Indiana seeks its eleventh win at dwelling when it hosts USC on Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor. The Trojans are 9-5 general and 1-2 in Large Ten play.
Wednesday’s recreation will tip at 7 p.m. ET on BTN:
After Sunday’s spectacular 77-71 win in opposition to Penn State on the Palestra, Indiana will attempt to stretch its successful streak to 5 when USC involves Bloomington.
The Trojans, led by first-year coach Eric Musselman, had their four-game successful streak snapped in opposition to Michigan on Saturday in Los Angeles. USC led the Wolverines 65-63 with 7:33 left, however Michigan closed the sport on a 22-9 run.
Indiana’s hard-fought win on the Palestra was its greatest win of the season via 15 video games. The Hoosiers led by as many as 15 factors and made 9 3-pointers to seize their first Quad 1 win.
MEET THE TROJANS
The USC roster was rebuilt within the offseason after Musselman took over for Andy Enfield, who left for SMU. By way of 14 video games, USC has only one win in opposition to a workforce ranked within the prime 100 in KenPom (at Washington).
The Trojans are down a starter as Terrance Williams II, who transferred from Michigan, broke his wrist final month and is out indefinitely following surgical procedure.
Two energetic Trojans are averaging double figures: Desmond Claude and Chibuzo Agbo.
The 6-foot-6 Claude performed his first two seasons at Xavier and leads USC in scoring at 14.9 factors per recreation. The 6-foot-6 guard has scored in double figures in seven straight video games and has 4 video games with 20 or extra factors. Additionally a succesful playmaker for others, Claude averages 3.9 assists and is eleventh within the Large Ten in help charge.
His offensive strengths are ending on the rim and attending to the road. Claude is sixth within the Large Ten in free-throw charge (FTA/FGA) and is capturing 75.3 % from the stripe on the season. He makes 55 % of his 2s.
The 6-foot-7 Agbo is at his third college after beforehand enjoying at Texas Tech and Boise State. He’s a profession 38.6 % 3-point shooter and is 34-for-87 (39.1 %) from distance this season. Agbo has three video games with 20 or extra factors.
Freshman guard Wesley Yates III begins within the backcourt with Claude and is coming off a stable 19-point recreation in opposition to Michigan. In three Large Ten video games, Yates is capturing 50 % on 3s and 60 % on 2s. He averages 9.1 factors and is capturing 85 % from the free-throw line.
Up entrance, the Trojans begin 6-foot-7 ahead Saint Thomas and 6-foot-10 middle Josh Cohen.
Thomas broke out final season at Northern Colorado however has struggled together with his effectivity on the high-major stage. Thomas is capturing simply 42.4 %. He’s USC’s main rebounder at 5.8 per recreation and has a team-high 21 steals.
Cohen, a fifth-year senior, transferred from UMass and is an environment friendly put up participant. He makes 68 % of his 2s and had a pair of 19-point video games early within the season in opposition to Idaho State and UT Arlington.
Musselman brings 6-foot-8 sophomore Kevin Patton off the bench and the Murrieta, California native is coming off his greatest recreation of the season. Patton scored in double figures for the primary time and completed with 14 factors in Saturday’s loss to Michigan.
Yale switch Matt Knowling missed Saturday’s recreation with an undisclosed harm and his standing for Wednesday is unknown. The 6-foot-6 guard averages 3.8 factors in 19.2 minutes off the bench.
Backup middle Rashaun Agee performed simply six minutes in opposition to Michigan however had his greatest recreation of the season in USC’s first Large Ten street recreation at Washington final month. The Chicago native scored 14 factors and pulled down seven rebounds in that contest earlier than fouling out in half-hour.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
The energy of the USC offense is its capacity to assault mismatches out of its ball-screen-heavy assault. The Trojans rack up loads of assists and get to the free-throw line at a wholesome charge. USC assists on 60.8 % of its made subject targets, which ranks twenty seventh within the nation. The Trojans additionally rank thirty sixth in free-throw charge (FTA/FGA) at 40.8 %.
USC doesn’t take many 3-pointers and simply 24.7 % of its factors are from behind the road. That ranks 323rd within the nation. USC additionally doesn’t generate many second-chance factors and the Trojans rank simply 275th nationally in offensive rebounding share.
Defensively, USC struggles to defend within the paint. Saint Mary’s, Oregon and Michigan all shot higher than 60 % on 2s in opposition to the Trojans. Bodily, USC has nobody to match up with the dimensions and energy of Oumar Ballo, who has been on a tear since lacking the Winthrop recreation.
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Indiana by seven with a 74 % probability of a Hoosier victory. Bart Torvik’s rankings like IU by six with 72 % probability of a Hoosier win.
With Malik Reneau sidelined, Indiana has performed higher over its final two video games with its one-big lineup. The ground has opened up for Myles Rice to assault extra off the dribble and Luke Goode and Mackenzie Mgbako have capitalized on their in-rhythm 3-point seems. The Hoosiers struggled defensively within the second half at Penn State and might want to tighten issues up in opposition to a USC offense that shall be attacking the paint out of ball screens.
Indiana nonetheless has an extended method to go earlier than it will get again into the NCAA match image. Whereas a win Wednesday gained’t do a lot to assist that trigger – it’s a quad 3 alternative – it’s a recreation the Hoosiers can’t afford to lose.
Filed to: USC Trojans
