Last year, Cody Zeller was helping Washington (Ind.) High School to its second straight state title, Big Ten basketball hardly on his mind.

Both Leonard and Zeller have quickly developed into dynamic college centers that have completely changed the way their respective teams play. The guard play is still there on both teams — Illinois has Brandon Paul, for example — but the men in the middle are now the focus of many opposing team’s game plans.

“It’s different because it’s a different type of breed,” Indiana guard Victor Oladipo said Thursday. “There aren’t a lot of 7-footers who are agile, can run and jump like Cody and Meyers.”

Leonard and Zeller’s games are so similar that if you only read comments from players and coaches, it would be almost impossible to tell which guy they were talking about.

“He’s huge, he’s a big guy. He can hit a little jump hook, he can step out and hit midrange. You just have to be with him all the time, stay attached. He’s really athletic so you can’t let him get any easy lobs.”

That’s Indiana guard Jordan Hulls talking about Leonard, a 7-1 sophomore who has increased his averages to 13.3 points and eight rebounds this season. He’s shooting 58 percent from the field and has scored 20 or more points four times.

Zeller, in comparison, is averaging 15.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. He is shooting 65 percent from the field, and he also has had four games with 20 or more points.

Despite their similarities and the fact they’ll be matched up against each other when the teams meet tonight at Assembly Hall, Indiana coach Tom Crean shook off a question about Leonard being a defensive challenge for Zeller.

“He’s a challenge for our entire team,” Crean said. “Much the same that I’m sure they’re focused on their team guarding Cody, we’re focused on our team in the sense of Meyers Leonard. It’s not an individual matchup game.”

While they’ve yet to meet in a college game, this won’t be the first time Zeller and Leonard have taken the floor against each other. Leonard remembers playing against Zeller in junior high AAU ball when Zeller was with the Washington Hatchets.

“He was always a guard so I never guarded him or anything, but I always remember him being pretty skilled. He could shoot,” Leonard said. “It’s weird that we’re completely different players now.”

They are completely different players now compared to their junior high days, and they’ve taken the Big Ten by storm. After Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and Michigan State’s Draymond Green, Zeller and Leonard have been the most productive big men in the league.

Indiana has played against both Sullinger and Green, but the Hoosiers have yet to face a guy quite like Leonard — except in practice.

Oladipo was asked when the last time he faced a 7-footer that was as athletic as Leonard.

“Cody Zeller,” Oladipo joked.

“I’m not sure. He’s probably the first.”

After a road win over the Boilermakers on Saturday night in Mackey Arena, the Hoosiers return home to Assembly Hall for a Thursday night meeting with Illinois. The Fighting Illini have dropped four of five and are 1-3 on the road in Big Ten play.

The game will be shown on the Big Ten Network (Gus Johnson and Jimmy Jackson) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 94/XM 192):

With the meat of their Big Ten schedule out of the way, the Hoosiers will now have the luxury of finishing the conference slate with four of their six remaining games at Assembly Hall. Their two road single plays (Nebraska, Wisconsin) produced a pair of losses and now the Hoosiers will get their home single plays (Illinois, Northwestern) in back-to-back games.

The Fighting Illini have been the victim of some tough luck in recent weeks as their four losses since Jan. 19 have come by a combined total of 15 points. Bruce Weber’s club looks to be solidly in the NCAA Tournament field as of today, but with trips to Bloomington, Ann Arbor, Columbus and Madison still remaining, that could change.

Illinois is the Big Ten’s third worst offensive team in conference play at just .98 points per possession, but they’ve made up for it by giving up just .99 points per possession (4th in the conference). Their defense is anchored by the post presence of Meyers Leonard, a 7-foot-1 sophomore who is projected to go in the first half of next June’s NBA Draft. Leonard is a big reason why Illinois is the third-best shot blocking team in conference and the Illini are giving up a 2-point field goal percentage of 46.8.

Offensively, the story is much more grim for Illinois. They’re turning it over at a high rate in league play (22.2 TO%) and are shooting just 32.2 percent from 3-point range. The Illini have been effective inside the 3-point line (51.3% on 2s), but their offense has been mostly predicated on Brandon Paul hunting looks when he’s on the court. Paul is just one of three players in the conference using more than 28% of his team’s possessions.

Paul is the centerpiece and unquestioned go-to-guy on this Illini team. He’s already got a 43-point game under his belt in a win against Ohio State and while he’s not always efficient, he typically finds a way to put up points. Paul’s 127 free throw attempts lead the team. He’s a threat to get going from the perimeter, but is more effective and probably better suited attacking off the dribble. Paul also has a team-high 71 assists.

Joining Paul in the rotation are junior D.J. Richardson, sophomore Joseph Bertrand, freshman Tracy Abrams and senior Sam Maniscalco. Richardson is shooting 38.4 percent on 3s and takes care of the ball (13% TO) better than anyone else in the backcourt. Bertrand’s role has increased significantly in conference play and from the wing; he’s a 6-foot-5 slasher that is effective scoring around the basket (58.8 percent on 2s).

Adams has taken over the majority of Maniscalco’s minutes and is a solid distributor with an assist rate of 17.6 percent. Maniscalco was expected to be the answer at point guard as a postgraduate transfer from Bradley, but has battled an ankle injury and since his return on Jan. 19 at Penn State, has a total of just three points and seven assists in five games.

