Indiana Center Kel'el Ware Reportedly Expected to Play Tuesday Against Iowa

After missing the last two games, losses to Wisconsin and Illinois, Indiana starting center is reportedly expected to play in Tuesday's game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana center Kel'el Ware is expected to play Tuesday against Iowa, as first reported by Jeff Rabjohns of 247Sports.

Ware has missed the last two games due to an ankle injury, first a 91-79 loss at Wisconsin on Jan. 19 and then a 70-62 loss at Illinois on Saturday.

On Monday night's 'Inside Indiana Basketball' radio show with Mike Woodson and Don Fischer, the Hoosiers' coach gave an update on Ware but didn't delve into specifics.

"We’ll know more [Tuesday]," Woodson said. "He’s basically being evaluated. He did some things on the floor [Monday]." 

Woodson said they'd need to make sure Ware's ankle is "still not puffy and sore" before returning to action. Ware suffered the injury in practice leading up to the Wisconsin game when he came down on a teammate's foot and rolled his ankle, according to Woodson.

Indiana Hoosiers center Kel'el Ware (1) boxes out Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Dawson Garcia (3) in the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

When healthy, Ware has been an impactful addition to this year's roster. After beginning his career at Oregon, where he averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds, Ware is averaging 14.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game as a Hoosier.

The 7-footer is second among Indiana's main rotation players with a 54.5 field goal percentage, while also shooting 41.7% from 3-point range on 24 attempts. He has seven double-doubles this season, plus four 20-point games, including a career-high 28 points in a neutral site win over Harvard in November. Ware was recently slotted at No. 26 overall on The Ringer's 2024 NBA mock draft.

Tipoff between the Hoosiers and Hawkeyes is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. 

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