Indiana Hoosiers
Conference Affiliation: Big 10
Head coach: Tom Crean 337-215 (.612) 8th season at Indiana 147-118 (.553)
Overall Record: 26-7, Home 17-0, Away 6-4 , Neutral 3-3
Kentucky vs Indiana head to head
All Time: UK 32 Indiana 24
Last 20 years: Kentucky 13 Indiana 4
Schedule
Check here for schedule and other stats
http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/iuhoosiers.com/documents/2016/3/17/SeasonandBig.pdf?id=20713
Game Info: 03/19/16 Kentucky versus Indiana, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA, 5:15 p.m. EST, TV: CBS
Probable Starters
F #30 Collin Hartman 6-7 215 Jr. 5.0pts, 3.1reb, 1.7ast, .364 3pt%
F #5 Troy Williams 6-7 215 Jr. 13.0pts, 6.0reb, 1.9ast, 2.6tos, .328 3pt%
C #31 Thomas Bryant 6-10 245 Fr. 11.6pts, 5.7reb, 1.0ast, 0.9blk, .417 3pt%
G #2 Nick Zeisloft 6-4 210 Sr. 6.8pts, 1.6reb, .432 3pt%
G #11 Yogi Ferrell 6-1 180 Sr. 17.1pts, 3.8reb, 5.7ast, .423 3pt%
Key Reserves
G #4 Robert Johnson 6-3 195 So. 8.1pts, 3.4reb, 3.2ast, .441 3pt%
F #0 Max Bielfeldt 6-8 240 Sr. 8.1pts, 4.6reb, .439 3pt%
F #3 OG Anunoby 6-8 215 Fr. 4.9pts, 2.6reb, .444 3pt%
F #13 Juwan Morgan 6-7 205 Fr. 2.4pts, 2.1reb, .500 3pt% (5-10 on season)
Team Stats
Points per game 82.8
Points allowed 69.1
Scoring margin +13.7
Field goal pct .505
FG% allowed .443
3-point FG pct .419
3pt fg% allowed .338
Free throw pct .725
Rebounds per game 37.2
Rebounds allowed 29.9
Rebounding margin +7.2
Assists per game 16.2
Turnovers per game 13.6
Turnover margin -0.5
Assist/turnover ratio 1.2
Steals per game 7.0
Blocks per game 4.0
KenPom Info (KP has UK-2 with 57% chance to win)
Indiana rated #13 overall (UK #6)
Offensive efficiency #5 (UK #1)
Defensive efficiency #69 (UK #59)
Statistical Strengths
#2 in effective FG%
#5 in 3pt% (41.9%)
#5 in 2pt% (56.4%)
#15 in offensive rebounding %
Statistical Weaknesses
#276 in turnover % (13.6 tos per game)
#263 in FT attempts per FG attempt
#185 in 2pt% defense (allowing 49%)
#153 in effective FG% Defense
Analysis: Indiana enters the game with Kentucky on Saturday riding high, coming off a 99-74 victory over UT Chattanooga. Indiana also had a bit of good news with the return of Robert Johnson, who scored 7 points, hit a 3, and had 6 assists in 24 minutes. He may even start on Saturday against UK, which would likely slide him into Zeisloft’s spot at the shooting guard position. They have become quite an elite offensive team on the season, rated #6 in the nation offensively from an efficiency standpoint. But I think it should also be noted that IU has benefitted statistically with a much weaker schedule than other B1G teams this season because of the unbalanced schedule.
When you start looking at Indiana, it all begins with their point guard Yogi Ferrell, the 6-1 180 senior who is averaging a team high 17.1 points and 5.7 assists. Ferrell is a guy well known by UK fans. He’s very quick with the ball in his hands and often looks to score as much as he looks to create. He also is tied for the lead in steals on the team with 38 on the season, so he can defend pretty well. His backcourt mate for the last several games has been Nick Zeislof, a 6-4 210lb senior guard whose greatest strength is his 3pt shooting, which he hits at 43.2% and has attempted the second most 3pt shots on the season, trailing only Yogi Ferrell. He averages 6.8 points per game and 1.6 rebounds. On offense, he’s pretty much a shooter, period. The other shooting guard, who started most of the season and has been injured, is Robert Johnson, a 6-3 sophomore who is the most consistent 3pt shooter on the team and also a much better facilitator than Zeislof and is second on the team in assists on the season. He has averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists this year. I’m not sure if he is at 100% yet or not, but he did make a positive contribution last night, as I mentioned above.