Up front, Leonard is the only reliable contributor on the roster. He’s second on the team in scoring and first in both rebounds and blocked shots. Leonard ranks as the Big Ten’s third best defensive rebounder behind Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and Michigan State’s Draymond Green. His matchup with Cody Zeller will be intriguing as both players are both future first-round picks, but possess contrasting games. Leonard is far less polished and skilled offensively but is stronger on the glass, is more athletic and is a better shot blocker.

The Hoosiers are a 3-point loss to Minnesota away from being unbeaten at home and Illinois has won just two true road games all season. The advantage of playing in Bloomington’s Assembly Hall should continue to be one of the biggest advantages in all of college basketball. Pomeroy likes the Hoosiers by eleven (74-63) and gives Illinois just a 17% chance of pulling off the upset.

The game will be shown on the Big Ten Network (Dave Revsine and Jimmy Jackson) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 92/XM 190):

The road in the Big Ten won’t get any easier for Indiana on Saturday night. Purdue is looking to solidify its NCAA Tournament resume and a win over the Hoosiers in Mackey Arena would be a step in that direction. With a trip to Columbus looming next, the Boilermakers are viewing this game as a must-win.

For the Hoosiers, this is one of three chances remaining to beat a Big Ten team on the road not named Penn State. In terms of entering a hostile environment, Indiana has not and will not face a more daunting task than Mackey Arena. The Boilermaker faithful are always charged up to play the Hoosiers, but Saturday night should be an electric atmosphere given Indiana’s resurgence this season and success in recruiting. The good news for Indiana is that Purdue has dropped two of its last three at home. If they can avoid a start like Wednesday night, this could be an opportunity to quickly swing momentum back to the positive side.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

Both teams will enter Saturday’s game with a negative efficiency margin in league play. Indiana is scoring 1.09 points per possession while surrendering 1.10 and Purdue is scoring 1.04 points per possession while surrendering 1.07. The Hoosiers have hovered near the bottom of the Big Ten defensively all season. And Purdue, the top Big Ten defense a season ago, has fallen to the bottom half of the league.

The main hole defensively for Purdue is defending the 3-point line. Big Ten teams are shooting 40.6 percent from beyond the arc against the Boilermakers and the Hoosiers are the league’s best 3-point shooting team. Indiana will still look to play through Cody Zeller first in this game, but ball movement is going to be pivotal on the perimeter to find open shooters.

Beyond the 3-point defense, Saturday should be a good opportunity to pound the ball inside to Zeller. Purdue is allowing a 2-point field goal percentage of 50.2 percent and they’re blocking just 7.9 percent of shot attempts. If Zeller can establish himself early, trips to the foul line could follow. The Boilermakers are allowing an opponent free throw rate of 37.1 percent, which is fourth-worst in the conference. If Purdue elects to go small, Robbie Hummel will likely draw the Zeller assignment. A bigger lineup would mean Travis Carroll starts out on Cody.

Tom Crean has talked about his team doing a better job of valuing “possession-by-possession” and this is an area where the Hoosiers could be exploited if they allow Purdue to turn them over at a high rate. The reason? Purdue rarely turns the ball over. No team in the country turns it over less.

But beyond the absurdly low turnover rate, the rest of Purdue’s offense is average. Their effective field goal percentage in league play is 48.8. Purdue is rebounding just 28.5 percent of its misses, which is third-worst in the Big Ten. Their free throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 34.4 is in the bottom half of the league and when they do get to the line, the Boilermakers are shooting just 64.2 percent, the worst mark in league play.

MEET THE BOILERMAKERS

Robbie Hummel is one of the best stories in all of college basketball given his successful return from two ACL surgeries. The senior from Valparaiso leads the team in both scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). Hummel is shooting 35 percent on threes, but that number is down nearly ten percent (25.6) in conference games.

Lewis Jackson and Ryne Smith have started every game alongside Hummel and both players have carved out significant roles. Jackson isn’t a threat from the perimeter, but excels at getting into the lane and to the foul line. His 94 free throw attempts lead Purdue. Jackson, who has battled both plantar fasciitis and back spasms, also has the third best assist rate (32.3) in the conference behind Penn State’s Tim Frazier and Iowa’s Bryce Cartwright. Smith’s primary responsibility is knocking down perimeter shots. He’s hit 56 of his 134 attempts and Indiana cannot afford to let him get rolling.

Sophomore Terone Johnson and junior Kelsey Barlow will also factor heavily into Purdue’s game plan and both players will try to get into the lane rather than settling for jump shots. Johnson is hitting almost 55 percent of his 2-point attempts, but just 33 percent from the foul line. Barlow is one of the Big Ten’s better defenders that likes to be physical, but offers little from an efficiency standpoint offensively (44.4 eFG%). D.J. Byrd is a capable 3-point shooter, but his minutes are down from 20.6 as a sophomore to 15.1 in his junior season.

Besides Hummel, Purdue’s frontcourt has been a rotation that’s bearing little production. Sophomores Travis Carroll and Sandi Marcius and freshman Jacob Lawson have all started at some point, but their success has been marginal. Lawson may have the most potential of the group and has been the best defender from a shot blocking perspective. Carroll is playing the most minutes (16.7), but offers pedestrian production (3.0 ppg and 3.2 rpg).

WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO

Indiana’s road struggles are well-documented and until the Hoosiers can break through against the upper half of the league away from Assembly Hall, they won’t (and shouldn’t) be favored to win. On paper, there are plenty of favorable matchups titled in IU’s favor, but home court advantage often trumps all in Big Ten play.

At this point of the season, Purdue’s struggles to defend the perimeter are not an anomaly. It’s an area Indiana must seek to exploit given their strength in that area. If Purdue chooses to collapse on Zeller, kicking the ball out and swinging it around should produce open looks. And if Zeller gets opportunities to face up and go against one man, finishing stronger could be the difference between an average night and an exceptional night for the freshman.

Turnovers are also a concern for Indiana as Purdue is forcing a defensive turnover percentage of 20 in conference games and the Hoosiers are coughing it up on 20.7 percent of their possessions in league play.

Most importantly, the Hoosiers must put up more resistance defensively. Purdue is an average Big Ten offense without a post scoring presence. They can negate that weakness if the Hoosiers allow dribble penetration from Jackson, Barlow and Johnson who can all finish or kick it out to shooters like Byrd, Hummel or Smith.

Pomeroy likes Indiana to win 73-72 and puts the percentages of a victory at 53%.

QUICK FACTS ON PURDUE

All-time series: Purdue leads 112-84
Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
Student Enrollment: 39,726
Established: 1869

In lieu of our usual “What to Expect” feature, we’ve switched things up today and have enlisted the expertise of Dylan Burkhardt for analysis of Wednesday’s opponent: Michigan. Burkhardt, who is a good friend of the site, is the founder and editor of UMHoops, a must-read for fans of Wolverine hoops. You can read our conversation with the UMHoops founder below:

The first game between these two teams came down to a few final possessions at the end and could have gone either way. Neither Trey Burke or Tim Hardaway Jr. shot the ball particularly well in that game, which I thought was a huge key for the Hoosiers grinding out the win. How have both guys been playing in the weeks since the first meeting and what does Michigan need out of each guy on Wednesday night?

Trey Burke’s role in the Michigan offense grows every game. He’s playing the point guard position as well as you could ask for from any freshman. He hits big shots, controls the game, finds his teammates and gets after it defensively. He hasn’t been immune to poor shooting games but his 4-for-15 performance at Indiana was one of his worst. Michigan needs Burke to play within the offense and make plays on the screen-and-roll. Depending on how Indiana defends him that could mean distributing the ball to Jordan Morgan down low, kicking to shooters on the wings or getting to the basket by himself and finishing at the cup.

Tim Hardaway Jr. continues to be an enigma this season. He’s shooting 22% on threes in Big Ten play but has the second most 3-point attempts in the Big Ten. This is the same player that almost single-handedly shot Michigan into the NCAA Tournament last season by connecting on 44% of his threes in conference games. He’s still scoring the ball and has improved attacking the basket, but he continues to shoot a lot of threes and not very effectively. It’s all about confidence for Hardaway, if he hits a couple early shots or picks up a few easy baskets then he’s more than capable of getting hot and changing the game with his scoring ability.

Speaking more specifically to Burke, he’s been neck and neck with Cody Zeller in the race for freshman of the year in the Big Ten and has been the Wolverines’ best player for most of the season. How surprised have you been at how well he’s played and is this team better now with Burke than they were a season ago with Darius Morris (now with the Los Angeles Lakers)?

I knew Trey Burke could play before he arrived in Ann Arbor but I didn’t expect this sort of production this fast. Last week when reporters asked Burke when he knew he could play well at the high major level he admitted it wasn’t until his first game in Ann Arbor. John Beilein’s offense is intricate and Burke is the most important player on the floor. I would estimate over half of Michigan’s possessions include some sort of pick-and-roll action with Burke so he has the be the priority defensively for any opponent.

Is Michigan better with him? This team is certainly different but both players have their weaknesses. Morris was blessed with great size and vision and his superior passing ability could be a reason that several Wolverines shot the ball better a season ago. That’s not to say Burke can’t pass the ball, but he has struggled a bit with his inability to pass over hard hedging big men. Jordan Morgan has regressed a bit and Michigan’s shooters aren’t shooting the ball nearly as effectively as a a season ago. Perhaps those things are attributed somewhat to the point guard. What Burke can do that Morris couldn’t is keep defenses honest with the 3-point shot. Burke is connecting on 34% of his long range attempts this season and that’s an element that Morris never had in his repertoire.

I’d settle on Michigan being a better team but it’s not just Burke. It’s also a general progression of the program as four starters from last year’s team are back. This team continues to grow and Burke has proven himself to be wise beyond his years.

I’m sure we’ll hear mentions on Wednesday night of it being potentially the last time Zack Novak and Stu Douglass will play against Indiana. Given that both guys are from the Hoosier state, does this game mean any more to them or is that just a storyline that is convenient to talk about and perhaps exaggerated?

It might have been important to them as freshmen or maybe during the games back in Indiana, where they have more family and friends in attendance. However, neither player has the personality to let something like that affect them at this point in their careers. Both players are focused on Indiana because it’s the next game on the schedule and they want to finish the season strong. Despite their no frills attitude, we did post a video interview with Douglass and Novak from earlier this season in Bloomington in which they discussed what it’s like playing at Assembly Hall.

Evan Smotrycz is a player that started off much improved from a season ago, but has fallen off a bit over recent weeks. What’s been the cause of his struggles and what kind of factor do you see him being in this game given how well Christian Watford played in the first meeting?

