Indiana basketball visits Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. This matchup offers the question: Is it better to keep losing by 2 points, or by 25?

The Hoosiers (13-5, 4-3 Big Ten) have been blown out two games in a row, prompting a rebellion among fans. Coach Mike Woodson and players are preaching patience, but IU is decidedly on the outside looking in for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Hoosiers could desperately use Malik Reneau (14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals), who has missed almost all of the last five games with a knee injury.

The Buckeyes (10-7, 2-4) have come painfully close to winning their last two games, falling by a basket to Oregon and Wisconsin. They beat Minnesota in double overtime before that. Bruce Thronton has been OSU’s driving force, averaging 16.7 points in conference play. Meechie Johnson, who started the first 10 games, has been on personal leave.

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Indiana basketball prediction, pick

Zach Osterman, IndyStar: Ohio State 79-69

Things have taken an ugly turn in the last week for the Hoosiers, who now need a good road result to rebound from consecutive thumpings at Iowa and against Illinois. Ohio State is a strange team, talented and well-rated by metrics but losers of a lot of close games. So much of this game feels like it will be defined by how Indiana manages Buckeyes point guard Bruce Thornton.

When does Indiana basketball play today?

8 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.

What channel is the IU basketball game on?

Watch with a Fubo free trial

Is Indiana basketball favored vs. Ohio State

ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Ohio State a 77.9% chance of winning.

Indiana basketball rankings vs. Illinois

Through Jan. 14

Indiana projected starting lineup

(with 2024-25 season averages)

Illinois projected starting lineup

• Bruce Thornton (17.4 points, 43.3% 3-pointers, 4.4 assists)
• Devin Royal (13.8 points, 7.4 rebounds)
• John Mobley Jr. (11.9 points, 43.0% 3-pointers)
• Micah Parrish (10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds)
• Sean Stewart (6.2 points, 6.3 rebounds)

Indiana basketball schedule

Jan. 11: Iowa 85, Indiana 60

Jan. 14: Illinois 94, Indiana 69

Fri., Jan. 17: at Ohio State, 8 p.m., Fox

Wed., Jan 22: at Northwestern, 7 p.m., BTN

Sun., Jan. 26: vs. Maryland, noon, CBS

Ohio State basketball schedule

Jan. 9: Oregon 73, Ohio State 71

Jan. 14: Wisconsin 70, Ohio State 68

Fri., Jan. 17: vs. Indiana, 8 p.m., Fox

Tues., Jan. 21: at Purdue, 7:30 p.m., Peacock

Mon., Jan. 27: vs. Iowa, 8 p.m, FS1

Three former members of the Indiana men’s basketball team have accused former team doctor Bradford Bomba Sr., 88, of sexually abusing them during their playing days.

Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller originally filed a lawsuit against Bomba in October, and John Flowers joined the suit this week.

Flowers, who played for the Hoosiers in 1981 and 1982, said he was subject to at least two unnecessary prostate exams.

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Longtime trainer Tim Garl is now listed as a defendant, as Flowers said Garl was aware of Bomba’s “invasive, harassing, and demeaning digital rectal examinations.”

“After his first physical, Flowers’s teammates told him he had ‘passed’ Dr. Bomba, Sr.’s ‘test,’ and that he would not have to undergo a digital rectal examination again,” the lawsuit states, via CBS Sports. “Garl laughed at Flowers and his freshman teammates and made jokes at their expense regarding the digital rectal examinations they endured.”

The university officially declined comment but sent a statement from September that said the school was conducting its own independent review on the matter.

The players’ attorney, Kathleen Delaney, said Bomba may have sexually abused at least 100 male athletes during his time at the school. Neither Garl nor Bomba’s attorney responded to a request for comment.

Bomba pleaded the fifth during a deposition last month.

Mujezinovic and Miller, who played under coach Bobby Knight in the 1990s, also alleged that Bomba conducted prostate exams that were not necessary.

The IU logo on a basketball during a Hoosiers game against the Michigan State Spartans Jan. 22, 2023, at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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“Dr. Bomba, Sr.’s routine sexual assaults were openly discussed by the Hoosier men’s basketball players in the locker room in the presence of IU employees, including assistant coaches, athletic trainers, and other Hoosier men’s basketball staff,” the lawsuit said, via NBC News.

