Indiana basketball continues Big Ten Conference play in its 125th season of competition against USC at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are coming off their most impressive win on the year with a road victory at Penn State last weekend.
The Trojans enter the game with a record of 9-5 (1-2 Big Ten) in their debut season in the Big Ten under first-year head coach Eric Musselman. Junior guard Desmond Claude leads USC in scoring at 14.9 points per game. Graduate senior wing Chibuzo Agbo adds 12.8 points per outing and had knocked down a team-best 34 3-pointers this season.
Tipoff is set for 7 pm on BTN.
Below is the full preview.
Key Indiana basketball Storyline
Indiana basketball is building some REAL momentum
Remember when everyone thought the season was over in November? Well, it’s January and the Hoosiers are building a lot of steam.
Indiana basketball has won 8of their last 9 games and that includes 2 really good wins over both Rutgers and at Penn State to start the 2025 year on a high note. With those last 2 wins, the Hoosiers are now 3-1 in conference play.
This week, starting with USC, Indiana basketball has a chance to really sperate themselves from other Big Ten teams. They should take care of USC at home and then come Saturday, they have a chance to steal a road win at Iowa.
Take care of business tonight and keep the momentum going.
Series History
Indiana will host USC for the first time in program history. The first three games of the series were all played in Los Angeles before the two sides met in the 1974 Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament title game. IU prevailed by a score of 85-60 on March 18, 1974, in St. Louis.
Two-time All-American Steve Green led the way for the Hoosiers with 24 points in the victory. Tournament MVP and 1977 No. 1 overall pick Kent Benson added 17 points and Indiana ‘super sub’ John Laskowski chipped in 15 points.
Indiana basketball Injury Updates
Gabe Cupps: Indiana basketball sophomore guard Gabe Cupps underwent a successful surgery to treat a preexisting, nagging injury to his lower body. He will be out indefinitely.
Jakai Newton: Indiana redshirt freshman guard Jakai Newton underwent successful surgery to treat an injury to his lower body. He will be out indefinitely but is expected to return this season. This injury is not related to the one he had prior to the start of the 2023-24 season.
Malik Reneau: After scoring the first bucket of the game, the junior power forward went down on the defensive end holding his right knee vs Rutgers. He left the game and finally returned to the bench in the 2nd half but did not get back in. He missed the game vs Penn State. He is expected to miss today’s game vs USC.
Quick Hitters
Who?: Indiana (12-3) (3-1) vs USC (9-5) (1-2)
When?: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 • 7 p.m. ET
Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.
TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Robbie Hummel)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
Betting Lines: Indiana is listed as a 7-point favorite per DraftKings Sportsbook.
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