Opening Tip
• Indiana University is set to play the program’s final regular season road game of its 124th season of competition in men’s basketball on Wednesday, March 6, at Minnesota. The Hoosiers (16-13, 8-10 B1G) will take on the Golden Gophers (18-11, 9-9 B1G) at 8 p.m. CT in Williams Arena on BTN.
• Minnesota, under the guidance of third-year head coach Ben Johnson, are led by junior forward Dawson Garcia. He ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.4 points per night to go along with 6.4 rebounds. He has knocked down 133-of-163 (81.6%) of his free throw attempts this season.
• Junior guard Elijah Hawkins leads the conference in assists per game at 7.5. Freshman guard Cam Christie (11.9 points per game, 62 made 3-pointers), junior guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (10.6 points, 62 made triples, and sophomore forward Pharrel Payne (10.0 points, 6.2 rebounds) all contribute double figures in the scoring column.
Game Information
Wednesday, March 6, 2024 • 8 p.m. CT
Williams Arena (14,625) • Minneapolis, Minn.
TV: BTN (Cory Provus, Stephen Bardo)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
Series History: Indiana leads, 108-69
Last Meeting: IU 74, MINN 62 on Jan. 12, 2024, in Bloomington
Series History
• Indiana holds an advantage of 108-69 over Minnesota in a series that began in 1912. The Hoosiers have won nine of the last 10 matchups, including seven-straight.
• Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako scored 19 points to lead the Hoosiers to a 74-62 win over Minnesota on Jan. 12, 2024, in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Sophomore center Kel’el Ware notched a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double.
• Indiana earned a 61-57 victory under the guidance of associate head coach Yasir Rosemond on Jan. 25, 2023, the last time the program visited ‘The Barn’.
Last Time Out
• The Hoosiers erased a 16-point deficit with 17:51 to play to defeat the Maryland Terrapins, 83-78, on Sunday, March 3, in College Park.
• Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako scored a career-high 24 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the 3-point line. The production marked his third 20-point outburst in his last five games.
• Sophomore forward Malik Reneau (14 points), sixth-year senior guard Xavier Johnson (13), and senior guard Trey Galloway (12) all chipped in double figures as Indiana posted a season-best 83 points against a power conference opponent.
• IU shot 31-of-55 (56.4%) from the floor, 7-of-16 (43.8%) from the 3-point line, and 14-of-17 (82.4%) from the free throw line.
Mack Attack
• Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako has made a team-high 43 3-pointers this season. Over the last 12 games he is averaging 14.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
• The consensus top-10 recruit is averaging 13.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in Big Ten play, both figures rank third on the Hoosiers. He has reached double figures in the scoring column in 20 of the last 24 games and scored at least 20 points in three of his last five starts.
• The Roselle Catholic graduate scored 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor against Northwestern (Feb. 18). Three days later against Nebraska (Feb. 21), Mgbako posted 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. He posted his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at No. 10/11 Illinois (Jan. 27). Mgbako added a career-best 24 points at Maryland (March 3) on 4-of-8 shooting from the 3-point line.
• Among freshmen in the Big Ten, Mgbako is first in total points (349), points per game (12.0), and free throws made (82), second in made 3-pointers (43), and third in total rebounds (115).
Sophomore Jump for Reneau
• Sophomore forward Malik Reneau has posted double digits in the scoring column in 24 games this season, including 16 efforts of at least 15 points and seven 20-point nights. He notched a career-high 34 points against Kennesaw State (Dec. 29) and a Big Ten career-high of 28 points at No. 11/8 Wisconsin (Jan. 19).
• Reneau is averaging a team-best 16.0 points per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 29 minutes per game. He is shooting 57.8% (182-of-315) from the floor, 33.3% (14-of-42) from the 3-point line, and 66.4% (85-of-128) from the free throw line.
• The Miami native has posted double figure scoring outputs in 12-of-13 games played away from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall this season.
Return of the X-Factor
• Sixth-year senior guard Xavier Johnson returned to the lineup to play 15 minutes off the bench against Wisconsin on Feb. 27. The 24-year old missed the previous six games with an elbow injury. He missed the final 24 games of the 2022-23 season with a foot injury.
• The Hoosiers hold a record of 8-2 when Johnson scores at least five points and plays 15-plus minutes this season.
IU Comes Back to Beat Maryland in College Park
• Indiana, who trailed 43-33 at the half, hit 12-of-14 shots to open the second stanza and outscored the Terps 50-35 over the final 20 minutes to collect an 83-78 win at Maryland on March 3.
• Freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako scored a career-best 24 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the 3-point line. He scored 18 in the second half. Sixth-year senior guard Xavier Johnson posted 13 points, six assists, and three rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.
Ware, Galloway Lead Indiana Over Wisconsin
• Sophomore center Kel’el Ware provided the Hoosiers with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-best five blocked shots in a 74-70 triumph over Wisconsin in Bloomington on Feb. 27.
• Senior guard Trey Galloway became the second Hoosier (Isiah Thomas, 1980-81) in the last 45 seasons to dish out at least 12 assists in multiple games during a single season with a game-high 12 dimes, six of which result in points from Ware.
Twenty Piece (CAREER)
Xavier Johnson: 21; last vs. North Carolina, 11/30/22
Payton Sparks: 9; last vs. Ohio, 3/9/23
Kel’el Ware: 8; last vs. Wisconsin, 2/27/24
Malik Reneau: 7; last at Penn State, 2/24/24
Trey Galloway: 3; last at Ohio State, 2/7/24
Mackenzie Mgbako: 3; last at Maryland, 3/3/24