In the frontcourt, the man in the middle is 6-10 245lb freshman Thomas Bryant. Bryant has provided the Hoosiers a solid post presence this season, where he has averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. They don’t spend much time feeding him the ball in the post for him to score back to the basket, but he gets most of his points off drives and dishes, and also rebounds and stick-backs. He’s not particularly effective with his back to the basket but he’s a load in the paint. Playing power forward for the Hoosiers is 6-7 215 junior Troy Williams, who is probably the best athlete on the team, along with Ferrell. He’s a high flyer who finishes well on the break. He’s a streaky shooter and scorer who is likely to either shoot a 3 or score at the basket on lay-ups and dunks. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game and he leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 per game. The third forward is Collin Hartman, another 6-7 215 junior. He’s not nearly the athlete Williams is, and he’s primarily in the game to stretch the defense by providing another 3pt shooter for Ferrell and company to kick out to after drives. He shoots the 3 at 36.4% on the season.
From the bench, Indiana will bring whoever doesn’t start between Zeislof and Johnson at the guard position. They also bring in Max Bielfeldt to give their big men a breather. He’s a 6-8 240lb Senior who is averaging 8.1pts, 4.6reb, and can also hit the 3 at 43.9%. As you can see, pretty much everyone on the team can and will shoot the three. Another guy we’ll likely see on Saturday is a guy who has emerged in the last several games, OG Anunoby, a 6-8 215lb Freshman who has averaged 4.9pts and 2.6reb on the season but has scored 27 points in the last two games combined. He seems to be contributing at the right time for Indiana. Anunoby can also step out and hit the 3, where he’s made 12-27 on the season for 44.4%. The last guy we may see in this game is Juwan Morgan, a 6-7 205 forward who has done a whole lot on the season, only averaging 9 minutes, 2 points, and 2 rebounds, but he can shoot the 3 also and has made 5-10 on the season from distance.
As I’ve taken a closer look at Indiana, there is no question this is the best shooting team UK has faced this season, and also the most efficient offensively. The fact they pretty much have 5 guys who can shoot the 3 on the floor at any given moment, whether starters or bench players, makes them a difficult team to defend. Bryant doesn’t give them a huge amount of scoring in the post, but they haven’t needed much. This Indiana team is primarily a perimeter team, without question. If they’re getting open shots, they’ll knock down a significant number of them. They average about 10 made threes per game and that is almost always plan A on offense.
Having said this, the thing that should be of concern to Indiana and their fans is their lack of defense. They seem to be decent defending at times but they often have breakdowns. It seems they are often content with outscoring people. Looking at that UT Chattanooga game, for example, the first thing many will see is 99 points for IU, but the thing that is a problem is the fact that UTC scored 74 in that game while shooting 47.5%; and this from a team that shot only 45% on the season against a weak schedule. That could be a significant problem for IU in this game, especially given the fact that UK is now the #1 team in the nation in offensive efficiency.
When I look at match-ups in this one, I expect a war between Ferrell and Ulis, but I really believe Ulis will get the best of that match-up. I also look at IU and ask myself who they have who will guard Jamal Murray. The truth is, they don’t have a good candidate at guard to do it. The guy who is possibly long enough and athletic enough to guard him is Troy Williams, but if they pull Williams out of the paint, they give up their top rebounder and they also have to put Hartman on either Poythress or Skal out of the gate. The other defensive issues for IU are dribble penetration and pick and roll defense. There are several guys here who simply can’t stay in front of Ulis, Murray, or Briscoe. If they can’t stop dribble penetration with their man to man, they may be forced to go to zone, and UK has feasted on zone defenses this season, with Ulis carving them up and Murray and Willis knocking down threes. IU’s porous defense is especially challenged by UK’s guards.
The final thought I have here is in regard to UK’s defense. The Cats haven’t been great in every game this season defensively, but they have shown they can lock teams down if needed. They showed this again last night against Stony Brook. Now, Stony Brook is no Indiana, that much is sure, but which of these teams has the best potential to slow down the opposing offense? My answer to that is UK. I expect a fairly high scoring game, but for UK to prevail.
