My Two Cents: Emptying Exhibition Notebooks, Heading For Home Opener

Now that the two-game exhibition season is over, it's time for Indiana basketball to get after it for real on Wednesday night at Assembly Hall. Some thoughts before the opener, on top scoring threats for the Hoosiers, just how good they can be and more.

Indiana senior guard Trey Galloway (32) shoots against Iowa during a 2024 game. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's a week and change later, and it's finally gone. I am no longer hearing ''Rocky Top'' rattling between my ears after hearing it about 30 times a few Sundays in Knoxville, Tenn.

Live in Tennessee for a while and that's a real issue when you have no allegiance to that school — or the song.

Fun times at the University of Tennessee for sure, though. That's where Indiana's men's basketball season began on Oct. 27, with a charity exhibition game against No. 12-ranked Tennessee. It was a nice matchup, with the No. 17 Hoosiers also capable of making a lot of noise this year.

Indiana won 66-62 with a nice second-half comeback. Junior forward Malik Reneau led the way with 21 points, including 14 in the second half to spur the rally. It was a nice win, especially considering that Indiana has seven new faces this year. Getting the experience of winning on the road in a hostile environment — especially in comeback fashion — is a huge deal.

It was the first of two exhibitions, the second one at Assembly Hall last Friday when Pat Knight — the son of IU legend Bob Knight — brought his Marian University team to Bloomington. Indiana, as expected, won easily, 106-64.

They were the two warmups before the real thing begins on Wednesday night when the Hoosiers take on SIU-Edwardsville at Assembly Hall. It's hard to learn a lot from preseason games, but there was plenty to see, despite the Hoosiers playing shorthanded both games.

I'm ready for it to start for real on Wednesday. I'm back in Bloomington for the next five months and I'm ready to go. I think the new-look Hoosiers are too.

But here are three things to think about.

1. Will Indiana have rotating leading scorers?

This is Mike Woodson's fourth season as Indiana's head coach, and this is by far his best team across the board. He's got guards for the first time, really, several talented — and diverse — wings plus guys who can rebound and score down low.

It's a deep team with a lot of weapons. Woodson hasn't always had that. He had to rely on throwing the ball into Trayce Jackson-Davis as often as possible during his first two years, and he had to force to ball into the post last year because they were completely devoid of anyone who could fill it up from three.

This year is different. All five starters — Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo — have scoring skills on their respective resumes. Off the bench, Bryson Tucker, Luke Goode and Trey Galloway can say the same.

So it raises the question. Who will be Indiana's leading scorer most nights? Reneau led the way with 21 and Tennessee and Tucker had a team-high 19 against Marian.

I can see all five starters leading the team in scoring on certain nights. Tucker, too, for sure, even off the bench. If Goode cans a bunch of threes one night, it might even be him. And Galloway could too. He did it three times a year ago, with Kel'el Ware — now of the Miami Heat — leading the way with 13 top games.

"I think when you put teams together, the cream will always rise to the top when you're talking about leading scorers. I've always believed that,'' said Indiana coach Mike Woodson, who knows a thing or two about scoring. He's fifth all-time on Indiana's scoring list with 2,061 points. "It won't just be that guy. The way we've built this team, there could be a lot of guys. It just might not be your night, and if not, just make somebody else's night better. That's been my approach with this team.''

Who's the leading scorer going to be in the opener? Tell me in the comments on social media and we'll talk about it.

2. Feel good about Big Ten power rankings?

Y'all know — sorry, still in Knoxville mode — that I've a great team of writers helping me on my two college sites. After doing the Big Ten power rankings myself for several years, I've got Dustin Schutte doing them now, and he's been terrific.

He released Volume 1 earlier this week, and he's got Purdue No. 1 and Indiana No. 2. (That's good for business, but also exactly what he believes right now.) I'm right there in step with him. I think they are the two best teams in the league, and I also think the Hoosiers have a very legitimate shot of winning their first Big Ten title since 2016.

I have very little to disagree with Dustin on. He's got UCLA, Illinois and Michigan State right behind our two state schools, and right after that, he's got Rutgers and Ohio State. Those are two teams I'm real curious about. Rutgers has two stud freshmen and Ohio State has the best win so far this opening week, crushing Texas.

What are your thoughts? You think Indiana can win the Big Ten. Chat it up on social media platforms.

I asked Woodson on Monday if he thought this was a team capable of winning the Big Ten. He said he always thinks that, though we know that's been a tough task. They did tie for second behind Purdue in 2023, but tied for sixth a year ago and were ninth in Woodson's first year.

"Every year, every coach starts the season wanting to win a Big Ten title. It hadn't changed since I walked in the door and only time will tell,'' Woodson said. "Yes, we are trying to win a Big Ten title, win a national title. Every time we suit it up, that's all I'm thinking about. And I'm hoping this team can have a shot at winning a Big Ten title.''

3. How worrisome are the injuries?

Five Indiana players missed one of the two exhibition games, but Woodson felt good about having most everyone back for Wednesday's opener. Carlyle (ribs), Galloway (knee) and Tucker (thigh) are th three keys. Galloway and Tucker moved well Friday, and Woodson is hoping Carlyle will be ready to go after sitting out last Friday. Anthony Leal (knee) didn't play Friday either, and Jakai Newton (knee) finally saw his first action as a Hoosier,.

The way injuries derailed the past few seasons, here's to hoping that's not the case this year. None of these seem serious at the moment, and they also should be available with no restrictions, with the possible exception of Leal, who landed awkwardly at Tennessee.

It would be nice to see them all out there. See you at Assembly Hall. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET. Here are all the links to our pregame coverage.

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