Chase Swaringen

Head coach Archie Miller and the Indiana Hoosiers were dealt a huge blow Wednesday morning when it was announced that sophomore center De’Ron Davis will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon. The injury was originally announced last week, but the significance was not immediately known.

The sophomore was averaging 9.6 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game in 15 starts this season. Davis’ first missed game was against Minnesota last Saturday. Coach Miller had given Davis high praise for his offseason work ethic and Davis was expected to become a key player for this year’s Hoosier squad. Instead, Davis struggled with foul trouble in many games and saw junior forward Juwan Morgan become the key man on the inside for Indiana.

Without Davis, the Hoosiers will rely more on freshman Justin Smith to help out Morgan down low. The forward from Buffalo Grove, Illinois was a four star recruit and ranked 77th on the ESPN 100. Smith scored a career high 20 points against Minnesota, but struggled with foul trouble in the following game against Penn State and only scored two points in six minutes of action. Clifton Moore, another freshman who has played sparingly this season, may also see an uptick in minutes due to Davis’ injury. If Indiana has hopes of competing in a weak Big Ten conference this season, Smith, and possibly Moore, will have to play extremely well each and every game.

Indiana, whose won two straight conference games and four of their last five matchups, will be back in action on Sunday against Northwestern in Bloomington.