* Thank you for joining me tonight. Stay locked in with the IDS for game stories and more updates to come!
* FINAL: IU defeats Western Illinois 98-65 to start the season 1-0. Portland State will be in Bloomington this Saturday for the next game.
* With 3:41 remaining, IU leads Western Illinois 94-59.
* The Hoosiers lead 80-48 with 8:47 remaining.
* IU leads Western Illinois 72-42. The Hoosiers are pulling away here in the second half. Durham has 21 points while Smith has 20 points to lead IU.
* IU now leads Western Illinois 61-31 after a three-pointer by Justin Smith.
HALFTIME: IU leads Western Illinois 46-25 after the Leathernecks hit a half-court shot as the buzzer sounds. Durham leads IU with 15 points on 6-6 shooting from the field.
* MEDIA TIMEOUT 58.8 seconds remaining: IU leads Western Illinois 46-22. Durham is a perfect 6-6 from the field with 15 points.
* Durham hits another three to push it to a 44-22 IU lead with less than two minutes remaining.
* Al Durham makes a three to give IU the 41-22 lead.
* TIMEOUT: A windmill dunk from Smith forces Western Illinois to call a timeout. IU leads 34-18 with 5:31 remaining.
* The 18-0 run from IU ends after an and-one bucket converted by Western Illinois. The Hoosiers lead 30-18 with 6:10 remaining.
*Anderson checks in for Hunter.
* Pretty move by Jerome Hunter who finishes around Western Illinois in the fast break to take the 28-15 lead.
* IU has been taking advantage of Western Illinois on the fast break. The fans are feeding off the energy IU is currently playing with. Five Hoosiers' have also already scored.
* 7:59 MEDIA TIMEOUT: IU leads Western Illinois 24-15 thanks to a 12-0 run over the last 2:17.
*IU leads 21-15 after back-to-back baskets from Smith including a fast break dunk. There is 8:20 remaining in the half.
* 11:44 MEDIA TIMEOUT: Western Illinois leads IU 12-11. Durham leads all scorers with seven points.
* Western Illinois takes the 12-11 lead after a layup from Webster.
* De'ron Davis checks in and Franklin returns.
* Rob Phinisee, Damezi Anderson and Race Thompson check into the game.
* MEDIA TIMEOUT 15:08 remaining: IU leads Western Illinois 11-8. Durham has seven points and Smith has four.
* TIMEOUT 16:33 remaining - Durham scores seven straight points to give IU the 9-3 early lead.
* The first points of the season for IU comes on a Justin Smith fastbreak dunk.
* Western Illinois wins the tip and we are underway.
* IU starters: Al Durham, Armaan Franklin, Justin Smith, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Joey Brunk. Western Illinois starters: Zion Young, Kobe Webster, C.J Duff, Ben Pyle, James Claar.
* Check out this story for what you need to know coming into the game.
* Hello and welcome. College basketball is finally back. IU men's basketball opens regular season play tonight at 7 p.m. against Western Illinois. Follow along with this thread for live updates throughout the game. You can also follow myself on Twitter @PhillipHoosier and our columnist Caleb Coffman - @CalCoff for more updates throughout the game.
