Indiana Basketball Game Preview: Minnesota – key storylines, injury report, how to watch

Indiana basketball kicks off Big Ten play with the Hoosiers hosting the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Indiana is coming off a win over Miami (OH) last Friday.

The Gophers enter the game with a record of 6-4 under fourth-year head coach Ben Johnson. Fifth-year senior forward Dawson Garcia leads Minnesota at 19.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steal in 34.0 minutes per game. Fifth-year senior guard Lu’cye Patterson adds 10.0 points and 3.9 assists per game.

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be on BTN.

Below is the full preview of Indiana basketball vs Minnesota.

Key Indiana basketball Storylines

First Big Ten game

Now comes the weird stretch of the season where we play some conference basketball for a week.

Indiana basketball has 2 Big Ten games this week first hosting Minnesota and then traveling to Nebraska. Starting tonight, Indiana is going to have to take care of business.

The Golden Gophers come into this game just 6-4 on the year and has looked pretty rough at times throughout the season. Indiana basketball needs to handle business at home tonight because a loss here could be really damaging with Minnesota not being at a high level right now.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s here now,” said Trey Galloway last week. “The Big Ten is real. Anybody can win on any given night. You got to be prepared and practice with urgency and with a purpose. I think that’s our biggest focus, is getting back to work tomorrow and getting ready for Minnesota because that’s our first game.”

“But we got to take it one game at a time because every team is a good opponent and you got to focus on each team.”

Turnovers, man. Be smarter with the ball. 

This Indiana basketball team is a true rollercoaster of a squad when you watch them on the floor. There are times where everything clicks and then there are times when you are questioning what they are actually thinking.

This team can be really dangerous, but just a few small things hold them back. One of those things are the turnovers. The Hoosiers are currently averaging 13.9 of them. Just awful.

The talk about Indiana right now is how poorly they play defense. While that is true, Indiana shoots themselves in the foot by the amount of lazy turnovers they have. If they could limit those and take care of the ball, it would greatly.

Have to be better with the ball vs Minnesota.

Should Trey Galloway start rest of the season?

This seems like an unfair conversation, but it is one worth exploring.

Kanaan Carlyle has missed the last few games with an undisclosed injury. In that time, Galloway has been playing some really good basketball. This has brought up the conversation of if Galloway should start no matter what moving forward.

In my opinion, yes he needs to. If you look at the games when both Carlyle and Galloway are healthy, Indiana is at its best when Galloway is playing alongside the starting unit. At this point in time, Carlyle has just not looked very comfortable on the floor as much as Galloway does.

Galloway has the experience of playing with Mike Woodson and starting. It would be best for Carlyle to come off the bench at this point that way he can see the game before he steps on the floor.

It will be interesting to see when Carlyle comes back what Woodson does.

Series History

Indiana has won 109-of-178 games played in the series against Minnesota. The Hoosiers have won eight-straight games overall and eight straight played in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers swept the Gophers last year with 12-point wins on Jan. 12 in Bloomington (74-62) and on March 6 in Minneapolis (70-58). First round draft pick Kel’el Ware averaged 22.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in the two victories over Minnesota last season. Mackenzie Mgbako posted 17.0 points on 5-of-8 shooting (62.5%) from the 3-point line and Trey Galloway averaged 12.5 points, 9.0 assists, and 4.5 steals.

Indiana basketball Injury Updates

Gabe Cupps: Cupps missed the last two game. He is questionable.

Kanaan Carlyle: Carlyle missed the last three games. He is questionable.

Quick Hitters

Who?: Indiana (7-2) vs Minnesota (6-4)

When?: Monday, Dec. 9, 2024 • 6:30 p.m. ET

Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.

TV: BTN (Dave Revsine, LaPhonso Ellis)

Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)

Betting Lines: Indiana is listed as a 10-point favorite

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