Indiana Basketball's Tayton Conerway Returns from Injury. Will He Start Over Nick Dorn?

LOS ANGELES — Over 2,000 miles from Bloomington, sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway made Indiana basketball fans fill the Galen Center with a semblance of hometown acoustics.

"Hoo-Hoo-Hoo, Hoosiers," bellowed through USC's basketball arena after Conerway's driving and-one layup pulled Indiana's deficit to 75-73 with 31 seconds remaining Tuesday night in Los Angeles. The Hoosiers had almost climbed out of the 14-point hole they dug themselves midway through the second half.

Then, Conerway missed the free throw. USC made two foul shots on the other end, extending its lead to 4 points, before blocking Conerway's layup.

Indiana (15–8, 6–6 Big Ten) never pulled within one possession again in an 81–75 loss to USC (17–6, 6–6 Big Ten) to cap its two-game west coast swing.

Such was life Tuesday night for Conerway, who returned to the floor after missing the previous two games — wins over Purdue on Jan. 27 and UCLA on Jan. 31 — due to an ankle injury suffered Jan. 17 against Iowa.

There were highs and lows, exhilarations and deflations, and a general sense of happiness to have him back in the fold after questions about when, exactly, he'd be full-go once again.

"We weren't sure if he was going to be ready yet, but the last couple of days, he made pretty good progress," Indiana coach Darian DeVries said postgame. "So, he was able to practice a decent amount yesterday, and then felt like he was good in warmups today to go for some limited minutes at least."

Indiana basketball guard Tayton Conerway attempts a layup Feb. 3, 2026, against USC at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. | Photo Courtesy of Indiana Athletics

Conerway played 10 minutes Tuesday night, scoring 7 points on 3-for-6 shooting while going 1 of 3 at the free throw line. He added two rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and a turnover to round out his night.

The Burleson, Texas, native sprained his ankle against Iowa and played sparingly — two minutes against Michigan on Jan. 20 and 16 minutes against Rutgers on Jan. 23 — before missing his first two games of the season last week.

Conerway started the first 19 games of the season, averaging 12.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game during that span.

But after practicing sparingly due to pain management, Conerway moved to the bench against Rutgers. Indiana inserted junior guard Nick Dorn into Conerway's place in the starting lineup, and Dorn seized the opportunity.

In three starts entering Tuesday night, Dorn averaged 22.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field and making 16 of 34 triples. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Dorn added size and shooting to the Hoosiers' starting five.

Dorn, however, struggled against USC. He scored 6 points on 2-for-12 shooting, all from beyond the 3-point line, while nabbing just two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 36 minutes before fouling out with one second remaining.

"I thought we had some great opportunities there," DeVries said. "I thought Nick's been shooting about as well as anybody in the country. He just had an off night."

Indiana basketball guard Nick Dorn shoots a 3-pointer Feb. 3, 2026, against USC at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. | Photo Courtesy of Indiana Athletics

But after Dorn's struggles and Conerway's return, DeVries has a decision to make with his starting lineup. The Hoosiers will monitor Conerway's status in the coming days to see how his right ankle reacts to Tuesday night's weight load and whether there's any reoccurrence to his injury.

Dorn's hot streak before Tuesday night makes it difficult to remove him from the starting five, though Conerway earned his initial spot and, by and large, performed well within it.

So, who will DeVries choose when the Hoosiers take the floor at noon Saturday against Wisconsin (16–6, 8–3 Big Ten) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington? His answer appears to be Dorn.

"We'll see where it's at when we come back," DeVries said. "Right now, we'll stick with what we've been doing and see how it plays out from there."