Kel'el Ware Out, Xavier Johnson Questionable For Indiana Friday Against Kennesaw State
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana leading scorer and rebounder Kel'el Ware is out for Friday's game against Kennesaw State.
Ware, a 7-foot center, is listed out on the pregame availability report released Friday afternoon. He will not play due to COVID, according to Jeff Goodman of The Messenger. Ware averaging 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks through 12 games.
Senior point guard Xavier Johnson is listed questionable again by the Big Ten, though Goodman reported that Johnson is expected to miss Friday's game. Johnson has not played since Nov. 26 against Harvard.
Along with Ware, Indiana freshman guard Jakai Newton remains out with a knee injury, and walk-on guard Jordan Rayford is out for the season.
With Ware out, Indiana coach Mike Woodson could go a number of ways for the starting lineup. Senior Anthony Walker has played well in recent games, scoring 11 points against North Alabama and 18 against Morehead State. The 6-foot-8 Walker is more of a power forward than a center by traditional definitions – so is Malik Reneau – so starting Walker could require one of the two playing slightly out of position.
Woodson could opt for starting junior Payton Sparks, whose style is more representative of a center, though Sparks has played just 8.2 minutes per game and didn't crack the rotation against Kansas.
If Woodson wanted to go with a smaller starting lineup, sophomores Kaleb Banks and CJ Gunn are options. That would leave the 6-foot-9 Reneau and 6-foot-8 Mgbako as the starting front court, along with guards Gabe Cupps and Trey Galloway.
Tipoff between Indiana and Kennesaw State is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- KENNESAW STATE BREAKDOWN: After winning a program-record 26 games last season, Kennesaw State returns most of its rotation and has its sights set on another NCAA Tournament appearance. Indiana defeated Kennesaw State 69-55 last year, and the Owls are now led by first-year coach Antoine Pettway. Here's a breakdown of the Owls. CLICK HERE
- HOW TO WATCH: Indiana continues the 2023-24 season on Friday against the Kennesaw State Owls at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Here's how to watch, game time and TV information, the point spread and over/under, the coaching matchup, series history, stats, rankings and more. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN-PLUS OPTIONS: Here's a breakdown of the three Big Ten-plus streaming options as well as the full event calendar for the 2023-24 Big Ten athletics season. CLICK HERE
- POINT SPREAD: Indiana has won all of its games against mid-major foes, but they are just 1-4 against the point spread. It's a similar situation Friday when the Hoosiers take on Kennesaw State in the final nonconference game of the season. Here's the latest on the point spread, plus a record over/under line. Also a great history of both teams against the spread this year. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA 2023-24 SCHEDULE: Here is the complete Indiana basketball schedule for the 2023-24, with dates, opponents, game times, TV information and more, plus links to stories from the games already played so far CLICK HERE
