Woodson Reinstates 5 Suspended Players, Available for Saturday's Game at Michigan State

Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson reinstated the five players he suspended earlier this week, saying in a release from the school that they broke curfew. They will all be available for Saturday's huge road game at Michigan State.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The five Indiana basketball players suspended on Tuesday by coach Mike Woodson have been reinstated, and will be available to play on Saturday at Michigan State.

The news was announced by the school on Thursday afternoon. The five players who were suspended — starting guards Xavier Johnson and Parker Stewart, and bckups Tamar Bates, Michael Durr and Khristian Lander — dressed for Tuesday's game at Northwestern but were not allowed to play by Woodson.

The Hoosiers wound up losing, and fell to 16-7 on the season, and 7-6 in the Big Ten

“It’s important that all team rules are followed and a curfew applies to everyone in our program for a reason,” Woodson said. “It will be my decision to determine what role each one will have moving forward.”

This is the first time that breaking curfew has been mentioned as the reason for the suspensions. After the game Tuesday, Woodson simply referred to a ''violation of team rules,'' and left it at that. Internet rumors, as they are prone to do, ran rampant. Woodson's statement Thursday clears all that up.

Johnson, a 22-year-old senior who played his first three years of college basketball at Pittsburgh before transferring to Indiana this summer, had started the Hoosiers' first 21 games at point guard before Tuesday. He is averaging 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

Stewart, a 23-year-old guard who transferred last winter after playing for his father at UT-Martin, started 20 of the Hoosiers' first 21 games, missing the first half of a December game against Northern Kentucky for disciplinary reasons. He is averaging 6.9 points per game, and is the Hoosiers' top perimeter shooter, hitting 45.1 percent of his three-point attempts.

Durr, Lander and Bates have all played sparingly off the bench, but have had some big moments.  Durr, the 7-foot transfer from South Florida, had a big game in stopping Purdue's centers in Indiana's upset win over the No. 4 Boilermakers. 

Lander has been dealing with a knee injury, and has played in 10 of Indiana's 22 games. Bates, a highly touted freshman, had played in all 21 games before Tuesday and was averaging 4.0 points off the bench.

Indiana, which has lost two games in a row for the first time all season, will take on Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be nationally televised on FOX.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• GOOD, BAD, UGLY FROM TUESDAY: HoosiersNow.com publisher breaks down the good, bad and ugly on the court from Tuesday night's loss at Northwestern. CLICK HERE
• WHAT TREY GALLOWAY SAID: Sophomore guard Trey Galloway scored 13 points for the Hoosiers before fouling out. Here's what he had to say following the loss in a postgame press conference. Read the full transcript, or watch the attached video. CLICK HERE.
• WHAT MIKE WOODSON SAID: Following five player suspensions, the Hoosiers fell to the Northwestern Wildcats 59-51 on the road. Indiana head coach Mike Woodson took to the podium to address the suspensions in a post game press conference. Read the full transcript, or just watch the attached video. CLICK HERE.
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Draw the lines. Five Indiana basketball players get suspended, and then Indiana loses at Northwestern in a very winnable game. So now, how much damage do these selfish suspensions do to this Indiana team that's trying to restore some pride and glory back into this program? We'll have to wait to see. CLICK HERE.
• GAME STORY: Indiana coach Mike Woodson suspended five players on Tuesday for breaking team rules, and the other half of his team fought gamely against Northwestern, but came up short after fading in the second half, losing 59-51. CLICK HERE
• LIVE BLOG: Follow Tuesday night's game between Indiana and Northwestern in real time. CLICK HERE
• HOOSIERS SUSPEND 5: Just minutes before Indiana's game with Northwestern, five players were suspended, including starting guards Xavier Johnson and Parker Stewart. CLICK HERE