The Indiana basketball program is coming off of a gritty win over Iowa this week but may be without some key pieces in its lineup this weekend against Penn State.
Both Malik Reneau (ankle) and Xavier Johnson (arm/elbow) exited Tuesday’s 74-68 win with injuries and did not return. Reneau played just three minutes before going down with an ankle injury that resulted in a need for crutches.
Johnson exited in the second half after 32 minutes of action after taking a hard fall on his elbow.
On Friday, Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson said the team is ‘still evaluating’ both players and their availability for Saturday is still to be determined.
“Right now we’re still evaluating them,” Woodson said. “I’ll know more today when I get to practice. I spoke to Tim (Garl) this morning, and at this point I don’t know. I really don’t. Both went down, X’s elbow and Malik’s ankle. They didn’t do anything yesterday (in practice), so we’ll see if they’re on the floor to do something today. So we’ll see.”
Reneau has been a steady force for Indiana this entire season — leading the team in points (16.0), field goal percentage, second in rebounds (5.9), assists (2.8) and blocks (0.7).
He had scored in double figures in 18 of the 20 games he played in before Tuesday. He had also scored 20+ points in five of the last nine games before the injury.
As for Xavier Johnson, the sixth-year point guard has had a very disappointing season — both from a health and production standpoint. He is averaging just 8.3 points and 2.1 assists — both career lows — in 14 games. Johnson missed seven games earlier this season with a foot injury.
Since his return, he has averaged just 6.6 points on 34.8 percent shooting. He also has 17 turnovers to just 16 assists.
Indiana has had its expected starting lineup in action just 10 of the 21 games played.
“It’s been this way since November,” Woodson said about the injuries. “We haven’t had a full team since November, and nobody has even printed that. It’s like, go in anyway.
Indiana has had four different starting lineups this season.
“It’s been a struggle because we just haven’t had a full deck, and I don’t know if we’re ever going to have one, to be honest with you,” Woodson added. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with X, and I don’t know how long Malik might be out, if he’s going to be out.
“We’ve just got to keep — that next-man mentality has got to stay in play. Guys that haven’t logged a lot of minutes, your number might be called, and you’ve got to be ready to play and step up and help us win basketball games.”
Senior guard Anthony Leal — who had a career-high 13 points in Tuesday’s win — will see increased time, as will senior forward Anthony Walker.
Indiana faces Penn State on Saturday at Noon ET on FS1.
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