By MIKE McCURRY
When it rains, it pours for Indiana.
Already without OG Anunoby for the rest of the season due to right knee surgery, the Hoosiers announced on Saturday that fellow starter James Blackmon Jr. is out indefinitely with an unspecified lower leg injury.
Blackmon, the Big Ten’s fourth-leading scorer (17.6 PPG) and leading three-point shooter (43.4%), sustained the injury during Indiana’s 90-60 loss at Michigan on Thursday.
“As much as this affects our basketball team–as with all of the other injuries this year–it hurts us much more for James,” IU head coach Tom Crean said. “He has been playing at a very high level and this is unfortunate.”
In the two games prior to Thursday–in wins over Penn State and Michigan State–Blackmon averaged 25 points while making 11 of 21 three-pointers, including a game-winning buzzer beater versus the Nittany Lions.
On Monday, he was announced as the co-Big Ten Player of the Week, sharing the honors with Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes.
Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for Blackmon, who has been somewhat defined by injuries during his time on campus.
The 6-foot-4 junior was limited to 13 games last year due to a torn right ACL. He also had left knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus back in the 2015-16 offseason.
Indiana, which at one point this year was the No. 3 team in the country, is 14-7 overall and 4-4 in conference play. The Hoosiers play at Northwestern on Sunday (6:30, BTN).
Photo: IndianaMBB
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