As expected, Indiana played Thursday night’s game against UMBC without its two top reserves.
Derek Elston (nose) and Will Sheehey (left ankle) missed the Hoosiers’ 89-47 rout of UMBC and senior guard Verdell Jones also went down with a hip injury late in the first half.
Jones appeared to slip while attempting to throw a post pass with 43 seconds left in the first half and did not return.
“I haven’t had a chance to really sit and talk to the doctors right now,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said of Jones’ injury. “He was moving around a little better [after the game]. I think he injured his hip. Probably more of a hip flexor than anything else.”
Sheehey’s injury, which occurred when the sophomore wing stepped on a loose ball in a scrimmage situation during Wednesday’s practice, will continue to be evaluated over the next several days.
“It’s really going to be day-to-day. There was some progress made today,” Crean said. “It’s very much that. … Just waiting for swelling to go down. It truly will be that kind of situation. I don’t think it’s anything that’s going to be long term. But I don’t think to put a date on it or a timeline on it, we’re not there yet because the doctors and Tim [Garl] aren’t there yet.”
Indiana is expected to have Elston back for Wednesday’s Big Ten opener in East Lansing. The junior forward from Tipton, Ind. will be wearing a protective mask following surgery to repair a nose fracture.
“He wanted to paint it. He had some ideas and we shut that down real fast,” Crean said with a smile when asked about Elston’s mask. “We made sure during the game he was doing his rehab on his nose, stretching his nose now and again. Derek is a real treat. He is a real treat. That’ll be just a regular, plastic face mask. He’s not painting it like a hockey goalie, I know that.”
Big Ten Power Rankings: Week 1
Inside the Hall Big Ten power rankings: Week 1
12. Iowa (8-5)…There’s just no other way to say it — the Hawkeyes are bad. A 77-61 home loss to the Campbell Fighting Camels is about as ugly as they come.
11. Penn State (8-5)…The Nittany Lions have had a number of close losses, not including a 85-47 blowout defeat against Kentucky. Guard Tim Frazier is averaging an impressive 17.2 points per game.
10. Nebraska (8-3)…The balanced Cornhuskers have an impressive double-overtime win over USC on their resume, but not much else. Guard Bo Spencer (16 ppg) is a player to watch.
9. Minnesota (12-1)…When the Gophers lost Trevor Mbakwe, they lost any real chance to compete in the Big Ten. Minnesota has six players averaging between 6.1 and 9.9 points per game, but without Mbakwe, the Gophers no longer have a player capable of carrying the scoring load.
8. Northwestern (10-2)…The Wildcats have beaten Georgia Tech and Seton Hall, and they lost to then-No. 21 Creighton by just eight points. John Shurna and Drew Crawford are each capable of putting up huge numbers on any given night, and the Wildcats have a group of role players to do the dirty work.
7. Illinois (11-2)...The Illini’s impressive performance against unbeaten Missouri is proof that they have the talent to compete with anybody in the conference. They’ve got plenty of depth with D.J. Richardson, Meyers Leonard and Brandon Paul, but Illinois is too inconsistent to be considered a power in the conference.
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