No. 14 Indiana men’s basketball will have to wait to enjoy a plateful of Thanksgiving food, as it travels to the Bahamas to play in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis.
The Hoosiers will play three games in three days as they get their first test away from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against some premier college basketball competition. Indiana enters with the third highest odds to take home the tournament crown, behind No. 22 University of Arizona and No. 3 Gonzaga University.
Last time out Nov. 21, the Hoosiers escaped an upset attempt from the University of North Carolina Greensboro with a 69-58 win. After racing to a 17-3 lead, Indiana struggled to string together productive offensive possessions and allowed a perimeter-centric Spartan offense to tie the game at 40 with 15:57 remaining in the second half.
“We dropped the rope a little bit and let them back in the game,” head coach Mike Woodson said in a press conference Tuesday morning. “But the beauty about all games when you play, is how you respond.”
Starting with 5 straight points from freshman forward Bryson Tucker, the Hoosiers pieced together a crucial 13-4 run that served as the turning point in the win.
Tucker, who finished with a career-high 14 points, shined as a bright spot in an Indiana bench that’s been depleted with injuries. Fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway is a prime example as he continues to play on shortened minutes while recovering from off-season knee surgery.
The Culver Academies product started 31 games and averaged a career-high 10.6 points per game last season. Although he was held scoreless against the Spartans, Galloway has showcased his importance to Indiana’s offense as a facilitator, averaging a team-high 5.3 assists per game while coming off the bench.
However, Woodson is in no rush to preemptively return the veteran guard to additional minutes on the floor.
“It’s still a long season, and I need Trey Galloway in a uniform,” Woodson said. “I’m just going to take it a game at a time and just see.”
With both sophomore guard Gabe Cupps and redshirt-freshman guard Jakai Newton also recovering from injuries, the Hoosiers supporting cast continues to remain barren. Yet, when asked about which players will see the court during a strenuous three-game stretch, Woodson emphasized the importance of staying prepared.
“Right now, I don’t know the rotations in terms of who’s going to play and who’s not going to play,” Woodson said. “If you’re in uniform, you just got to be ready when called upon.”
First up for Indiana is a Wednesday afternoon matchup against the University of Louisville, a program looking to claw its way back to its former glory. Despite three national championships and 28 Sweet 16 appearances in its program history, Louisville hasn’t produced a winning season since 2020-21.
Meet the Cardinals
After posting a 3-17 record in Atlantic Coast Conference play last season, the program fired Kenny Payne and hired head coach Pat Kelsey during the offseason with hopes of restoring it’s winning ways.
Kelsey, formerly the head coach of the College of Charleston for three seasons, has the Cardinals entering the Bahamas with a 3-1 record in his first year at the helm. Their sole loss came in a 77-55 blowout at home against the then-No. 12 University of Tennessee on Nov. 9. On Oct. 27, the Hoosiers beat the Volunteers 66-62 in Knoxville in a charity exhibition.
Still, Louisville’s new head coach has some extra motivation to take down Indiana when his team takes the court Wednesday.
“I grew up as an Indiana fan when I was a kid.” Kelsey said. “Steve Alford was my favorite player when they won the championship in 87’. I just remember rooting like crazy for Indiana.”
From childhood fan to opposing coach, Kelsey has made plenty of offseason moves to build a team capable of upsetting the favored Hoosiers.
A new-look roster forged by the transfer portal has shown promise during non-conference play. 16 of the Cardinals’ 17 rostered players are transfers –– the 17th is true freshman forward Khani Rooths. Kelsey has brought a scoring-by-committee identity with him from Charleston, which has developed multiple players as scoring options.
Senior guard Reyne Smith headlines the Cardinals’ scoring output, averaging 14.8 points per game on 42.1% 3-point shooting off the bench. Smith is one of five Louisville players scoring double-digit points per game.
Defensively, the Cardinals excel at creating mistakes, forcing 19 turnovers per game –– a concern for the Hoosiers who have struggled to take care of the ball.
One major contributor to Louisville’s stingy defense is senior guard Chucky Hepburn who spent three seasons as a starter for Wisconsin. The Omaha, Nebraska, native was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in 2023-24 and faced the Cream and Crimson five times during his tenure in Madison.
“We’re familiar with Chucky based on where he came from in the Big Ten,” Woodson said. “We got to pay close attention to him.”
In addition to a team-high four assists per game, Hepburn is ranked 10th among Division I players with three steals per game.
Louisville enters the bracket slotted right behind Indiana in the betting odds. Regardless, the Hoosiers will have a slight edge as KenPom lists them as a 6-point favorite with a 71%-win probability.
“It’s not like we can take any possessions or plays off based on their talent,” Woodson said. “We’re going to have to come in and compete for 40 minutes and see where it leads us.”
Indiana will face off against the Cardinals at noon Wednesday inside Imperial Arena in Nassau, Bahamas, with the game being broadcast on ESPN.
A win will likely result in a matchup with the favorites Gonzaga, barring an upset from the University of West Virginia. Should the Hoosiers advance to play the Bulldogs in the semi-finals, it may end up being Indiana’s toughest test of the season.
The highest ranked opponents on Indiana’s schedule are the only other Big Ten schools in the AP Top 25 Poll, with No. 13 Purdue and No. 15 Wisconsin. Gonzaga currently sits well inside the top five and has looked dominant through its 5-0 start of the season.
Led by head coach Mark Few, who holds the highest winning percentage by any coach in the history of Division I college basketball, the Zags have reached the Sweet 16 in nine straight NCAA Tournaments.
Indiana would likely enter the potential matchup as significant underdogs, but a win against a high-quality program could pay large dividends for postseason seeding come March.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
