After sustaining an injury late in Tuesday’s game against Ohio State, Indiana centre Kel’el Ware’s status for Saturday’s game at Purdue is unknown. According to coach Mike Woodson, Ware took Wednesday off to receive medical attention.
Bloomington, Indiana: After Indiana defeated Ohio State 76-73 on Tuesday, the Hoosiers faced yet another injury worry.
When Jamison Battle attempted to slam the ball with roughly ten seconds remaining in the game, Kel’el Ware stole it from him, but the seven-footer stumbled and missed the layup. Following the play, Ware was clearly limping, so Woodson benched him in favour of Anthony Walker.
Luckily, Anthony Leal swooped in to secure the offensive rebound for Indiana. He made two free throws, and Indiana’s last possession resulted in a stop, allowing them to win with an 18-point comeback. After the game, Ware entered the tunnel on his own initiative.
Coach Mike Woodson of Indiana provided an update on Ware’s condition prior to the Hoosiers’ rivalry game against No. 2 Purdue on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
Woodson stated on Thursday, “We had to give him the day off [Wednesday], so he basically went through treatment.” “So I’ll know more today when we practise to see where he is.”
Tuesday against Ohio State, Ware wasn’t as productive as normal, and foul trouble played a major role in that. He was only able to play for 10 minutes in the first half before receiving two fouls; in all, he was only able to play for 26 minutes due to his four total fouls. Ware ended with one rebound, one assist, and six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
In the closing seconds, Leal made the game-winning 3-pointer and free throws, and Trey Galloway and Malik Reneau made up for their lack of scoring. Together, they scored 51 points.
When the Hoosiers play Purdue on Saturday, they will undoubtedly need Ware to counter 7-foot-4 centre Zach Edey, who is the front-runner to win National Player of the Year again. Before the game, Ware had an average of 14.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks, and a 55.3% field goal percentage and 42.9% 3-point shooting percentage.
Despite having nine double-doubles throughout the season, he had a difficult game against Edey and the Boilermakers in his debut. Ware played just 26 minutes in the first half due to first-half foul problems, finishing with five points on 2-for-6 shooting, six rebounds, and two blocks. Edey, on the other hand, scored 33 points and pulled down 14 rebounds at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
