The 2022 Cream & Crimson were off to a undefeated (4-0) campaign start going into the game against Little Rock. The real early season tests, however, for the Hoosiers loomed ahead, between the holidays, with #1 North Carolina coming to Bloomington for the ACC-BIG Ten Challenge, #11 Arizona meeting them in Las Vegas, and #3 Kansas hosting at Allen Fieldhouse. Any sane fan would be satisfied with one victory in those three pre-conference match-ups. Then, it was on to the BIG, with the first game at Iowa after the New Year. WOW!

Little Rock exposed our shooting problems. The Hoosiers were 1-8 from beyond the arc in the first half. Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, and Trayce Jackson-Davis did not dress, while Malik Reneau and Race Thompson spent time in the locker room for injury treatment. Race played the second half in a headband to cover the bandage near his temple. Miller Kopp hit three straight threes after the break, Race Thompson had two athletic dunks coupled with four free-throws, and Xavier Johnson hit another two freebies at 12:09 to reach the magic sixty goal with a 15-point bulge. Little Rock responded to cut the margin to seven, but Jordan Geronimo’s three stopped their momentum and Xavier Johnson soon added another. At that point, the Hoosiers were 6-17 from deep, showing improvement for a 17-point lead. The “X-Man” with ten assists and Geronimo’s fifth block pushed the lead to 21.

It was the 5th consecutive game over eighty, but I.U. had twelve sloppy turnovers in the 87-68 victory.
As an encore, I.U. finished off the Hoosier Tip-Off Classic with its sixth consecutive 80-point-plus outpouring to start the season, topping Jackson State 90-51 in Bloomington. It was another tune-up performance in preparation for #1 North Carolina to end the month of November. With a few nagging injuries hampering our big men, Sophomore guard Tamar Bates led all scorers with 22-points including four 3-pointers. The defense held the Tigers to well under the magic number of 60, while the offense got there with 12:40 remaining on a Trayce Jackson-Davis dunk. The Hoosiers shot 57.6% from the floor, 45.5% from three-point range, and 75% from the free throw line, with ten turnovers. Bring on the Tarheels!