Five Storylines to watch for Indiana basketball at Tennessee

For the first time this season, we will get a chance to watch this new-look Indiana basketball squad take the floor against a different opponent other than themselves as they travel to Knoxville (TN) to face the Tennessee Volunteers for a charity exhibition.

Indiana basketball is coming off of a 19-14 season last year when it failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Mike Woodson.

The Volunteers finished the 2023-24 seasons with a 27-9 record and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. Tennessee lost six players from their regular rotation from a season ago, including first-round draft pick Dalton Knecht. Head coach Rick Barnes, a 38-year college basketball veteran, reloaded with the 14th-ranked transfer portal class according to 247Sports.

“We are excited to be able to play such a good, well-coached team in Tennessee to get us ready for the season,” Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson said. “We wanted to test ourselves away from our home floor early in the season and this will be a great experience to learn where we are as a ball club.

“We are also honored to play for such a wonderful cause in the McLendon Foundation. The work that they do is truly special, and it is a credit to John McLendon and his legacy.”

The game is set to take place at 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, October 27th on SEC+.

Before we see the Hoosiers in action on Sunday, lets preview five storylines to watch for Indiana basketball at Tennessee.

Rapid Reaction: Final thoughts on Indiana basketball from Hoosier Hysteria

What will the ‘new-style’ offense look like for Indiana basketball?

After months of anticipation, we are finally going to get a first-hand look at the new style of play that both Mike Woodson and his Indiana basketball team have talked about in the offseason. With the past few seasons of playing through the front court 90% of the time, the roster that Woodson has put together this offseason will allow the Hoosiers to play a more fast-paced, small ball style.

For Indiana basketball to play a more modern style of basketball, Mike Woodson and his staff had to go out and get more dynamic guards and add more knockdown shooting. They did that by adding guys like Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, and Luke Goode. There is a little bit of hesitation that Woodson may stick to playing through post with addition of Arizona transfer center Oumar Ballo, but the hope is that Malik Reneau  will be able to stretch his game out that way the paint is not as clogged as it was last season.

Both Reneau and Ballo will most likely see time on the floor together, but it will be how Mike Woodson uses them if he truly wants to play in a new small ball style. Having guys like Luke Goode and a returning Mackenzie Mgbako will allow them to be more versatile in the front court.

“I’d like to get to some small ball this year like I had in New York,” Woodson said this offseason. “Where Mack (Mackenzie Mbgako) and (Luke) Goode can play some four, and we can still be athletic enough out on the floor with one of the bigs able to compete at a high level.”

There has been a lot of talk about this new style and while there were glimpses of that at Hoosier Hysteria, this Sunday will be the first chance we see it on the floor against a opposing team.

Read: Is Malik Reneau the most important player for Indiana basketball this season? Given all the talk, he may very well be

How’s the defense look?

The bread and butter of Mike Woodson’s tenure as head coach of Indiana basketball has been his emphasis on the defensive end of the floor. While the offense has been a roller-coaster the past three years, the defense has been a consistent strength of the Hoosiers for the most part.

With the players that Mike Woodson has brought back and added, on paper the Hoosiers should once again have one of the better defensive units in the Big Ten.

Yes, there will be question marks surrounding some of the players like Mgbako being about to guard both inside-and-out, Reneau staying out of foul trouble, the team being about to rotate and not allow easy looks, and so-on. However, the Hoosiers should once again be a force in protecting the rim with Oumar Ballo and the guards of the Hoosiers have the motor and IQ to be able to compete on the defensive end.

The offense gets talked about a ton, but games can often be won by how a team competes on defense. Indiana basketball needs to set the tone on that end before anything else.

More: Indiana basketball lands at No. 17 in Preseason AP-Top 25 poll

Will there be any surprises from certain players?

Throughout the offseason, there has been a pretty steady group of guys that fans and the national media have talked with the likes of Myles Rice, Oumar Ballo, Malik Reneau, Kanaan Carlyle, Makenzie Mgbako, and Trey Galloway getting most of the focus.

