Opening Tip
• Indiana University continues its 125th season of competition in men’s basketball with a non-conference clash against Sam Houston on Tuesday, Dec. 23, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game will be broadcast on BTN with Jeff Levering (pxp) and Brian Butch (analyst) on the call.
• The Bearkats enter the game with a record of 4-4 under second-year head coach head coach Chris Mudge. Senior guard Lamar Wilkerson leads a trio of double-figure scorers for SHSU at 19.4 points per game. He is shooting 45.3% (29-of-64) from the 3-point line. Junior guard Dorian Finister averages 11.4 points and 7.0 rebounds, while senior forward Cameron Huefner scores 10.4 points a night.
Game Information
Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024 • 7:30 p.m. ET
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.
TV: BTN (Jeff Levering, Brian Butch)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
Series History: Indiana leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: IU 99, SHSU 45 on Nov. 15, 2012, in Bloomington
Series History
• Indiana topped Sam Houston by a score of 99-45 the lone time the programs met on Nov. 15, 2012, in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• Five Hoosiers scored in double figures that night. Christian Watford led the way with 23 points off the bench. Current Team & Recruiting Coordinator Jordan Hulls tallied 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the win.
Last Time Out
• No. 14/15 Indiana (5-2) closed the Battle 4 Atlantis with an 89-73 victory over Providence on Friday, Nov. 29, at the Imperial Ballroom in The Bahamas.
• Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako finished with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from the 3-point line. Junior forward Malik Reneau posted 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor.
• The frontcourt duo are the first pair of IU teammates to each score 20-plus points in a game since Kel’el Ware (22 points) and Mgbako (20) against Northwestern on Feb. 18, 2024.
• Fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway posted 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, five rebounds, five assists, and one block, his first 15-5-5 game of his career.
Big Fella Ballo
• Sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo swatted a career-high-matching six shots against South Carolina (Nov. 16). The Koulikoro, Mali, native has blocked 156 shots in his career.
• Against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 10), Ballo recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks in 27 minutes. He shot 8-of-10 from the field in the Indiana victory. He is one of three players (Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton; Danny Wolf, Michigan) this season to post a line of 17-9-3 or better while shooting at least 80.0% from the floor.
• Ballo scored a season-best 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor against No. 3/4 Gonzaga on day two of the Battle 4 Atlantis. He is the first IU player to finish the game shooting at least 80% from the floor on 10-or-more made field goals since Kel’el Ware vs. Wisconsin on Feb. 27, 2024 (91.7%, 11-12).
Second-Year Leap for Mgbako
• Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako scored a career-high 31 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc in Indiana’s victory over SIUE on Nov. 6 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• The 31 points scored marked the most in a season debut for a Hoosier since 17-year NBA veteran Eric Gordon dropped 33 points in his collegiate debut against Chattanooga on Nov. 12, 2007. Former All-American Jimmy Rayl holds the program record for points in a season opener when he scored 35 against Virginia on Dec. 1, 1962.
• His two-game total of 49 points (24.5 points per game) marked the most by an IU player in the first two games of a season since James Blackmon Jr. scored 49 (26 vs. Kansas, 23 vs. UMASS Lowell) at the beginning of 2016-17.
• The Gladstone, N.J., native is the only Big Ten player to average at least 15.0 points per game while shooting above 50.0% from the floor, 50.0% from the 3-point line, and 90.0% from the free throw line this season. Among major conference players, Eric Dixon (Villanova) is the only player to match those numbers this season.
IU Finishes Seventh at Battle 4 Atlantis
• The Hoosiers (5-2) went 1-2 and finished seventh in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. Indiana lost to Louisville (89-61) in the opening round and No. 3/4 Gonzaga (89-73) in the consolation bracket before defeating Providence (89-73) in the seventh-place game.
• Junior forward Malik Reneau averaged 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game across the three games in three days. He shot 69.2% (18-of-26) from the floor and 90.9% (10-of-11) from the free throw line.
• Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako scored 15.3 points per outing while shooting 48.4% (15-of-31) shooting from the floor, 50.0% (8-of-16) from the 3-point line, and 88.9% (8-of-9) from the charity stripe in the Imperial Ballroom.
• Sixth-year senior Oumar Ballo patrolled the paint with 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per contest. He shot 65.5% (19-of-29) from the floor.