LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Basketball Game Against Wright State

Indiana hosts Wright State Thursday night at Assembly Hall. Welcome to our live blog, where we'll post updates, thoughts and highlights throughout the game.

Jack Ankony | Nov 16, 2023

LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Basketball Game Against Wright State /

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Coach Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers are back in action Thursday night against Wright State at Assembly Hall.

Indiana is off to a 2-0 start with single-digit wins over Florida Gulf Coast and Army, while Wright State is 0-2 with losses to Colorado State and Toledo.

Welcome to our live blog, where we'll post updates, thoughts and highlights throughout the game.

9:09 p.m. – Final: Indiana 89, Wright State 80 Indiana made some definite strides offensively since its last game, but it was not a great defensive performance. The defending national champs are next at Madison Square Garden. Ware led IU with 22 points.

9:01 p.m. – Stingy defense from Cupps leads to a forced shot from Wright State. Cupps grabs the rebound, immediately outlets it to Reneau, who throws an alley-oop to Ware in transition. That's good-looking basketball from the Hoosiers. IU should in the clear now, leading 87-76 with 40.4 seconds left.

8:56 p.m. – Wright State will have the ball trailing 85-76 with 1:58 left after this timeout. Johnson forced a drive on the last possession when Cupps was wide open for a three on the wing.

8:50 p.m. – Mgbako now 1-for-7 from three, but Ware cleaned up the last one with an offensive rebound. Wright State's Andrew Welage answers, and he's now 7-for-9 from three. IU leads 83-76 with 3:30 to play.

8:45 p.m. – Reneau makes back-to-back running lefty hook shots, and Mgbako reaches in for a steal on the following possession. Galloway got fouled in transition and made both free throws, pushing IU's lead to 79-68 with 5:59 left.

8:40 p.m. – A Kaleb Banks transition layups ends Indiana's 3:27 scoring drought. Hoosiers lead 73-67 at the under-8, and Banks will have a free throw when play resumes.

8:36 p.m. – Woodson very upset with the officials after a foul on Cupps. Walker missed a three, and Cupps tried slapping the ball out of the Wright State player's hand after a rebound. Woodson thought he got all ball. IU leads 71-63 at the midway point of the second half.

8:30 p.m. – Indiana leads Wright State 69-60 at the under-12 timeout. Sparks 1-for-4 from the line in a brief stretch, which was met by groans from the crowd. Wright State hasn't been able to match Indiana's height or physicality down low, so it's resorted to fouling more often than not, seen through 21 team fouls already.

8:24 p.m. – IU freed Gunn up on an out of bounds play, but he airballed the mid-range jumper. Reneau was there to clean it up, and he's got 12 points now.

8:22 p.m. – Mgbako ran off a screen, but instead of taking a contested shot he dumped it inside to Reneau for an easy layup. Smart decision from the IU freshman, who is up to 11 points tonight, but just 1-for-4 from three.

8:15 p.m. – Galloway called for a foul guarding Holden inside, his third. Gunn replaces him with IU leading 62-58 with 16:37 left in the half. Holden up to 20 points.

8:13 p.m. – IU lost track of Holden in the corner, and he makes the Hoosiers pay with a three. Holden is up to 18 points of 6-for-11 shooting. IU leads 58-54.

8:12 p.m. – Mgbako starts the second half scoring with a smooth pull-up jumper, and Johnson follows it up with a quick layup in transition. Galloway a little bit shaken up after an offensive foul on Wright State, but he stays in the game. IU's lead is back to nine.

7:55 p.m. – Halftime: Indiana 54, Wright State 49. IU had a 15-point lead in the first 10 minutes, but the defense fell off in the final 10. Wright State is 7-for-16 from three, and IU is 3-for-6. Ware leading IU with 12 points, Galloway with 11. Tanner Holden has 15 for Wright State. IU shooting 66.7%.

7:51 p.m. – Galloway missed a three, but Ware cleaned it up with a put-back dunk. Wright State's had no answer for him. Ware has 12 points, six rebounds and two assists, as Woodson calls timeout with IU leading 54-49 with 21 seconds. Hoosiers will likely hold for the last shot.

7:49 p.m. – Wright State is getting into some serious foul trouble here. Five players have two fouls, one has three, and the team has 13. IU up 52-48 with a minute left.

7:42 p.m. – Mgbako just picked up two fouls on back-to-back possessions. The first was a hand check trying to stay in front of his opponent on a drive, and the second was hitting Tanner Holden's wrist on a jump shot. He's got three fouls, and now it's a quick 6-0 run for Wright State, trimming IU's lead to 46-39 with 3:24 left in the half.

7:39 p.m. – Wright State is hanging around because of its 3-point shooting so far. The Raiders are 5-for-12 to start, including 3-for-3 from Indiana native Andrew Welage. 41-31 with 5:16 to play.