Smotrycz’s 3-point production has fallen off of a cliff. He made over half of his threes in the month of December but is hitting at under 25% from 3-point range in Big Ten games. His offensive game is predicated on the 3-point shot and at this point there’s not much more that Michigan can do other than hope he starts hitting his long-range attempts. Given his struggles, Michigan has moved to a small ball lineup. Senior guard Stu Douglass replaced Smotrycz in the starting lineup which shifts Zack Novak back to the four position where he’s spent most of his career despite his 6-foot-4 stature. Novak defending Watford is an advantage that Tom Crean will certainly try to take advantage of.

Smotrycz is playing roughly half of his minutes at the five position, which leaves Michigan with an even smaller lineup. He’s effective in stretching defenses with the pick-and-pop but that weapon is rendered mostly useless if he can’t regain his shooting confidence.

Michigan hasn’t been particularly good at guarding the three in the Big Ten and that’s been Indiana’s strength for much of the season. Do Indiana’s chances to win in Crisler lie mostly in their ability to knock down shots from the perimeter? How big of an impact do you see Zeller making in this contest?

Michigan’s struggles to defend the 3-point shot and their chances of stopping Cody Zeller are more correlated than you might first believe. The Wolverines 3-point defense has struggled at times because they have focused so much on limiting interior scoring despite lacking any game changing post defenders. The numbers illustrate this point as Michigan is the fourth best 2-point defense in the Big Ten despite blocking fewer shots than any other team in the league. The Wolverines double the post from an array of different angles but if opponents react and adjust correctly, there are open 3-point attempts to be had.

It’s a pick your poison decision but in the first match-up Michigan didn’t stop Indiana’s shooters or Zeller. The Hoosiers made 7-of-11 threes while Zeller scored 18 points on 10 field goal attempts. There’s plenty of room for improvement in both departments for the Michigan defense in this one.

Pomeroy likes the Hoosiers to win, which is surprising given the fact that they’ve only won one road game in the league. How do you see this game playing out?

Pomeroy’s computers have never been particularly fond of Michigan this year, something that can be somewhat attributed to lackluster performances against some of the weaker teams on Michigan’s schedule. However, Michigan is undefeated at home and already has knocked off six RPI top-50 teams this season. The Wolverines are capable of playing good basketball and defending home court against a team of Indiana’s caliber. The first 66 possession game in Bloomington was the fastest game that Michigan has played in the Big Ten this season and the Wolverine defense suffered as a result. Expect Michigan to do a much better job of slowing the game down in Ann Arbor and preventing Indiana from picking up as many easy baskets in transition or on the secondary break. I think that’s enough to tilt the scales in Michigan’s favor. But expect the end result to come down to two or three critical possessions in the final minute or two.

Following a 57-50 road loss to No. 25 Wisconsin, the Hoosiers look to get back to .500 in Big Ten play when they host Iowa on Sunday night in Assembly Hall. Indiana last defeated the Hawkeyes on February 4, 2009 for Tom Crean’s first conference win.

The game will be shown on the Big Ten Network (Eric Collins and Dan Bonner) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 92/XM 190):

There is, believe it or not, some positive news coming out of Indiana’s loss on Thursday night to the Badgers. Indiana’s defense, which was a fair point for criticism during the Hoosiers’ three-game losing streak, is trending in the right direction. It hasn’t been a sizable jump, but the metrics have moved. Indiana is out of the basement — they’re now tenth — in opponent points per possession. The Hoosiers are eighth in defensive effective field goal percentage. And their absurdly high opponent free throw rate of a season ago (52.2 in league play) is no longer a glaring weakness.

Iowa is a team that presents an opportunity for the Hoosiers to continue their recent improved play on D if they come out with the intensity and focus exhibited in Madison. The Hawkeyes, who are 3-5 in Big Ten play, are coming off a home loss to Nebraska on Thursday. Their reliance on the 3-point shot is minimal, so guarding dribble penetration, points in the paint and locking down the defensive boards are three factors that loom large.

Iowa is currently the worst defensive team in the Big Ten in large part because they’re allowing opponents to shoot 56.5 percent on 2-point field goals. Their defensive turnover percentage (16.5) and defensive rebounding percentage (35.2) are both in the bottom three of the league. Rather than settling from the perimeter, looking for Cody Zeller and driving the ball into the lane like we saw in Madison should be an effective way to attack.

MEET THE HAWKEYES

A pair of guards — Matt Gatens and Roy Devyn Marble — are the two Hawkeyes scoring in double figures. Gatens is easily Iowa’s most efficient offensive player. He’s hitting 53.3 percent of his twos and while he can step out and hit the three, is most effective when attacking the basket. The same goes for Marble, an athletic sophomore who rarely looks for a shot on the perimeter but uses ability to penetrate to get himself to the foul line.

Eric May, who has started all 21 games but is averaging just 20 minutes, can also be effective off the dribble but rarely looks for his shot. Bryce Cartwright, who lost his starting job to Marble and battled hamstring injuries earlier in the season, leads the team with 80 assists but is shooting just 36 percent on 2-point field goals and 17 percent on threes. Freshman Josh Oglesby provides McCaffery with a shooter off the bench that can knock down shots if left alone.