“I’m standing up for all student-athletes who have suffered abuse,” Mujezinovic said in a statement. “I hope that more of our former teammates will speak out and share their stories publicly.”

“I will never understand why IU leadership did nothing to protect us from what I now understand was sexual abuse,” Miller said.

Added Flowers, “I am proud to stand up on behalf of my former teammates and other IU basketball players to seek justice for the sexual abuse we endured as members of the Hoosiers.”

The Indiana Hoosiers logo during the Empire Classic game Nov. 19, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Bomba was employed by the university from 1962 to 1970, and again from 1979 until the late ’90s.

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January 21 marks the day when WNBA teams and unrestricted free agents can begin to negotiate new contracts. February 1 is when these players can actually sign new deals with new teams.

Therefore, these next few weeks are about to get hectic in the women’s basketball world. And with the Indiana Fever’s impressive success and popularity increase last season, there’s a ton of attention on the offseason moves they’ll make.

But which available players are the best fits for Indiana? Who can propel them to being WNBA title contenders? In our opinion, it’s the five players (listed in order) below.

This one should come as no surprise. The Indiana Fever’s front office has made it clear that re-signing Mitchell (who has been with the team since 2018) is their top priority this offseason.

And for good reason. Mitchell and Caitlin Clark were arguably the WNBA’s best backcourt duo for the second half of the season and they appear to complement each other perfectly. Since Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, the Fever are almost guaranteed to give her a core designation (barring a separate agreement between the parties). Thus, Mitchell would have to make it abundantly clear that she wants out of Indiana if they were to trade her.

Frankly, we don’t see that happening. We expect Indiana to get Mitchell re-signed early, which will then allow them to pursue one of the next four players on our list.

Dallas Wings star Satou Sabally made it overtly clear last week that she has played her final game with the franchise that drafted her with the No. 2 pick of the 2020 WNBA Draft.

The Fever’s most pressing need is a wing player who has length, is a good defender, and can score in multiple ways. Sabally checks all of those boxes and then some. Out of any available players, there’s arguably no better fit for the Fever (aside from Mitchell) than Sabally. We expect them to pursue her aggressively this offseason and seem to have a good shot at securing her. It would almost certainly have to happen via trade however, as the Wings have cored Sabally.

Everything we said about the Fever’s needs at the wing position in the Satou Sabally section also applies to DeWanna Bonner. Her impending free agency has gone relatively under the radar, but her skill set is a solid fit for the Fever on paper.

The only clear downside is that she’s 37 years old, and likely only has a couple of seasons left. However, she might see Indiana as the perfect place to make one last run at a third WNBA championship. There’s also a connection with Fever coach Stephanie White, who likely could have insight into the desires of the Connecticut Sun’s numerous free agents.

Another underrated wing on the WNBA free agency radar is Dallas Wings standout Natasha Howard. One downside to Howard’s game is that she isn’t a great three-point shooter. But she is a lockdown defender and can score in enough ways to take the scoring load off of Clark and company when the need to do so arises. The Fever lacked on the defensive side of the ball a season ago and Howard could help alleviate that issue.

Plum coming to Indiana might be a longshot, and there’s virtually a zero percent chance the Fever would pursue her if they re-signed Kelsey Mitchell. But if Mitchell ends up elsewhere, they could do much worse than bringing Plum on board.

Plum’s versatile scoring ability would surely be enhanced when she’s receiving passes from Caitlin Clark. Given that she’s one of the league’s biggest superstars, her profile would be heightened even more so playing alongside Clark.

If Plum does indeed want out of the Las Vegas Aces (which would be via sign-and-trade given her core designation), the Fever could very well come calling as a contingency plan.

Some believe that an excellent offseason for the Fever could turn them into 2025 WNBA Championship contenders. But what does an “excellent” offseason look like? We’d argue that it means signing two of these players, with one of them ideally being Kelsey Mitchell and the other being one of the three wings mentioned.

What’s for sure is that the decisions Indiana’s front office makes in the next month or so will be crucial for their future success.