Indiana Basketball: 5 key questions, other key notes facing Hoosiers as Big Ten play resumes

Indiana basketball has wrapped up its non-conference schedule last week and head back into Big Ten play o Wednesday with a matchup at Nebraska.

The Hoosiers sit at 10-3 overall — and 2-0 in Big Ten play — but ended the non-conference without any signature wins. It lost to UConn, Auburn and Kansas — and had narrow wins over numerous mid-major or low-major opponents.

With the season hitting its peak, here are some of the major questions facing Indiana basketball as with the resumption of conference play.

When will Xavier Johnson return?

This is by far the biggest question for the Indiana basketball program and the mort important piece moving forward. Johnson, who has missed the last seven games with a foot injury, is slowly progressing back from an injury he suffered on Nov. 26 against Harvard. He exited the game shortly before halftime. After trying to warm up before the start of the second half, he was unable to go.

On Friday night during Indiana basketball’s 100-87 win over Kennesaw State, it was reported on the broadcast that Johnson’s first day of full contact practice since his injury was on Thursday. While it’s still in a limited capacity, it’s a very positive sign for him returning to game action.

Johnson is averaging 10.5 points, 2.3 assists and is shooting 48.6 percent from the field in six games this year.

Johnson had been wearing a boot on his foot since the injury, but last week was the first time he appeared on the bench without one on. That progression continued with him shooting off of both feet before Friday’s game.

With limited depth, guard play has been a major question mark this season. While Gabe Cupps has been good and consistent in this seven game stretch, having your sixth-year point guard is critical to the success and the ceiling of this team.

In 51 career games for the Indiana basketball program, Johnson is averaging 11.5 points and 4.7 assists per game. He is also shooting 41.4 percent from the floor and 38.9 percent from three on 2.6 attempts per game.

The assumption is Xavier Johnson will be back sooner rather than later, but time will tell.

Can Malik Reneau keep up recent play and turn into All-Big Ten player?

Indiana basketball has had some dominant big men over the past decade and Malik Reneau could be turning into one of the next dominant forwards.

Reneau has put together a phenomenal stretch of basketball. In his last two games he has totaled 59 points on 23-of-33 shooting, 18 rebounds and six assists in 64 minutes. That is a result of back-to-back career highs. He had 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 4-of-4 on 3s against North Alabama and then 34 points on 13-of-19 from the field with 11 rebounds and four assists against Kennesaw State.

Through 13 games, Reneau is averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game while shooting 59.7 percent from the field. He’s also shooting 44.4 percent from three (8-of-18). He was just 2-of-8 on 3s a season ago.

Reneau is also averaging 2.8 assists per game. He had just 27 total assists as a freshman. This year, he ‘s already up to 36. He has five games with at least four assists, something he didn’t do at all as a freshman.

How’s he doing it? Understanding his game, slowing down and playing at his ‘own pace’.

“I really got the motivation from Trayce and Race, seeing how they played in the whole Big Ten and seeing how they dominated. I just needed time to understand the game and go out there,” Reneau said after his 34-point performance. “Now I’m playing nice and with my pace and being able to score on either block and finish with both hands, step out and create my shot from the 3 ball, shoot the 3 ball, too.

“I just feel like the year I had just watching Trayce’s stuff, I seen a lot. And now my game is slowing down and I’m able to create plays for myself and for others.”

Reneau ranks first in the Big Ten in effective field goal rate, third in field goal percentage, third in made 2s, sixth in the Big Ten in usage rate and 12th in assist rate.

Has the three-point shooting question been put to rest … or at least lessened?

There’s no denying the fact that Indiana has struggled greatly from the perimeter this season. Not only at making 3s, but also taking 3s. In the first eight games of the season, Indiana was averaging just 3.1 made 3s per game and shooting 25.8 percent. That’s not going to get it done in any capacity. But, could they be turning the corner?

In the last five games, the Hoosiers are hitting 38.6 percent of their 3s and making 6.8 per game. That includes 12 3s against North Alabama — the most in a single-game under Mike Woodson.

