The hits keep on coming for Indiana.
Sophomore forward Christian Watford, the Hoosiers leading scorer (17.0 ppg) and rebounder (5.8 rpg), is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on his left hand on Tuesday. He injured the hand on Sunday afternoon in the Hoosier’s 84-83 overtime loss to Michigan State.
“Our road to getting better and our path on how we’re going to get there with the people we have took another hit,” Crean said after practice. “He had surgery today on his left hand. He broke a bone in his hand, so he’ll be out indefinitely.”
The news is all the more devastating considering that the Hoosiers were playing their best basketball of the season the past two games. They beat Illinois in Bloomington last week in addition to nearly beating the Spartans on the road.
The Hoosiers already lost last season’s leading scorer Maurice Creek to a fractured patella, the same injury (albeit to the other knee) that cost him most of his freshman season. Verdell Jones, who was averaging 12.9 ppg and 3.6 apg this season, has also missed the last three games with a sore knee.
Its pretty difficult to rebuild a program when your three best players are in street clothes.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.