Prediction: Kentucky 84 Indiana 76
Conference Affiliation: Big 10
Head coach: Tom Crean 337-215 (.612) 8th season at Indiana 147-118 (.553)
Overall Record: 26-7, Home 17-0, Away 6-4 , Neutral 3-3
Kentucky vs Indiana head to head
All Time: UK 32 Indiana 24
Last 20 years: Kentucky 13 Indiana 4
Schedule
Check here for schedule and other stats
http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/iuhoosiers.com/documents/2016/3/17/SeasonandBig.pdf?id=20713
Game Info: 03/19/16 Kentucky versus Indiana, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA, 5:15 p.m. EST, TV: CBS
Probable Starters
F #30 Collin Hartman 6-7 215 Jr. 5.0pts, 3.1reb, 1.7ast, .364 3pt%
F #5 Troy Williams 6-7 215 Jr. 13.0pts, 6.0reb, 1.9ast, 2.6tos, .328 3pt%
C #31 Thomas Bryant 6-10 245 Fr. 11.6pts, 5.7reb, 1.0ast, 0.9blk, .417 3pt%
G #2 Nick Zeisloft 6-4 210 Sr. 6.8pts, 1.6reb, .432 3pt%
G #11 Yogi Ferrell 6-1 180 Sr. 17.1pts, 3.8reb, 5.7ast, .423 3pt%
Key Reserves
G #4 Robert Johnson 6-3 195 So. 8.1pts, 3.4reb, 3.2ast, .441 3pt%
F #0 Max Bielfeldt 6-8 240 Sr. 8.1pts, 4.6reb, .439 3pt%
F #3 OG Anunoby 6-8 215 Fr. 4.9pts, 2.6reb, .444 3pt%
F #13 Juwan Morgan 6-7 205 Fr. 2.4pts, 2.1reb, .500 3pt% (5-10 on season)
Team Stats
Points per game 82.8
Points allowed 69.1
Scoring margin +13.7
Field goal pct .505
FG% allowed .443
3-point FG pct .419
3pt fg% allowed .338
Free throw pct .725
Rebounds per game 37.2
Rebounds allowed 29.9
Rebounding margin +7.2
Assists per game 16.2
Turnovers per game 13.6
Turnover margin -0.5
Assist/turnover ratio 1.2
Steals per game 7.0
Blocks per game 4.0
KenPom Info (KP has UK-2 with 57% chance to win)
Indiana rated #13 overall (UK #6)
Offensive efficiency #5 (UK #1)
Defensive efficiency #69 (UK #59)
Statistical Strengths
#2 in effective FG%
#5 in 3pt% (41.9%)
#5 in 2pt% (56.4%)
#15 in offensive rebounding %
Statistical Weaknesses
#276 in turnover % (13.6 tos per game)
#263 in FT attempts per FG attempt
#185 in 2pt% defense (allowing 49%)
#153 in effective FG% Defense
Analysis: Indiana enters the game with Kentucky on Saturday riding high, coming off a 99-74 victory over UT Chattanooga. Indiana also had a bit of good news with the return of Robert Johnson, who scored 7 points, hit a 3, and had 6 assists in 24 minutes. He may even start on Saturday against UK, which would likely slide him into Zeisloft’s spot at the shooting guard position. They have become quite an elite offensive team on the season, rated #6 in the nation offensively from an efficiency standpoint. But I think it should also be noted that IU has benefitted statistically with a much weaker schedule than other B1G teams this season because of the unbalanced schedule.
When you start looking at Indiana, it all begins with their point guard Yogi Ferrell, the 6-1 180 senior who is averaging a team high 17.1 points and 5.7 assists. Ferrell is a guy well known by UK fans. He’s very quick with the ball in his hands and often looks to score as much as he looks to create. He also is tied for the lead in steals on the team with 38 on the season, so he can defend pretty well. His backcourt mate for the last several games has been Nick Zeislof, a 6-4 210lb senior guard whose greatest strength is his 3pt shooting, which he hits at 43.2% and has attempted the second most 3pt shots on the season, trailing only Yogi Ferrell. He averages 6.8 points per game and 1.6 rebounds. On offense, he’s pretty much a shooter, period. The other shooting guard, who started most of the season and has been injured, is Robert Johnson, a 6-3 sophomore who is the most consistent 3pt shooter on the team and also a much better facilitator than Zeislof and is second on the team in assists on the season. He has averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists this year. I’m not sure if he is at 100% yet or not, but he did make a positive contribution last night, as I mentioned above.