Indiana followed that up with a 7-of-15 performance against Kennesaw State. In the last five games, there have been four performances with at least six made 3s, something it didn’t do at all in the first eight games.

A major reason for the recent success has been the progression of Mackenzie Mgbako. Mgbako was 4-of-22 from three in the first eight games — but since then he is 10-of-27 over the last five games. He has hit at least two 3s in all but one game, including four 3s against Kennesaw State.

Malik Reneau has also become extremely effective from three over the last few games, going 7-of-11 in the last four outings. While he’s never going to be someone to light it up from three, he’s now showcased the ability to step out and spread the floor on numerous occasions.

Xavier Johnson (50 percent), Reneau (44.4 percent) and Kel’el Ware (37.5 percent) lead the Hoosiers in 3s but all attempt less than two 3s per game.

The efficiency is now there, but can Indiana keep that up and increase the volume? Still only 17.8 percent of its total points come from 3 — ranked 357th nationally.

Can Kel’el Ware get back to early-season dominance?

While Malik Reneau has flashed as of late, Kel’el Ware has struggled with some consistency.

After averaging 17.7 points on 64.4 percent shooting in the first seven games, Ware has struggled since. Not in a hugely significant area, but the efficiency is down. He’s averaging just 11.0 points on 40 percent shooting in the last five games — with no game with over 13 points. While he’s still averaging 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, the offensive numbers have dipped.

That could be partially due to the recent uptick with Mackenzie Mgbako and the play of Malik Reneau, but that didn’t stop Ware from dominating games early in the season when Reneau or Mgbako had good performances.

Ware went through some of these struggles last year right around the same time at Oregon. The difference is this year, Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson will let Ware play through any struggles — because he needs him.

Ware missed Indiana’s win on Friday due to a reported positive Covid test — so time will tell if he’ll be back on the court when the Hoosiers take on Nebraska.

Either way, getting Ware involved early and often and asserting himself in the paint will be a major boost as Big Ten play resumes.

Can Indiana basketball keep up effort for 40 minutes?

One of the other key questions has to be whether or not Indiana can continuously play a full 40 minutes. It has plagued Indiana all season whether it was started hot then fading or starting slow and needing late runs to push them to a win.

Notably — Indiana led for over the first 35 minutes against Kansas but stumbled coming into the final stretch. They needed a 20-4 run over the final nine minutes to defeat Morehead State by one. It took about 33 minutes for Indiana to take down Louisville, needing a 23-8 run to come away with a win. Even this past week when Indiana had a double-digit lead against Kennesaw State. The Owls took a four point lead midway into the second half before IU used a 21-3 run to put the game away.

This can’t happen in Big Ten play and what’s on their side are the first two conference games they played. They bullied Maryland for all 40 minutes and took any small punch the Terps threw and responded. The same can be said against Michigan on the road.

But, it’s a theme that continues to pop up and one that needs to be solved.

Other Keys:

• What will the bench rotation look like moving forward? It’s now clear that Anthony Walker is the sixth man for this team. Kaleb Banks has started to emerge but has yet to put together consistent minutes from game to game. CJ Gunn has been inconsistent. What will the rotation look like with Xavier Johnson back in the lineup? Payton Sparks is coming off of his best performance as a Hoosier — 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Can he continue with consistent production?
• Will Indiana move into a much heavier ball-screen offense like it did last season with Jalen Hood-Schifino? It has been Indiana’s best offense at times this season, specifically with Trey Galloway the ball handler in the set. With Xavier Johnson back soon, it’ll give the Hoosiers another on-ball guard who is terrific in the pick and roll game.
• If Indiana is going to keep living at the free throw line, it needs to convert. It is attempting 25.2 free throws per game — ranked 20th in the country — but is shooting just 68 percent, 280th. It ranks 41st overall in the country in percentage of points from the foul line, so it’s clearly a point of emphasis and will be moving forward.