BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. On Wednesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the new players on Indiana’s roster had an uneven start in the Hoosiers’ season opener against Southern Illinois-Edwardville.

Indiana won 80-61 over the pesky Cougars, but it was a difficult road at times and the new Hoosiers were part of the reason why.

Myles Rice? He got better as the game went along, with seven of his 11 points scored in the second half, but the sophomore had 5 turnovers and sometimes forced the issue on his dribble-drives.

Oumar Ballo? He had an impressive final stat line: 15 points, six rebounds and he was 6 of 10 from the field, but it’s a bit misleading. He scored four of his six buckets in the final 7:22 of the game. By then, Indiana had finally put itself out of SIU-E’s range. Ballo also had four turnovers and he played a part in SIU-Edwardsville’s 16 offensive rebounds.

Kanaan Carlyle? He had a good floor game (6 rebounds, 3 assists), but not a good day on the scoresheet. He was 0 for 4 from the field.

Luke Goode? The designated sharpshooter for the Hoosiers was 0-for-3, including two misses from long range.

Bryson Tucker? He’s a freshman playing his first college game that counts and he looked it on both ends of the floor. No sin in that. Most freshman start the way.

It was all a bit underwhelming from Indiana’s new Hoosiers. Even coach Mike Woodson, without specifically singling out the new players, said the offensive display wasn’t what he expected.

“I do know we can score the basketball. Certain guys haven’t really made shots like I thought they would. They’ll start falling eventually,” said Woodson on the Hoosiers’ offensive identity.

Indiana’s infusion of talent was supposed to carry the Hoosiers to Big Ten dominance. One game against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville isn’t going to determine one way or another whether that will happen or not, but it wasn’t the flashy start for the Indiana newbies that many hoped it would be.

Overreactions are rampant after the first game of the season, but all fans have after one game is a first impression, so if concerns crop up, they’re magnified.

In the end, the newbies’ struggles didn’t matter. That’s because the players that Indiana fans have already familiarized themselves with carried the day.

No one was better than sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako. The man many thought would be a one-and-done for the Hoosiers is back and Indiana is very grateful that he returned.

He scored a career-high 31 points, including 19 in the first half when Indiana struggled to keep SIU-E at bay. He was 8 of 10 from the field before halftime and added five rebounds.

It was a bravado performance – the kind that impatient Hoosiers fans wanted early in the 2023-24 season, but had to wait until the last third of the 2024 season to witness from the New Jersey native.

Junior Malik Reneau also demonstrated that he’s ready to continue his progression. Reneau finished with 15 points, 11 of which were scored in the first half. Between Mgbako and Reneau? The pair provided 71.4% of Indiana’s first-half scoring output.

Reneau didn’t do anything we haven’t seen before. He backed down one or two defenders and used his strength to create scoring chances. He got to the line (all 6 attempts in the first half) and avoided foul trouble until the very end of the game.

Another positive first impression was made by Trey Galloway. Once again, Galloway – who has had almost every conceivable role during his Indiana career – was an energy source off the bench. He spelled Rice and Galloway almost immediately unlocked an Indiana offense that seemed to be stuck in neutral at the time.

His halftime statistics were modest, but Galloway developed a symbiotic bond with Ballo in the second half. Galloway fed Ballo for four easy buckets at the rim. They were part of a 9-assist attack from the Indiana veteran.

Wednesday’s game wasn’t a great first impression for Indiana’s new Hoosiers, but while everyone wants to see how the new shiny toys are going to work, it shouldn’t be forgotten that part of the strength of this team lies in Indiana’s returning veterans.

Not every first impression has to be made by someone new. Indiana’s veteran trio demonstrated that they can be counted on to take the Hoosiers where they want to be this season. It’s the best first impression that they could have given to Indiana fans.

Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory over Democrat Kamala Harris in Indiana was not a surprise on Election Day; the race was called for the former president right as all Indiana polls were closed.

Not only did he delivery a victory, getting 58.9% of the vote to Harris’ 39.4%, he also performed better in Indiana than he did in the previous two election cycles, according to the unofficial results.

Trump’s vote share this year was 19.5 percentage points higher than Harris’. In 2020, Trump defeated President Joe Biden here by 16 points. And in 2016, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton here by 19 points.

In both of those elections, Trump won between 56.5% and 57% of the vote. This year, he performed two points better than that.

Trump dominated Indiana in 2024 by winning 88 of Indiana’s 92 counties, with Harris winning just Marion, Monroe, Lake and St. Joseph counties.

In 2020 he won one fewer county here: Tippecanoe County, which comprises Lafayette and West Lafayette. Tippecanoe County flipped back to Trump this year, albeit narrowly. Trump got 49.2% of the vote there to Harris’ 48.9%. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the race, and Libertarian Chase Oliver each got about 1% in that county.

Though some Indiana Democrats hoped to chip into Trump’s vote share in suburban Hamilton County, that didn’t happen in a substantial way. Trump performed similarly in suburban Indianapolis this year to his 2020 showing, though Harris did just over a half-point better there than Biden.

This year, Trump won Hamilton County by 52.1% to Harris’ 46%, with RFK Jr. and Oliver each getting about 1%.

Where did Trump do better than in 2020?

Along with Tippecanoe County flipping for Trump, most of the state saw shifts to the right that contributed to Trump’s continued dominance here.

Lake County, which includes Gary, was nearly 10 points more Republican than in 2020, according to an analysis by the New York Times. Biden won Lake County by more than 33,000 votes in 2020. Harris won Lake County by just 11,775 votes this election.

