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LIVE BLOG: Mike Woodson Era at Indiana Begins With Exhibition Game Vs. Serbian Club Team

Indiana's basketball team is in the Bahamas this week, and they are going to play two exhibition games against Serbian club team BC Mega, which has some NBA talent. Here's what you need to know during Friday night's game.
Tom Brew|
LIVE BLOG: Mike Woodson Era at Indiana Begins With Exhibition Game Vs. Serbian Club Team
LIVE BLOG: Mike Woodson Era at Indiana Begins With Exhibition Game Vs. Serbian Club Team

The Mike Woodson era as head coach of Indiana's basketball team begins in earnest on Friday night when the Hoosiers play an exhibition game and BC Mega, a professional club team from Serbia.

Friday's game, which will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET, is being played inside the Imperial Ballroom at Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. It's the first time Woodson – a former star at Indiana from 1976 to 1980 who has played and coached in the NBA ever since.

This Serbian team is very good, and has a decided age and size advantage over the Hoosiers. They also have the best player on the floor, 6-foot-10 Nikola Jovic, an 18-year-old who is a projected lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

There is no television broadcast tonight – the two teams play again Sunday afternoon – and there's no radio or streaming either. But there are lots of eyeballs in the ballroom, so we'll keep you updated throughout the night.

The most-recent updates are at the top. Here's what you can learn so far:

FINAL: Indiana 79, BC Mega 66

It's over, and Indiana has its first win of the Mike Woodson era, beating a very good Serbian club team, BC Mega. 

Trayce Jackson-Davis was his old self – except better – scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Northwestern transfer Miller Kopp and freshman Tamar Bates each had 14 points.

  • --- TO READ THE FULL GAME STORY, WITH QUOTES, VIDEOS AND HIGHLIGHTS, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Heading down the home stretch

Indiana has stretched the lead back up to 13 points with a Miller Kopp three-pointer. He's had an impressive debut thus far. And then Rob Phinisee drives and finds Trayce Jackson-Davis for another basket, and it's 70-55 Hoosiers.

And now, with just 5:48 to go, Indiana has a 17-point lead at 72-55. Closing time.

Photos from the game

Indiana basketball's official Twitter account posted some pictures from the game. 

Second half action

8:50 p.m. ET – Indiana went with the same starting lineup, with Xavier Johnson back at point guard. Rob Phinisee actually got more time in the first half, because Johnson picked up two early fouls.

At the under-12 timeout, Indiana still leads 61-52. Miller Kopp with a pair of baskets. Here's the move on Twitter.

Through the first 28 minutes, here's the amount of playing time each Hoosier has seen so far. Trayce Jackson-Davis talked a lot last week about how he was in much better shape this summer compared to last year. It's showing tonight. He's played 25 of the first 28 minutes.

Halftime, and the Hoosiers lead by 9

8:30 p.m. ET – Indiana had a very impressive first half, taking a 41-32 lead. They've been led by Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has 14 points, and freshman Tamar Bates, who has 11 and looks like a veteran already.

Considering the talent on this Serbian team, it's a bit of a surprise. For a team that only had 10 practices to get ready for this trip, it's an impressive start. Indiana goes 4-for-9 from three-point range.

Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star tweeted out a shot chart.

Defense is impressive – so far

8:15 p.m. ET – Indiana has spent the majority of its preparation time for these scrimmages by focusing on installing Mike Woodson's new defense, and through the first four-plus minutes, it's paid off. Indiana leads 9-4 at the 15:15 mark. 

At the second timeout, Indiana leads 16-11 with 11:23 to go. Miller Kopp leads the Hoosiers with five points, and Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson have four each.

And now the Hoosiers are up by 12, at 38-26, with 3 minutes to go in the half.

Media members are not allowed to tweet out video during the game, but the fans are doing it unincumberd on Twitter. Here's a tweet of Tamar Bates' first basket as a Hoosier and a basket after an inbounds play out of a timeout.

Bates has seven quick points and Indiana leads 29-19 with 6:55 to go. A bit of a surprise considering all the newness that surrounds this team, both on the floor and on the bench with this new coaching staff. 

The game is on!

7:35 p.m. ET – Here's the question: Who scored the first points of the Mike Woodson era for Indiana. The answer? Race Thompson, a minute and change in.

Miller Kopp has made a three-pointer, which is why he here with the Hoosiers after three years at Northwestern. Indiana has really struggled to get perimeter points from its forwards during the past few years.

And Rob Phinisee is the first Hoosier off the bench. 

The first Indiana starting lineup

7:20 p.m. ET – Mike Woodson's first starting lineup includes two holdovers – Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson – and three transfers, point guard Xavier Johnson, guard Parker Stewart and forward Miller Kopp.

Hoosiers on the floor

7 p.m. ET – Here's some video of the Hoosiers warming up for the game. The game is being played in the ballroom at the casino, the same place the Battle 4 Atlantis holiday tournament is played every November.

Serbian scouting report

6:45 p.m. ET – Purdue guard Sasha Stefanovic has dual U.S./Serbian citizenship because his father was born there, and he spends a lot of time playing attention to all the teams in the Adriatic Basketball Association.

He says Mega is really good. Stefanovic, who is now part of the Sports Illustrated family because he's going to do a live podcast all season on our Purdue site, took a few minutes to give us a scouting report.

"Mega's a great team within the Adriatic League in Europe. I try to keep tabs on a lot of European teams and I enjoy watching the competition out there.

"They have a lot of good young players, and a lot of guys have gotten drafted from there too. Nikola Jovic on their team is really really good. He played on that U-19 team that the U.S. and Canada battled against this summer.

"Really good players, really competitive. It's going to be a great test for them this offseason. It should be really interesting for IU. It will be good for them.

"Last year, I'm friends with Filip Petrusev, who played at Gonzaga, and then he decided to go pro and go to Mega, and then he just got drafted by the 76ers. They have a lot of guys that they produce and have been really good for them, and then they go to the NBA or bigger clubs in Europe.''

NBA scouts in the house

6:30 p.m. ET – Jovic is considered a lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, so there's plenty of scouts in the building as well. There are scouts from the Cavaliers, Nuggets, Nets, Wizards, Knicks, Warriors, Spurs, Pistons, Jazz and Bucks.

There will be plenty of eyeballs on Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Tamar Bates also, plus several others. Sure it's August, but the scouts never stop working.

Injury updates for Indiana

6 p.m. ET – Indiana had already announced that USF transfer Michael Durr and true freshman Logan Duncomb weren't going to play Friday because of some nagging injuries, but during a pregame shootaround, sophomore guard Anthony Leal wasn't dressed either.

Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew has been the publisher of “Indiana Hoosiers on SI’’ since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as an award-winning reporter and editor for more than four decades, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He operates seven sites on the “On SI’’ network. Follow Tom on Twitter @tombrewsports.

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