Hoosiers Now

LIVE BLOG: Indiana Opens Basketball Season Vs. Tennessee Tech

Indiana opens the season with the first of two nonconference games at Simon Skjodt Assembly, taking on Tennessee Tech, an Ohio Valley Conference team from Cookeville, Tenn.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Hello everyone, and welcome to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the first Indiana men's basketball game of the season. I know there are thousands of you who wish you were here, so feel free to curse a bit over what COVID-19 has taken away from us.

This is our first live blog of the season, and I'll keep you updated in real time with what's going on. So keep refreshing, and we'll  take it from there.

Here we go:

10:05 p.m. ET It's a final. Indiana wins 89-59. Trayce Jackson-Davis leads the way with 26 points and 11 rebounds, his 12th career double-double. Freshman Trey Galloway had 13 and Rob Phinisee had 12. Here's the full game story, with quotes. CLICK HERE

9:40 p.m. ET — The best timeout in college basketball still took place Wednesday night, even without the band and the cheerleaders. Here's a quick video. 

9:27 p.m. ET — Got a little slow there for a bit for the Hoosiers. We go to the second media timeout of the and it's now 63-34 with 11:47 to go. Indiana still with only five turnovers in the game, and 17 assists, which is a nice ratio.

9:22 p.m. ET: Trayce Jackson-Davis is having a nice game. He's been nearly perfect after missing a few from short range early in the game. He's got 22 points and 9 rebounds here at the first media timeout of the second half. Indiana leads 62-26.

Trayce Jackson-Davis is dominating inside for Indiana. (USA TODAY Sports)
Trayce Jackson-Davis is dominating inside for Indiana. (USA TODAY Sports)

9:08 p.m. ET — Back at it for the second half. Same starters except Jerome Hunter for Race Thompson, who's got three fouls.

8:52 p.m. ET — And that's a wrap for the first half. Hoosiers are running away with this one now, leading 48-19. In the last 10 minutes of the half, Indiana outscored them 28-2. Trayce with 14 points, and Phinisee with 10. Freshman Trey Galloway has been great. He's got 9 points on 4-for-4 shooting, with two rebounds and two assists. 

8:47 p.m. ET — All four freshman are now in the game at the same time for Indiana. Lander hits Galloway with a nice pass for an easy basket. Former AAU teammates look comfortable together. Anthony Leal on the floor too, making his debut. Great assist from Leal to Galloway on a run-out. Hit him right in stride on a long pass. 

8:43 p.m. ET — Jordan Geronimo has entered the game for Indiana. Hoosiers on a massive  run here. A Phinisee three-pointer has put them up 40-17. That's a 20-0 run for the Hoosiers. Media timeout now with 3:23 to go. Indiana up 40-19. 

8:39 p.m. ET — A few people have asked where I'm sitting. We're in the southwest end zone, and Im in Row 9. Band would have been next to me. Tennessee Tech bench is down below us.

The view from my work station.
The view from my work station

8:31 p.m. ET — Reverse jinx in effect. Phinisee immediately hits a three as soon as I posted that. Third media timeout at 7:22 with the Hoosiers leading 25-17. All eight Indiana players who's seen minutes so far have scored. Still haven't seen freshmen Anthony Leal or Jordan Geronimo. (Joey Brunk, the 11th Hoosier on scholarship, didn't dress because of a back injury. 

8:28 p.m. ET — The Hoosiers are struggling from deep so far. They're just 1-for-6 from three-point range. Khristian Lander hasn't been shy. He's 0-for-3. Had a nice assist – his first — that led to a huge dunk by Race Thompson. 

Race Thompson throws down a dunk in the first half of Indiana's game with Tennessee Tech. (USA TODAY Sports)
Race Thompson throws down a dunk in the first half of Indiana's game with Tennessee Tech. (USA TODAY Sports)

8:20 p.m. ET — Freshman Khristian Lander has entered the game for the first time, and he immediately scores. Indiana up 17-13, and then Galloway follows that up with his first career points. Two points down, and hundreds to go for these two. Second media timeout at 11:47 and it's 19-13 Hoosiers. (Galloway completes the three-point play, knocking down his free throw after the timeout.)

8:18 p.m. ET — A 9-2 run by Tennessee Tech has put them ahead for the first time tonight, but Jerome Hunter answers immediately with a three-pointer from the corner. It's a big thing to watch how he shoots from the perimeter early this season. Hoosiers need that when they spread the floor. 

8:13 p.m. ET — After the timeout, Trey Galloway makes his Indiana debut and Jerome Hunter comes in, too. Thompson and Durham take a seat.

8:12 p.m. ET – We're at the first media timeout and Indiana leads 10-4. Trayce Jackson-Davis has four points, and Al Durham, Rob Phinisee and Race Thompson all have a bucket. Tennessee Tech is just 2-for-9 from the field, and has missed all three of its three-point attempts. 

8:04 p.m. ET — It's Rob Phinisee with the first basket of the season for the Hoosiers. 

8:03 p.m. ET — The pre-game introductions for Indiana. 

IMG_3129

8 p.m. — For openers, you'd expect Indiana to be pretty good, and it is. The Hoosiers are 99-21 all-time in season openers and have won 21 of the past 22. 

7:45 p.m. ET – Here's Indiana's starting five for tonight's game, guards Al Durham, Rob Phinisee and Armaan Franklin, with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson up front.

7:30 p.m. ET – HOW TO WATCH: The game is on the Big Ten Network tonight, with Brandon Gaudin and Robbie Hummel on the call. Here's the story we posted earlier on how to watch, with all the other pertinent details on the game. CLICK HERE

7:15 p.m. ET – We have our first injury situation of the season. Senior center Joey Brunk isn't dressed for the opener. He's been nursing a sore back, so he'll sit this one out. Indiana coach Archie Miller mentioned Tuesday that he'd been dealing with an injury. We'll see how he feel on Monday when the Hoosiers start the Maui Invitational against Providence, the first of three games in three days Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.

7 p.m. ET – It sure seemed strange coming in to Assembly Hall tonight. There was no traffic, obviously, and walking into the arena with no one around seemed odd, too. But that's our new normal in 2020. All Big Ten games are being played without fans to start the season.

No lines at the will call windows at Assembly Hall.
No lines at the will call windows at Assembly Hall
Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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