Kel'el Ware Out, Xavier Johnson Questionable For Indiana Friday Against Kennesaw State

Indiana will be without starting center Kel'el Ware in Friday's game against Kennesaw State, and starting point guard Xavier Johnson is expected to miss his seventh consecutive game.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana leading scorer and rebounder Kel'el Ware is out for Friday's game against Kennesaw State. 

Ware, a 7-foot center, is listed out on the pregame availability report released Friday afternoon. He will not play due to COVID, according to Jeff Goodman of The Messenger. Ware averaging 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks through 12 games. 

Senior point guard Xavier Johnson is listed questionable again by the Big Ten, though Goodman reported that Johnson is expected to miss Friday's game. Johnson has not played since Nov. 26 against Harvard.

Along with Ware, Indiana freshman guard Jakai Newton remains out with a knee injury, and walk-on guard Jordan Rayford is out for the season.

With Ware out, Indiana coach Mike Woodson could go a number of ways for the starting lineup. Senior Anthony Walker has played well in recent games, scoring 11 points against North Alabama and 18 against Morehead State. The 6-foot-8 Walker is more of a power forward than a center by traditional definitions – so is Malik Reneau – so starting Walker could require one of the two playing slightly out of position. 

Woodson could opt for starting junior Payton Sparks, whose style is more representative of a center, though Sparks has played just 8.2 minutes per game and didn't crack the rotation against Kansas. 

If Woodson wanted to go with a smaller starting lineup, sophomores Kaleb Banks and CJ Gunn are options. That would leave the 6-foot-9 Reneau and 6-foot-8 Mgbako as the starting front court, along with guards Gabe Cupps and Trey Galloway. 

Tipoff between Indiana and Kennesaw State is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

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