In the frontcourt, the man in the middle is 6-10 245lb freshman Thomas Bryant. Bryant has provided the Hoosiers a solid post presence this season, where he has averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. They don’t spend much time feeding him the ball in the post for him to score back to the basket, but he gets most of his points off drives and dishes, and also rebounds and stick-backs. He’s not particularly effective with his back to the basket but he’s a load in the paint. Playing power forward for the Hoosiers is 6-7 215 junior Troy Williams, who is probably the best athlete on the team, along with Ferrell. He’s a high flyer who finishes well on the break. He’s a streaky shooter and scorer who is likely to either shoot a 3 or score at the basket on lay-ups and dunks. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game and he leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 per game. The third forward is Collin Hartman, another 6-7 215 junior. He’s not nearly the athlete Williams is, and he’s primarily in the game to stretch the defense by providing another 3pt shooter for Ferrell and company to kick out to after drives. He shoots the 3 at 36.4% on the season.
From the bench, Indiana will bring whoever doesn’t start between Zeislof and Johnson at the guard position. They also bring in Max Bielfeldt to give their big men a breather. He’s a 6-8 240lb Senior who is averaging 8.1pts, 4.6reb, and can also hit the 3 at 43.9%. As you can see, pretty much everyone on the team can and will shoot the three. Another guy we’ll likely see on Saturday is a guy who has emerged in the last several games, OG Anunoby, a 6-8 215lb Freshman who has averaged 4.9pts and 2.6reb on the season but has scored 27 points in the last two games combined. He seems to be contributing at the right time for Indiana. Anunoby can also step out and hit the 3, where he’s made 12-27 on the season for 44.4%. The last guy we may see in this game is Juwan Morgan, a 6-7 205 forward who has done a whole lot on the season, only averaging 9 minutes, 2 points, and 2 rebounds, but he can shoot the 3 also and has made 5-10 on the season from distance.
As I’ve taken a closer look at Indiana, there is no question this is the best shooting team UK has faced this season, and also the most efficient offensively. The fact they pretty much have 5 guys who can shoot the 3 on the floor at any given moment, whether starters or bench players, makes them a difficult team to defend. Bryant doesn’t give them a huge amount of scoring in the post, but they haven’t needed much. This Indiana team is primarily a perimeter team, without question. If they’re getting open shots, they’ll knock down a significant number of them. They average about 10 made threes per game and that is almost always plan A on offense.
Having said this, the thing that should be of concern to Indiana and their fans is their lack of defense. They seem to be decent defending at times but they often have breakdowns. It seems they are often content with outscoring people. Looking at that UT Chattanooga game, for example, the first thing many will see is 99 points for IU, but the thing that is a problem is the fact that UTC scored 74 in that game while shooting 47.5%; and this from a team that shot only 45% on the season against a weak schedule. That could be a significant problem for IU in this game, especially given the fact that UK is now the #1 team in the nation in offensive efficiency.
When I look at match-ups in this one, I expect a war between Ferrell and Ulis, but I really believe Ulis will get the best of that match-up. I also look at IU and ask myself who they have who will guard Jamal Murray. The truth is, they don’t have a good candidate at guard to do it. The guy who is possibly long enough and athletic enough to guard him is Troy Williams, but if they pull Williams out of the paint, they give up their top rebounder and they also have to put Hartman on either Poythress or Skal out of the gate. The other defensive issues for IU are dribble penetration and pick and roll defense. There are several guys here who simply can’t stay in front of Ulis, Murray, or Briscoe. If they can’t stop dribble penetration with their man to man, they may be forced to go to zone, and UK has feasted on zone defenses this season, with Ulis carving them up and Murray and Willis knocking down threes. IU’s porous defense is especially challenged by UK’s guards.
The final thought I have here is in regard to UK’s defense. The Cats haven’t been great in every game this season defensively, but they have shown they can lock teams down if needed. They showed this again last night against Stony Brook. Now, Stony Brook is no Indiana, that much is sure, but which of these teams has the best potential to slow down the opposing offense? My answer to that is UK. I expect a fairly high scoring game, but for UK to prevail.
Prediction: Kentucky 84 Indiana 76
