Xavier Johnson's Status Uncertain For High-Pressure Matchup Against Auburn

Johnson’s injury has given an already thin backcourt even fewer options. Freshman guard Jakai Newton hasn’t played this year due to a knee injury, leaving Trey Galloway, Gabe Cupps, CJ Gunn and Anthony Leal as the only healthy scholarship guards on the roster. Cupps, a 6-foot-2 freshman, has started the last two games alongside Galloway in the backcourt.

Woodson said Cupps “played his ass off” on Tuesday against Michigan, as he helped limit Michigan point guard Dug McDaniel to 3-for-14 shooting. Cupps has turned the ball over just 10 times in eight games.

“He's been steady ever since we brought him on campus,” Woodson said Thursday. “Yes, he has a long way to go, still trying to figure out the college game. But the fact that he competes, he loves to compete, he puts the work in, he doesn't look lost.”

Cupps has played strong defense and made few mistakes so far, but he doesn’t bring the same offensive firepower as Johnson yet. Cupps has attempted just six shots in the last five games, and he’s 3-for-14 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free throw line. He shot 44.3% from 3-point range as a junior in high school when he won Ohio Mr. Basketball, but there’s been a learning curve against bigger defenders.

It’s understandable, as Cupps is just eight games into his college career and Johnson is a six-year veteran. Cupps is wired to get his teammates involved, and he knows Indiana’s strength is inside with Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau.

“If [Cupps] doesn't score a bucket, I'm good with that,” Woodson said Tuesday. “If he's got shots, I want him to take it. But he just knows how to manage the game, and he does things on defense that a lot of guards don't want to do.”

If Johnson remains out, the challenge for Cupps grows even greater in the next two games against Auburn and Kansas. Auburn’s defense ranks 15th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, as well as top 20 in opponents’ 2-point and 3-point shooting percentages. The Tigers are going to be physical, seen through their 38th-most fouls this season.

Cupps will have Galloway, a senior, to help combat Auburn’s pressure, and Gunn is coming off perhaps the best game of his college career against Michigan. Woodson has given Leal some minutes lately, but he didn’t play Tuesday.

When it comes to preparing for Auburn, Woodson’s message was simple.

“We do what we do, and that's just work,” Woodson said. “They're no different than some teams that we play that applies pressure. We've just got to handle the basketball, not turn it over, and get shots. What they do to you, you've got to reverse it and do the same thing to them.”