7:36 p.m. – Johnson knocks down a three from the left wing, and Galloway draws another foul driving to the basket. He's been super aggressive tonight, and it's led to 10 points, five from the free throw line.

7:35 p.m. – Woodson puts the starters back in the game with 7:08 left in the half and an 11-point lead. IU can really put this one out of reach with a strong finish to the half.

7:33 p.m. – IU leads Wright State 34-21 at the under-8. Wright State unable to offer much defensive resistance so far, as IU has 20 points in the paint. The current Indiana lineup – Cupps, Gunn, Banks, Walker, Ware – has so much length, making it hard to Wright State to get much at the rim.

7:26 p.m. – Anthony Walker looked a bit out of control, but he gets the layup to fall and makes the and-one free throw. He started to stumble after bumping the defender and spinning, but good concentration to get the ball on the rim. CJ Gunn gets a steal and easy layup, then knocks down a pull-up jumper on the following possessions. IU leads 30-16 at the midway point of the first half.

7:25 p.m. – A hard drive from Banks off an offensive rebounds leads to a foul, but he goes 0-for-2 from the line. He's always been active on the glass and aggressive at the rim, and it looks like he's added some muscle for his sophomore year.

7:20 p.m. – Now Kaleb Banks checks in, making it an all-bench lineup with Cupps, Gunn, Sparks and Walker. The second unit didn't play very well in its last game against Army, so we'll see how long Woodson rides with this lineup. These are the types of games to test things out.

7:18 p.m. – Good sequence here from Trey Galloway. After Galloway made both free throws, Cupps kicked the ball out to him on the wing for what looked like an open three, but he dropped it. Galloway then stripped the ball from Wright State and drove in for a layup. After a defensive stop, Galloway pushed it in transition again, and got fouled, making 1-of-2 free throws this time. IU leads 23-11 with 12:07 left in the half.

7:17 p.m. – Galloway fouled on a cut to the basket, then goes 2-for-2 at the line. Gunn checks in for Mgbako. IU now has Galloway and four bench players – Cupps, Gunn, Sparks and Walker – in the game.

7:15 p.m. – Reneau went 0-for-2 at the free throw line, and Payton Sparks checked in, replacing Ware. IU leading 18-9 with 13:45 left in the half. Wright State scored its last basket on a 3. Mgbako dug down to help in the post, Cupps rotated over when it was kicked out, but Welage was able to get the shot off.

7:13 p.m. – Mgbako has come out a bit more aggressive tonight than the first two games. He made a driving layup earlier, and now just pushed the ball in transition, got fouled and made both free throws. Gabe Cupps first to check in, replacing Xavier Johnson.

7:09 p.m. – Strong start for IU, leading 14-6 at the under-16 timeout. It's been a bit of everything so far – Galloway and Mgbako knocking down threes, Ware scoring inside, Reneau pushing in transition. Nothing easy for Wright State, either.

Hot start for @IndianaMBB. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QEukgCZRmA
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 17, 2023

7:06 p.m. – Wright State never picked up Malik Reneau in transition, and he drove right in for an easy dunk. Brown called for an offensive foul on the other end, and Mgbako responds with a strong drive to the basket. Good start for the Hoosiers, leading 9-4.

7:05 p.m. – Galloway dials up a three from the right wing off the dribble. That's a good sign for IU to see him looking for his shot – and making it. IU leads 5-2 early on.

7:03 p.m. – Kel'el Ware wins the tip and we're under way. Indiana went right to Ware, and he scores with a right hook.

6:55 p.m. – With starting point guard and leading scorer Trey Calvin out, Wright State is starting 6-foot freshman Kaden Brown, who has played 25 total minutes in the first two games with five points and six turnovers.

6:45 p.m. – Three things I'm watching for Indiana tonight – 1) Mackenzie Mgbako on defense. He hasn't seemed to totally grasp what Woodson is asking him to do on that end yet, and he hasn't played the last 15 minutes of the first two games because of that. 2) How much three-guard lineup? If Mgbako isn't getting it done, Woodson hasn't hesitated to go smaller and play Gabe Cupps down the stretch. 3) Trey Galloway and Xavier Johnson's 3-point shooting. Indiana hasn't been a heavy 3-point shooting team under Woodson, but Galloway and Johnson are capable. They just don't take very many.

6:15 p.m. – Starters for tonight remain the same: Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako and Kel'el Ware.

5:45 p.m. – Wright State will be without point guard and leading scorer Trey Calvin tonight due to a shoulder injury. As expected, Indiana will be without freshman guard Jakai Newton (knee) and walk-on Jordan Rayford (lower body). No Hoosiers were listed questionable for tonight's game.

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