What to watch for at Friday’s Hoosier Hysteria

  • Oct 18, 2024 9:09 am in

Only nine days remain before Indiana’s exhibition opener against Tennessee in Knoxville, but we’ll get our first glimpse at the 2024-25 Hoosiers tonight at Assembly Hall.

Hoosier Hysteria unofficially tips off the IU basketball season at tonight 7:30 p.m. ET. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET. If you can’t make it to Bloomington, the event will be streamed live on B1G+.

Here’s what to watch for at Hoosier Hysteria:

The competitiveness of the scrimmage

The scrimmage is expected to be the focus of this year’s Hoosier Hysteria. That hasn’t been the case for many years.

Last October, Indiana hosted Gucci Mane for a concert. And in 2022, G-Herbo headlined the event. This year, the scrimmage takes center stage.

But will it be a competitive scrimmage? In recent years, the Hysteria scrimmages have been more like NBA all-star games. There’s been plenty of scoring, little defense and no way to take anything away from the basketball. While fans welcome any glimpse they can get of the program at this time of the year, having a scrimmage with some competitiveness would be a welcome change.

Based on Indiana’s release in early August, competitive basketball is expected to take place on Branch McCracken Court.

“We are excited to rollout this new format of Hoosier Hysteria,” Mike Woodson said in the August release announcing the event. “Getting our team in front of Hoosier Nation has always been a priority for this ballclub. The scrimmage will be the first chance for our fans to get a look at our new players and most importantly will give our guys a taste of playing competitive basketball in front of the most passionate fans in the game.”

Will Trey Galloway and Jakai Newton participate?

The status of Trey Galloway and Jakai Newton have been frequent topics of conversation in the preseason.

Galloway was injured near the end of last season, missed the Big Ten tournament and underwent offseason knee surgery.

Newton missed the 2023-24 season due to a knee injury but has stated this preseason that he’s ready to play his redshirt freshman season.

Will either player participate in Friday’s scrimmage?

A first look at Kanaan Carlyle and Myles Rice

Much of the optimism surrounding Indiana entering the season comes from the program’s revamped backcourt.

The Hoosiers added transfers Kanaan Carlyle and Myles Rice, two of the top guards available last spring in the portal.

Rice is expected to be Indiana’s starting point guard after a first-team All-Pac-12 campaign last season at Washington State. The 6-foot-3 guard was named the Pac-12 freshman of the year and led the Cougars to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.

Carlyle played at Stanford last season and earned national player of the week honors for his 28-point outburst against Arizona on New Year’s Eve 2023.

Tonight will be the first chance for IU fans to see the new Hoosier backcourt. Both guards are known for being two-way players. Their defensive prowess is expected to be a significant part of their impact this winter.

The Oumar Ballo-Malik Reneau pairing

For a third straight season, Malik Reneau will have new frontcourt teammates.

As a freshman, Reneau was a backup for veterans Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson. Last season, Reneau’s sophomore campaign, he played with Kel’el Ware, who left for the NBA draft.

Now Reneau’s frontcourt partner is another dominant big man. Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo was one of the top players in the portal last spring and is now a Hoosier.

Tonight’s scrimmage will offer a first look at the Ballo-Reneau pairing. Will they go head-to-head in the scrimmage? Will they be scrimmage teammates and allow a glimpse at how they’ll look playing together?

The Ballo-Reneau pairing can bear plenty of fruit for Indiana this season. Reneau is an excellent passer who should be able to find Ballo for easy buckets. Ballo, one of the best offensive rebounders in the country, will be around to clean up Reneau’s missed shots.

Mike Woodson and Teri Moren will address the fanbase

The coach’s speeches are typically one of the best segments of Hoosier Hysteria.

A few years back, Woodson offered his famous “Indiana basketball is the s***” comment at center court. Last year, Woodson’s emotion was visible when he asked the fanbase to pray for Bob Knight.

There’s plenty of optimism for the men’s and women’s programs entering the 2024-25 campaign. Both programs are ranked in the preseason Associated Press top 25 polls.

Both coaches are expected to address the crowd at the event and give some brief insight into their teams with the start of the regular season just a few weeks away.

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