit Olah’s shoulder, causing him to immediately scream out in pain.
He went through limited warmups before IU's loss to Maryland but was unable to play.
“It certainly could have been a lot worse,” Crean said. “But it ended up not being that way, which is fortunate for him, to not have to go through another trek like that, and for us.”
Mosquera-Perea’s return would add size to IU’s bench against a short Wichita State squad.
The Shockers rank No. 255 in the country in effective height, just 20 spots better than the Hoosiers.
Wichita State has only three players listed at 6-foot-7 or taller who play more than 15.5 percent of available minutes. All three are exactly 6-foot-7.
Although he’s struggled at times with consistency, a 6-foot-9 Mosquera-Perea could help exploit the Shockers’ lack of height. When healthy, he has proven to be a threat to score inside while his nearly 7-foot-6 wingspan helps him alter shots and grab rebounds.
Freshman center Emmitt Holt filled in well in his extended minutes in the Big Ten Tournament with Mosquera-Perea sidelined, but said afterwards that IU missed their starting center.
“I feel ready to play whenever they need me, but we definitely miss Hanner,” Holt said Friday. “We definitely hope he comes back soon.”
As it turns out, Holt might get his wish.
IU and Wichita State will play Friday at approximately 2:45 p.m. in Omaha, Neb.
