What: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Kansas State Wildcats
Where: Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN
When: Tuesday, November 25 at 8:00
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on FS1
Opponent Glance: The Kansas State Wildcats enter this non-conference tilt at 5-1 after dropping a thriller to the Nebraska Cornhuskers 86-85 on a neutral court over the weekend (Kansas City). The story for the Wildcats begins with Memphis transfer P.J. Haggerty. The junior guard is averaging 28 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists while shooting a red-hot 40.9% from three and 56% overall from the field. Everything flows through him, as evidenced by his 34.1% usage rate. “He’s playing at a high-level,” Darian DeVries said on Monday. “He doesn’t just create for himself, he’s creating for others. He has good size, gets into the lane, body control and he’s a really good player, really talented player. It’s going to take a group effort on him.”
For an IU team that has struggled to defend without fouling, it will be fascinating to see how Darian DeVries chooses to try and defend Haggerty and the Wildcats. KSU has an effective field goal percentage of 61 (12th nationally) and they are connecting on 43.3% of their shots from beyond the arc. The offense has been in high-gear since the season started and this is easily Indiana’s sternest defensive test yet.
The Wildcats have scored at least 90 points in all but two games (84 against Tulsa and 85 against Nebraska) and the fewest they have scored all season is 84. As of Monday afternoon, Kansas State is ranked 49th in KenPom with an offensive rating of 118.1 (IU’s is 118.6) and 73rd by Bart Torvik. Good basketball requires both good offense and good defense and the Wildcats have yet to find much success on the defensive end. Jerome Tang’s squad have a defensive rating of just 102.7.
Rebounding is not a strength for IU or Kansas State and the Wildcats do turn the ball over nearly 14 times per game. Expect a relatively fast-paced game with a ton of three-points launched by both teams.
Why it Matters: The Indiana Hoosiers are 5-0 but it’s fair to call the past two outings a bit shaky. Kansas State represents IU’s biggest challenge yet and with upcoming challenges away from home against Louisville and Kentucky plus the rigors of what looks like a loaded Big Ten gauntlet, the Hoosiers really need to take care of business at home. Kansas State is projected to be a bubble team from the strong Big 12 and this will very likely end up as a Q2 contest. This is the only non-conference home game of relevance from a resume standpoint and Indiana could certainly use a victory and a strong performance.
Game 2
What: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Bethune-Cookman
Where: Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN
When: Saturday, November 29 at Noon
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on BTN
Opponent Glance: It’s “Wildcats Week” for the Hoosiers as they follow Kansas State with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Saturday at noon. Bethune-Cookman is in the SWAC but they have outperformed where that conference typically resides, sitting at 188th in KenPom entering action on Monday. They began the season by putting a major scare into the Auburn Tigers, falling 95-90 at Auburn. That was followed by a thumping at Miami (101-61), a large win over Coastal Georgia (101-60) and then a close loss at Dayton (91-82).
The Wildcats competed in the Sunshine Slam and stunned the Ohio Bobcats 76-73 to advance to a game on Monday afternoon against Jacksonville in Daytona Beach. That game was tied at 30 before Jacksonville prevailed for a 69-64 win. The Wildcats are led by 6’6” wing Jakobi Heady. The senior from Chicago is by far Bethune-Cookman’s best and most efficient offensive player and he is joined by Arterio Morris, Daniel Rouzan and Quentin Heady as double-figure scorers.
Arterio Morris leads the team with 18 assists but he’s a bit of a chaos merchant and also has 17 turnovers through five games. The Wildcats are not a particularly big team and should not present a problem to rebound against but they are capable of playing with tempo, forcing turnovers and making the game uncomfortable, as evidenced by the close game against Auburn.