Up front, sophomore Melshan Basabe is one of the better defensive rebounders and shot blockers in the Big Ten, but has struggled to find consistency offensively. He’s hitting just 50 percent of his field goal attempts compared to 57 percent last season. Freshman Aaron White has been among the conference’s top five newcomers and is Iowa’s third leading scorer (9.7 ppg) in a sixth man role. White is an effective rebounder on both ends and gets to the line at a very effective clip (56.6 free throw rate). Zach McCabe, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, crashes the offensive glass hard and can also knock down perimeter looks.

WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO

Pomeroy has IU running away from Iowa in a high-scoring affair — 89-70 — and gives the Hoosiers a 92% chance of winning.

Given the high number of possessions both teams are averaging, this game will be a stark contrast to the Wisconsin game. The area where Iowa can really pose problems is dribble penetration and in transition. The difference between the Hawkeyes and a team like Penn State with Tim Frazier is the volume of guys that will attempt to get into the lane. Gatens, Cartwright and Marble are all capable of breaking Indiana down off the dribble, so help defense is going to be critical.

QUICK FACTS ON IOWA

All-time series: Indiana leads 94-73
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Student Enrollment: 30,328
Established: 1847

The Wisconsin guard ruined two upset attempts by Indiana by scoring a combined 67 points in two meetings last season. In the game at Assembly Hall, Taylor went off for 39 points and hit 7-of-8 attempts from 3-point range.

While he has only scored more than 20 points once this season — a loss to Michigan State — Taylor will still be a focal point for the Hoosiers’ defense on Thursday night.

But the key to Wisconsin’s success might actually be the play of its rarely mentioned role players, including forward Jared Berggren.

Berggren, a 6-10 senior, averaged only 2.4 points in 6.9 minutes per game for the Badgers last season, but he has emerged as the second scorer Wisconsin so desperately needs.

With the departure of Jon Leuer, coach Bo Ryan and the Badgers struggled early this season to find a consistent inside scorer. Berggren can play both inside and on the perimeter, and he’s averaging 11 points and five rebounds per game in nearly 27 minutes.

“Berggren provides more athleticism than he gets credit for,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said in a release. “He is a terrific shot blocker and rebounder based on his length and his athleticism.”

The No. 25 Badgers (16-5, 5-3) have four other players scoring between 6.5 and 9.7 points per game.

One of the main reasons for Wisconsin’s balance is Taylor’s willingness to give up the ball and find the open man. Taylor is averaging 4.4 assists per game, compared to only 1.5 turnovers per contest.

“I think you would be hard pressed to find a league that has the level of players at one position that our league does,” Crean said. “[Taylor] does a great job of leading his team and he has confidence in each of his teammates, but if he needs to look for himself to score, he will.”

Secret to Badgers’ home-court advantage?

Wisconsin has always been a difficult team to beat at home. While the Badgers have already lost three games at the Kohl Center this season, they only dropped one home contest all of last year.

The secret to their home-court advantage? Verdell Jones offered one you don’t hear every day.

“The fan support they always get is one thing,” he said, “and with it being a hockey arena as well, it is always a little colder in there.”

Following a solid 73-54 win over Penn State on Sunday at Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers will travel to the Kohl Center on Thursday night for a meeting with No. 25 Wisconsin. Indiana last won in Madison on January 25, 1998.

The game will be shown on the ESPN2 (Dave O’Brien and Stephen Bardo) and broadcast on the IU radio network:

If Indiana hopes to reverse a two-game road skid in Big Ten play, the Hoosiers must do so against the Big Ten’s hottest team over the past two weeks. After many questioned Wisconsin’s ability to finish in the upper tier of the conference, Bo Ryan’s club responded with a four-game winning streak and a return to the top 25.

So what’s led to the turnaround in Madison? A return to form by point guard Jordan Taylor, last week’s Big Ten player of the week, paired with one of the country’s elite defenses. No team in the conference imposes its style of play on the opposition more effectively than the Badgers. Wisconsin is playing the slowest tempo (average of 58.8 possessions per game) and is also giving up second fewest points per possession — 0.96 — in league play.

By comparison, the Hoosiers play the third fastest pace in the conference at 66.5 possessions per game. Tom Crean talked about the importance of his team valuing each possession on his radio show Monday night and this game, perhaps more than any other, will bring that storyline to the forefront.

MEET THE BADGERS

Taylor, who entered the season as one of the favorites for Big Ten Player of the Year, has experienced a regression statistically through 21 games. His 3-point percentage has dropped almost 10 percent. And while his assist and turnover numbers are off from a season ago, they’re still among the best in the Big Ten. Given his improved play over the last few weeks coupled with the Badgers’ winning streak, he’s still right in the mix as one of the league’s top players. As Indiana fans witnessed last March in Assembly Hall, Taylor is a player capable of taking a game over and winning it on his own.

Josh Gasser joins Taylor as a starter in the backcourt and Ben Brust is the Badgers’ sixth man who is playing minutes comparable to a starter. Gasser doesn’t look to shoot or score much, but he’s hit 26 of his 50 attempts from 3. Brust is much more assertive in hunting looks (41-of-105 from 3), but shoots a much lower percentage.

The Badgers only play eight players with any regularity and their frontcourt minutes are dominated by juniors Ryan Evans, Mike Bruesewitz and Jared Berggren. The 6-foot-10 Berggren is the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder. Nearly 40 percent of his field goal attempts have come behind the 3-point line, where he’s shooting 37 percent. The 6-foot-6 Evans is one of five best defensive rebounders in the conference, but shoots just 46.3 percent on his 2-point attempts. And Bruesewitz, a 6-foot-6 wing, is even more limited offensively, but sports a solid offensive rebounding percentage (9.9).

WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO

The key for the Hoosiers to beat Wisconsin is getting stops at a much more frequent rate than we’ve seen in recent weeks. Taylor, if he gets on a roll, can become impossible to stop in isolation and ball screen situations. In the Badgers’ three straight Big Ten losses to Iowa, Michigan State and Michigan, they failed to shoot an effective field goal percentage higher than 38.2 percent. The Hoosiers have held one Big Ten opponent — Penn State this past Sunday — to 38 percent or less.

Pomeroy likes the Badgers by a final score of 66-58 and gives the Hoosiers just a 22 percent chance of leaving the Kohl Center with a win.

CREAN ON WISCONSIN FROM MONDAY’S BIG TEN CALL

“Their experience, they know how to play.”

“They have numerous guys that can play at a really high level.”

“I think when they’ve been at their best they’ve had really good balance.”

“Jared Berggren is really playing at a high level right now.”

“Their system is very strong and solid. They’re hard to score against. They pack the lane. But at the same time, they’ve got a lot of balance in their scoring and people that really space the court which puts a lot of pressure on not only your on-the-ball defense, but your help defense.”

QUICK FACTS ON WISCONSIN

All-time series: Indiana leads 94-63
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Student Enrollment: 42,099
Established: 1848

The game will be shown on the Big Ten Network (Tom Hart and Dan Bonner) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 91/XM 91):

Through seven league games, Indiana has yet to establish an identity defensively. Tom Crean has talked at length about defense creating offense and the players have acknowledged that they must correct the problems that have resulted in a three-game slide. But even Nebraska, the Big Ten’s worst offense, was able to muster up 70 points on Wednesday after failing to register 60 in its previous three games.

After the latest setback in Lincoln, Indiana guard Victor Oladipo was asked how the team can avoid letting things slip even further: ”We just gotta go back to the drawing board. Compete in practice and that sort of thing. Make sure these losses don’t pile up and try to get a win on Sunday.” Given the long losing streaks in conference play over the past few seasons, the Hoosiers, as Oladipo said, must stop the negative momentum on Sunday.

HOOSIERS STRUGGLING ON D

The numbers are not pretty. In Big Ten play, The Hoosiers are last in opponent points per possession (1.11) and steal percentage (7.1). They’re eleventh in effective field goal percentage defense (53.5). They’re tenth in defensive turnover percentage (16.8) and 2-point field goal percentage allowed (53.8). So what’s changed?

Dribble penetration is the most glaring deficiency. Perhaps Marquis Teague’s second half performance in Assembly Hall was foreshadowing, but Big Ten opponents are getting into the lane far too easily against the Hoosiers. When any team fails to contain dribble penetration, the result is usually an easy look for the ball handler, a pass by the ball handler for an easy look inside once the defense collapses or a kick-out to an open shooter once the defense collapses. Some of this is the result of Indiana failing to communicate and switch on screens and some of it is just getting beat off the dribble.

Going back to what Crean has been discussing, Indiana must generate more offense from its defense. In the Hoosiers’ two biggest wins to-date — Kentucky and Ohio State — they managed to turn over the Wildcats at a 25.7 percent rate and the Buckeyes at a 24.1 percent rate. The result? 23 points off of turnovers against Kentucky and 16 points off of turnovers against Ohio State. Over their previous three losses, IU is generating just 9.3 points off of turnovers. It’s a statistic that bears watching on Sunday.

Speaking specifically to Penn State, Tim Frazier is pivotal for the Hoosiers to key on in order to stop dribble penetration. As Ryan broke down in Film Session, this is a huge component to the junior guard’s game. He’s not often efficient, but Frazier will convert at a high enough clip to keep Penn State close if he’s allowed to go anywhere he wants with the ball.

PENN STATE TOUGH AT HOME, STRUGGLING ON THE ROAD

The Nittany Lions, who we gave a player-by-player break down of in our previous “What to Expect,” are coming off a 54-52 win over No. 25 Illinois on Thursday night at home. Penn State now owns a pair of Big Ten wins, but is 0-3 on the road in conference play. Its three road losses have come by an average of 14 points.

BIG TEN EFFICIENCY MARGIN

Through Thursday night, here’s a look at the Big Ten standings sorted by efficiency margin:

OTHER NOTES

Dan Dakich has an interview with Penn State coach Pat Chambers that is available here. … Indiana leads the all-time series with Penn State 29-9. … KenPom.com gives Indiana a 94% chance to win the game and predicts a final score of 80-61.

The No. 11 Hoosiers, coming off consecutive losses to Minnesota and Ohio State, travel to Lincoln on Wednesday for a meeting with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It will be the first meeting between the two schools since December 30, 1982 in Indianapolis. 

The game will be shown on the Big Ten Network (Eric Collins and Eddie Johnson) and broadcast on the IU radio network:

Nearly every team in college basketball faces adversity at some point in the season. Up until last week, Indiana had essentially aced the first 16 games, save for a disappointing performance down the stretch in East Lansing. That’s not to say this group hadn’t struggled in stretches in those first 16 — they did — but ultimately they were able to overcome those struggles and win close games.

