Indiana returns to motion Tuesday night time at Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor in opposition to Sam Houston State. The sport will tip at 7:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
The Bearkats are 4-4 and are coming off an 82-78 win in opposition to Colgate on Saturday.
Indiana’s disappointing journey to the Bahamas is over. The Hoosiers have a pair of non-conference video games this week in Bloomington earlier than Large Ten play begins subsequent week.
Up first is Sam Houston State, which was picked to complete third in Convention USA within the preseason. The Bearkats personal wins in opposition to Tarleton State, Lamar, Trinity (D3) and Colgate with losses to Nevada, Baylor, Appalachian State and UNC Wilmington.
The 2 applications have met simply as soon as, a 99-45 win for the Hoosiers on November 15, 2012, in Bloomington.
MEET THE BEARKATS
Sam Houston State is led by 6-foot-5 senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, who’s averaging a team-high 19.6 factors in 31.3 minutes per sport.
Wilkerson is capturing 47.5 p.c from the sector and 45.3 p.c on 3s in 64 makes an attempt. Wilkerson is 29-for-64 on 3s and is a profession 37 p.c 3-point shooter.
Becoming a member of Wilkerson in double figures are 6-foot-5 junior guard Dorian Finister and 6-foot-8 senior ahead Cameron Huefner.
Finister can also be a succesful 3-point shooter however at a decrease quantity. He’s 10-for-23 (43.5 p.c) on triples, averages 11.4 factors and has a team-best seven rebounds in 29.9 minutes per sport.
Huefner missed the Baylor and Lamar video games and is 9-for-22 on 3s, with 5 of these makes coming in opposition to Division III Trinity on Nov. 21. He averages 10.5 factors in 22.7 minutes per sport.
One other identify to know is 6-foot-1 senior Marcus Boykin, who has missed the final two video games with an arm harm. Boykin suffered the harm within the loss to Appalachian State and has been sporting a sling on his arm on the earlier two Sam Houston video games. Boykin has an help price of 40.9 p.c, which ranks twelfth within the nation. If he’s unable to play, the Bearkats might be with out one in every of their major facilitators.
Brennen Burns, a 5-foot-10 senior, has began at level guard the final two video games with Boykin out. Within the workforce’s most up-to-date sport, Burns performed half-hour and scored 15 factors, had 4 assists, two steals and no turnovers.
Up entrance, anticipate 6-foot-11 senior Kalifa Sakho and 6-foot-7 senior Kian Scroggins to separate time on the 5. Sakho averages eight factors and 4.6 rebounds in beneath 20 minutes per sport and has a team-high 12 blocked pictures.
Scroggins has appeared off the bench in all six video games he’s performed. He averages a stable 8.8 factors and 5 rebounds in 20.7 minutes.
One other backcourt rotation piece is 6-foot-2 senior Josiah Hammonds, a Chicago native who beforehand performed at Incarnate Phrase. Hammonds made 77 3s final season at Incarnate Phrase and is 13-for-41 (31.7 p.c) in six video games.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
Sam Houston State is a superb 3-point capturing workforce. The Bearkats are 73-for-181 (40.3 p.c) on 3s general and 39.9 p.c in opposition to Division I groups, which ranks fifteenth nationally as of Monday morning. They’re at present scoring 35 p.c of their factors on 3s.
The Bearkats are additionally glorious on the offensive glass and are rebounding 34.6 p.c of their missed pictures. Indiana’s opponents are at present grabbing 33.5 p.c of their misses, which ranks simply 292nd within the nation.
Defensively is the place Sam Houston struggles and will run into vital issues in opposition to a way more proficient Indiana roster. The Bearkats are one of many 20 worst defensive rebounding groups within the nation themselves. And their opponents are capturing 36.8 p.c on 3s and 55.5 p.c on 2s.
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Indiana by 12 with an 85 p.c probability of a Hoosier victory.
Indiana has but to place collectively something near a 40-minute sport this season and Sam Houston goes to come back into Bloomington with an upset on its thoughts. The Bearkats could cause issues by hitting 3-point pictures, which can seemingly be obtainable, and crashing the offensive glass laborious.
After a 5-0 begin, the Hoosiers have been humbled after their journey to Battle 4 Atlantis. The teaching workers has plenty of work to do to shore up main points defensively. The workers has additionally did not reside as much as its preseason goal to run a extra fashionable offense with extra 3-point makes an attempt.
With simply two video games this week earlier than Large Ten play begins, Indiana has plenty of enchancment to do in a brief time period to cease the bleeding from an underwhelming begin.
Filed to: Sam Houston State Bearkats
