Indiana Men’s Basketball Faces Marian University in Final Exhibition Game

No. 17 Indiana men’s basketball is set to play its final exhibition game against Marian University on Friday, November 1, at 7 p.m. ET in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten+ and covered by the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, and John Herrick.

The Hoosiers are coming off a 66-62 exhibition victory over No. 12 University of Tennessee on October 27, where junior forward Malik Reneau scored 21 points and redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice added 20 points. Despite the win, Indiana acknowledged areas for improvement, particularly in 3-point shooting and ball handling. In the Tennessee game, Indiana struggled with 3-pointers, going 0-for-11 in the first half before improving in the second half. Coach Mike Woodson attributed the poor shooting to Tennessee’s defensive strategy.

Against Marian, Indiana will look to continue improving its 3-point shooting and maintaining a high pace while minimizing turnovers. The Hoosiers committed 10 turnovers in the first half against Tennessee but reduced that to just three in the second half. Myles Rice’s performance was notable, playing 31 minutes without a turnover despite aggressive play.

The game also marks a significant return for Pat Knight, the son of legendary Indiana coach Bob Knight, who is now the head coach of Marian University. Pat Knight, who played under his father at Indiana and later worked as an assistant coach, is entering his first year at Marian after spending the last decade as a scout for the Indiana Pacers.

Marian University, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), returns key players such as senior guard Gus Etchison and redshirt senior center Jackson Ames. Indiana holds a 3-0 record against Marian in exhibition games and is 31-0 against non-Division I opponents in exhibition games since the 2004-05 season.

The game is expected to provide more opportunities for Indiana’s bench players, such as Luke Goode, Langdon Hatton, and Gabe Cupps, to log more minutes and experiment with different lineups.