The past two games, however, were a different story. Which brings us to a question that will soon be answered: How will this team respond to its first losing streak of the season? In previous seasons, the Hoosiers have let losing streaks snowball in conference play.

This group, however, has proven itself capable of beating the nation’s best. If Indiana hopes to finish in the top four of the league, tomorrow’s matchup is a game it needs to win. But more importantly, this group must stop the negative momentum that comes with a losing streak and come out as the aggressor on the road against an opponent in the bottom tier of the conference.

A STATISTICAL LOOK AT NEBRASKA

Nebraska’s welcome to the Big Ten has not been a friendly hello. Save for a 70-58 home win a week ago against Penn State, Doc Sadler’s club has dropped five league games by an average of 15.6 points. Offensively, Nebraska is struggling. They’re scoring a league worst .84 points per possession in conference play. And they’re not much better in some other key areas: 22.6 TO% (10th), 26.9 3P% (12th) and a free throw rate of 28.5% (12th). If Indiana plans to reverse the course of its struggling defense through six Big Ten games, the Hoosiers couldn’t ask for a better opponent on paper than Nebraska.

On the other side of the ball, the Cornhuskers have actually played well defensively over their last three. They’ve held Illinois, Penn State and Wisconsin all under 60 points with two of those efforts coming on the road. None of those teams pack the offensive firepower of Indiana, but it’s worth noting that Big Ten opponents are shooting just 22.9 percent from behind the 3-point line against the Huskers. Nebraska has also done a nice job of forcing turnovers (21.5 opponent TO% in league play). The one area Indiana should look to exploit is pounding the offensive glass. Nebraska is the second worst defensive rebounding team in Big Ten play as their opponents are rebounding 36.3 percent of their misses.

MEET THE HUSKERS

Despite their 1-5 conference record, Nebraska received a boost when juniors Dylan Talley (thigh) and Jorge Brian Diaz (foot) returned eleven days ago for their game in Champaign. The 7-foot Diaz, who spots the top block percentage in the Big Ten, is one of four Nebraska players averaging over nine points per game. While not as physical as some of the other post players Indiana has faced to-date, Diaz does have the ability to alter, block and change shots around the basket. Talley, who is fourth on the team in scoring in a reserve role, uses the second most offensive possessions on the team. Talley has taken slightly more 3-point attempts than he has 2s.

The focal point of the offense, however, is senior guard Bo Spencer (pictured). While he hasn’t been efficient (45.5 eFG%), he’s using the most offensive possessions of any player in the league besides Penn State’s Tim Frazier. Spencer, who played his first three seasons at LSU, has hoisted up 96 shots from behind the 3-point line (only hitting 31 percent) and has been very good from the foul line (59-of-68).

Toney McCray, a 6-foot-6 senior, has been Nebraska’s best perimeter shooter. McCray is hitting 40 percent of his 3s. And Brandon Ubel, a 6-foot-10 junior, provides little offensively, but is the Big Ten’s fourth best offensive rebounder. The majority of Nebraska’s regular rotation consists of juniors and seniors.

QUICK FACTS ON NEBRASKA

All-time series: Indiana leads 8-1
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Student Enrollment: 24,593
Established: 1869

The No. 7 Hoosiers, coming off a disappointing 77-74 home loss to Minnesota on Thursday, hit the road for Value City Arena in Columbus and a showdown with No. 5 Ohio State. Indiana won the first meeting, 74-70, on Dec. 31. 

The game will be shown on CBS (Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg) and broadcast on the IU radio network:

Indiana’s schedule to begin conference play has been, in a word, challenging. Three of five games against the league’s top tier. And it doesn’t get any easier on Sunday afternoon as the Hoosiers face an Ohio State team that can not afford to fall behind any further in the conference standings. Both teams already own a pair of Big Ten losses and a third will put IU or OSU three behind Michigan State (assuming they emerge victorious today in Evanston) in the loss column.

The payback factor is also in-play as the Buckeyes are looking to avenge a New Year’s Eve loss in Bloomington. Whether it was the atmosphere in Assembly Hall or just a bad game, that loss produced several subpar individual performances from Thad Matta’s club. Aaron Craft had six turnovers. William Buford never established a presence on offense due to foul trouble. Likewise for Deshaun Thomas.

Both teams are coming off surprising losses. For the Hoosiers, a lackluster defensive effort was their ultimate undoing against Minnesota. For Ohio State, a once-in-a-lifetime performance from Brandon Paul (43 points on 11-of-15 shooting) led Illinois to a 79-74 upset on Tuesday. And I don’t use that terminology to describe Paul’s play lightly. He was incredible, but also unlikely to play that well ever again. The Buckeyes ran into a buzzsaw.

DEFENSE SEPARATES THESE TEAMS

Through five league games, Ohio State owns the league’s best defense. They’re allowing just 0.86 points per possession. They’re also ranked No. 1 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency by Ken Pomeroy. Indiana, on the other hand, is allowing 1.12 points per possession in league play. That’s last in the Big Ten.

In the Hoosiers’ last two, they’ve allowed Penn State, who is scoring .98 points per possession in conference play, to score 1.15 and Minnesota, who is scoring 1 point per possession in conference play, to score 1.15. This is a trend the Hoosiers must reverse or cold shooting nights will produce more losses. As Tom Crean said about the Hoosiers following Thursday’s loss, “They’re shooting the ball well and getting a lot of attention for winning and things like that, but teams that take the next step totally get that defense is what comes first in every situation. Defense creates the offense, defense creates more opportunities, defense creates the fast break, you name it. The best teams gain confidence from their defense, not the other way around.”

