It’s basketball time again, the wait lessened by the unprecedented success of the football team. The 2024-25 Hoosiers took the floor against Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville (SIUE). Once again, Indiana connections played in role in scheduling, as coach Brian Barone, part of Tom Crean’s staff from 2008-10 came back to Bloomington as an opponent. There was not as much pre-game fanfare as earlier in the week when coach Pat Knight of Marian University bent down to kiss the IU logo at center court, but a second Hoosier legacy was in attendance.  One of Barone’s players, Kyle Thomas, son of Daryl Thomas, who played on Indiana’s 1987 national championship team, dressed but did not get a chance to play, an indication perhaps of how seriously the Cougars approached this game. 

Daryl Thomas passed in 2018 at the age of 52. He was the 120th overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, selected by the Sacramento Kings, and played over overseas for 13 seasons and then with the CBA La Crosse Catbirds in 1992-1993, before becoming a coach himself for Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, Illinois. His entire family was honored at Assembly Hall, where he once starred. 

Once the formalities were over, IU jumped out to a 20-9, as Mackenzie Mgbako was hot early with 13 points in the first 7 minutes. However, the lead didn’t last long after the Cougars The sophomore wing had 13 points in the first 6:56 of the game. But as SIUE settled in and Indiana failed to lock down the defensive glass, the Hoosiers couldn’t create any separation. By the 4:48 mark of the half, the Cougars’ Ray’Sean Taylor tied the game at 27. After a Woodson time-out, his Hoosiers responded to claim a 42-30 lead at intermission. Malik Reneau and Mgbako combined for 30-points going into the locker room, but overall, the Hoosiers allowed 10 offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes.

16 turnovers and 6-16 from three-point range are stats that leave plenty of doubt about improvements from last year. Oumar Ballo was mostly ineffective until Trey Galloway began to feed him in the post. Mgabo finished with a career-high 31 points and added nine rebounds. Reneau and Ballo each totaled 15. At least, the Hoosiers were effective at the free-throw line at 14-17, despite the poor 37.5% shooting from the field. Mgbako also got them to the magical sixty-mark first at 60-46 with 9:46 remaining. His overall point performance was the best on opening day since Eric Gordon scored 33 against Chattanooga in 2007. The final score was 80-61.