Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson uncertain of severity of injuries to Malik Reneau, Xavier Johnson

Indiana basketball had a gritty win on Tuesday night over Iowa but it didn’t come without consequences.

At the 17:27 mark of the first half, sophomore forward Malik Reneau went down with an ankle injury. He had to be helped to the locker room. He would later return to the bench briefly, but then headed back to the locker room again — this time on crutches. He would not return to the sidelines and was on crutches even after the game.

Reneau entered Tuesday’s game averaging 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 57.8 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from three.

Then, with 2:12 left in the second half, Xavier Johnson drove to the basket but was fouled hard going for the dunk. He landed awkwardly on his left arm and was screaming on the floor in excruciating pain. He was helped off of the floor to the locker room.

He had nine points and three assists in 32 minutes.

Following the win, Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson provided a minimal update.

“I don’t know the severity of X and Malik at this point. But both went out kind of in pain. I’ll know here when I get back there to see what the outcome of that is,” Woodson said. “But if we have to wait on them, we have to wait on them. But it’s the next guy up. We’ve just got to get the next man ready to play. So guys that have been sitting over there, hadn’t played a whole lot, they’ve got to step in and help us win basketball games because that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.

If either miss significant time, Woodson will look to two upperclassmen in Anthony Leal and Anthony Walker to fill the minutes.

Leal turned in a career-performance on Tuesday, finishing with 13 points and hitting three 3s. He had just 14 points on the season entering Tuesday.

“I applaud our team,” Woodson added. “I’ve always said since I’ve been here, it’s the next man up.”

“You’ve got to move on. I don’t like seeing any player hurt, especially my own players. But the game is still going on. And you’ve got to get these guys refocused and deal with what they’re facing, what’s in front of them.”

Indiana basketball faces Penn State on Saturday at home.

“I think it’s a way to rally us all together,” Antony Leal said postgame. “One guy goes down, we know the next guy’s got to step up. And we’re all committed to winning and doing what we need to do win. Malik goes down, X goes down, we know we have to find a way to win and move on.”

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