LaPorte County also swung right by more than 7 points, according to that analysis. Several other counties, from Newton to Jasper to Pulaski Counties in the northwest part of the state each shifted to Republicans by about 5 points.

Where did Harris do better than in 2020?

There was no real good news for Indiana Democrats in Tuesday’s election results. But a few areas shifted a little bit more Democratic over 2020.

Besides the slight shift in Hamilton County, other Indianapolis suburbs where Harris performed marginally better than Biden in 2020 were Hancock County, where she did 3.8 points better than in 2020 and Boone County, which favored Harris by 2.4 points more than Biden, according to New York Times data.

Steuben County in the Northeast part of the state was more than 3 points more Democratic than 2020, Benton County on the far west side of the state was 1.6 points more Democratic and Harrison County near the Indiana-Kentucky border was seven points more Democratic.

Reactions to Trump’s performance

Indiana’s Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young congratulated Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance “on their decisive victory.”

“The incoming Trump administration and new Republican Senate majority will work together to reverse the open border policies of the last four years and address the economic challenges facing families in Indiana and across the country,” Young wrote in an X post.

More: ‘Kamala, you’re fired.’ Hoosiers react to President Donald Trump’s win

Indianapolis City-County Councilor Nick Roberts, a Democrat, said the result of the election was “genuinely devastating” but praised Harris, saying she “ran an incredible campaign” in a tight window. He also pointed out that Harris carried the majority of precincts in suburban Carmel, signaling future potential for Democrats in the Indianapolis suburbs.

Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@indystar.com.

BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana basketball team opens the 2024-25 season on Wednesday night at Assembly Hall with a game against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. 

The No. 18 Hoosiers enter the year having assembled one of the country’s more talented rosters through the transfer portal. 

Indiana coach Mike Woodson’s success in reeling in some of the biggest names available, from Oumar Ballo to Myles Rice, helped fans overcome their disappointment over not reaching the tournament last year. 

Woodson has expressed confidence in the new-look roster in recent weeks with more firepower and depth, and strong showings in exhibition wins over Tennessee and Marian added to the team’s good vibes. 

Will IU remain a feel-good story? Or should fans prepare for another letdown? Here are our bold predictions for the 2024-25 season: 

More: Indiana basketball: How Kel’el Ware’s turnaround led Oumar Ballo to Bloomington

Indiana basketball guard Myles Rice will win Big Ten Player of the Year 

Purdue’s Braden Smith is the heavy preseason favorite to win the award, but life without Zach Edey will be an adjustment for the Boilermakers while Rice will benefit from playing with what’s arguably the most talented roster in the Big Ten. 

Rice would be IU’s first Big Ten Player of the Year in the Big Ten since D.J. White won the award in 2007-08. 

He will have to improve his woeful 3-point percentage — he shot just 27.5% last year — but just a modest jump in production elsewhere should make him a contender. He averaged 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year last year. 

It was a remarkable season for Rice, who spent the previous year receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He went into remission in June 2023 and told reporters at Big Ten Media Days that he’s put on more weight and feels like he’s in the best condition of his career. 

Another reason to be bullish on Rice’s prospects for this season is his level of maturity — he’s going into his third collegiate season — and the way he’s taken the reins of the team. That’s a struggle for some transfers, but Rice established himself as a locker room leader right off the bat. 

“It’s amazing to see,” Indiana guard Trey Galloway said. “There’s no one like him that I’ve played with ever. The way he’s able to talk to guys and be that influencer on the court is very special to see.”

More: ‘Ain’t none of that soft stuff’: Indiana basketball’s Kanaan Carlyle wants to be team’s best defender

Indiana basketball will still be one of Big Ten’s worst 3-point shooting teams

Indiana’s 3-point shooting has been a source of frustration for fans during Woodson’s tenure. The Hoosiers ranked 12th in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting last year (32.4%) and dead last in 3-point attempts (15.5). 

That’s nothing new — IU has ranked last in the conference in 3-point attempts in each of Woodson’s three seasons. 

Will Indiana shoot more 3-pointers this season? Probably, the addition of Luke Goode will be a volume shooter off the bench, but he won’t be able to lift the Hoosiers team average all by himself. 

They shot 22.7% (10 of 44) from 3-point range in a pair of exhibition games and much of the success they had against Marian came in the second half when they were just running up the score.

The difference for the Hoosiers this year is that they are better positioned to make up for that lack of production. Rice is going to push the tempo and that should mean more possessions and points off fast breaks. 

More: IU basketball 2024-25 season prediction, schedule analysis: Big Ten challenge, NCAA return

Indiana basketball will reach the Sweet Sixteen

Indiana should be in the mix for a Big Ten title, but they are better positioned to make a tournament run in March. 

The Big Ten will debut a new 20-game scheduling model this year as it expands to 18 teams. Each member school will face three opponents both home and away and the other 14 teams once. Those games are split evenly with seven at home and seven on the road. 

Indiana’s conference schedule looks fairly daunting with a run of road games running from January into February —  IU plays six of nine games on the road after facing Rutgers on Jan. 2 — and that could make it hard for the program to compete for the regular season title. 

The timing of the Hoosiers’ West Coast swing in March isn’t ideal either with it coming so late in the year with little time to rest on either side of the trip.

Indiana’s reward for that punishing schedule should be a battle-tested team in the tournament capable of going toe-to-toe with whoever they draw in the early rounds.  

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.