However, what about the guys that mostly make up the second unit like Gabe Cupps, Luke Goode, Langdon Hatton, Bryson Tucker, or even Anthony Leal? For the Indiana basketball game at Tennessee, will any of these guys be a surprise standout?

At Hoosier Hysteria, we got to see most of the second unit guys take the floor with arguably the biggest surprise being senior center Langdon Hatton and his hardworking performance on the floor. Luke Goode also proved to be a good as advertised as a shot maker with him getting buckets from behind the arc.

As far as Gabe Cupps, he will once again be a key rotation piece in the backcourt and is expected to take a leap from his freshman season. Five-star freshman wing Bryson Tucker has gotten high praise from both Mike Woodson and many others so we will get a chance to see what he can bring. Of course, there is also senior guard Anthony Leal that you know will always be ready when his name is called.

This Sunday will be a chance for these players to show what they bring to this Indiana basketball team early in the season.

Related: Bryson Tucker is not your average freshman, his mindset and willingness to learn could help him make an instant impact for Indiana basketball

What impact will Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle have?

Getting better in the backcourt this offseason was the No. 1 priority for Indiana basketball. They did that by adding dynamic guards Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle out of the transfer portal. Not only did Indiana basketball get more dynamic, they also added much-needed depth in the backcourt, something they did not have a season ago or really at any point during the tenure of Mike Woodson.

Both Rice and Carlyle are gamechangers for the Hoosiers.

“They’re game changers,” Indiana basketball guard Trey Galloway said. “Both of them can really score the ball and do many things to help the team win. They bring a different feel the way they push the pace and doing so many things on the offensive end. I’m excited to have these guys alongside us.”

We talked about this a little bit already, but a big reason that Indiana basketball will be able to play a much better style of ball this season is because they have both Rice and Carlyle running the backcourt. Both of these guys can push the pace, handle the basketball, create shots, facilitate, and so much more on the floor.

The impact that both of these guys have this Sunday at Tennessee will be one of the bigger storylines out of this game.

“Playing a faster pace,” Kanaan Carlyle said of what will be different with IU this year. “Me and Myles playing together on the defensive end and being able to pick up the ball 94 feet and then being able to push the ball on the offensive end, get to the rim and make plays for each other and other teammates.”

Story: ‘They’re game changers’: Mike Woodson wanted to play a specific style. Now Indiana basketball has the guards to do so

Are we going to see Trey Galloway or Jakai Newton?

There have been an almost unlimited amount of positives for Indiana basketball this offseason. However, one of the more negative areas have been the injury battles of both senior guard Trey Galloway and redshirt freshman guard Jakai Newton — both who coming off lower body injuries.

Galloway played an important role for Indiana basketball last season and was the bright spot of the backcourt for the Hoosiers but would go on to miss the last few games with a leg injury before he opted to get surgery early this spring. Newton, on the other hand, has not really played much basketball for the last two years with him battling lower body injuries since before his senior season of high school.

Mike Woodson and his Indiana basketball staff have been taking it slow and not rushing anything when it comes to both Galloway and Newton.

“It’s been a long process, but a good one,” Galloway said at IU’s media day last month. “I’ve had a lot of time to ease into things. You don’t want to rush anything and come back too soon. Taking my time with it, and making sure I’m strong and 100% back to where I was.”

“He’s doing fine” Mike Woodson said of Newton. “He can’t go everyday and that’s because we won’t allow him to go everyday,” Woodson said.  “We basically are slow-walking him back. But the days he’s been out there, he’s been pretty impressive … But we just gotta get him back fully healthy, but he’s not there yet.

We did not see any of Galloway or Newton during the scrimmage at Hoosiers Hysteria. While Galloway went through most of the warmups, Newton did not touch the floor at all. With that, there is probably a better chance we see Galloway before Newton on Sunday, but don’t be surprised if neither of them compete.

SEE ALSO: ‘Just knowing that anything that I go through now won’t really compare’: Myles Rice’s battles off the court have changed his perception on the court as heads into his first year with Indiana Basketball

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.

Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.