The above illustration depicts conference numbers to-date for both teams defensively. Granted, Indiana’s Big Ten schedule has been tougher than Ohio State’s. But besides 3-point defense and block percentage, the Buckeyes have been much better.

AN UPHILL BATTLE

Ohio State’s last home loss came on Feb. 17, 2010 to Purdue. This is the toughest game remaining on Indiana’s schedule. Pomeroy gives the Hoosiers a 16% chance and predicts Ohio State 77, Indiana 65. Sounds logical.

As we’ve outlined above, Indiana’s defense is going to be a storyline for the foreseeable future. Crean’s message to his team was clear: Defense must create offense. It hasn’t happened thus far in Big Ten play. And I’m not sure it will Sunday. But there are things that can be corrected on a game-by-game basis. Ryan outlined several of them in Film Session earlier today.

From the optimistic side of things, Indiana still possesses one of the elite offenses in college basketball that Ohio State must contend with. Thursday’s shooting performance is unlikely to be replicated very often. The Hoosiers have won four of five game away from Assembly Hall. Granted none of the wins have come against an opponent the caliber of Ohio State, but this group’s confidence away from home has increased significantly.

CREAN, PLAYERS ON OHIO STATE

Crean on the game

“This will be a high-level, intense game. A game where both teams will know each other very well and will come down to how well each team adapts to how they are being played.”

“OSU is a well coached and talented team that can score the ball in a lot of different ways. They can play inside out, they can drive but more than anything they have a lot of different weapons you have to defend at all times.”

“It’s important that we limit our turnovers and not allow them to get out in transition and get easy baskets.”

On playing OSU twice in five games

“Every game is different whether you played each other two weeks ago or two months ago. More importantly, as a team we need to have great communication and awareness and focus on the things that have made us successful thus far.”

“Right now players are getting into a routine with two games a week, classes, practices and travel. That’s what makes conference play so tough, especially in the Big Ten.”

On Cody Zeller’s play and how he is improving

“I think every time Cody plays, he learns something and he adapts that to his game. I think defensively he needs to continue to work on his verticality. Offensively, I thought he looked to make plays, Thursday.”

On Will Sheehey’s contributions

“Will did a great job with his rehab. He paid attention while he was out and kept himself mentally ready. He was much more vocal than he has been and also trying to help his teammates play as hard as they can. Every day he gets better and his presence will increase competition in the games and more importantly in practice.”

“I think when you have something taken away, it gives you a different appreciation and Will has certainly come back with that type of attitude.”

Matt Roth on the game

“I think both teams will be coming in with an edge, both coming off tough losses this past week. I think both teams will make adjustments based on the game two weeks ago.”

On learning from the Minnesota game

“We have done a good job throughout the year of communicating and helping on defense and for whatever reason, we did not do that as well last game. It’s something to learn from and take with us as we move forward.”

On playing an opponent a second time in two weeks

“It’s tough to say whether it is an advantage or not. It’s fresher in our minds and we remember how we played them, but we know teams make changes and we have to prepare for them like we always would.”

On playing off the team’s defense

“We have to continue to understand that the best things happen for us when we play great defense. We are going to get deflections, we are going to get rebounds, fast break opportunities, layups and that makes the game easier.”

Christian Watford

On playing an opponent a second time in two weeks

“At this point, it really doesn’t matter. You just have to be ready to go.”

On Sunday’s game

“We have to be more active on defense and our communication level has to go up. I think they will try and pound the ball inside, but we also know they have so many players who can hurt you.”

On playing off the team’s defense

“It’s what has gotten us to where we are right now. If you get easy baskets in transition, then that turns into confidence on offense.”

QUICK FACTS ON OHIO STATE

All-time series: Indiana leads 102-77
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Student Enrollment: 56,867
Established: 1870

The Hoosiers, ranked in the top ten of both polls for the first time since January of 2008, return to Assembly Hall on Thursday night for a meeting with Minnesota. The Golden Gophers (through Tuesday’s games) are one of two Big Ten teams still without a conference win.

The game will be shown on BTN (Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 128/XM 191):

With the exception of a neutral court whipping at the hands of Dayton on Nov. 27, Minnesota took care of business in the non-conference portion of its schedule. The loss to Dayton in the Old Spice Challenge, however, dramatically altered the course of the Golden Gophers’ season. Trevor Mbakwe went down with a right knee injury early in the second half of that game. And with that devastating injury, hopes of a return to the NCAA Tournament essentially vanished.

To their credit, Tubby Smith’s club responded with six straight wins after losing Mbakwe, which included a narrow 58-55 home win over Virginia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. But a tough double overtime loss in Champaign on Dec. 27 was the beginning of a four-game conference skid that Minnesota will bring to Bloomington on Thursday.

Their latest effort, a 79-66 loss to Purdue at the Barn on Sunday, saw the Gophers get torched from behind the 3-point line. The Boilermakers hit 10 of their 15 attempts from distance. With three of their next four games on the road, things could get ugly quickly for the Golden Gophers.

MEET THE GOPHERS

The unfortunate loss of Mbawke has shifted a heavier burden on offense to junior forwards Rodney Williams and Julian Welch. Williams, a talented but often inconsistent threat in the past, is hitting close to 63 percent of his 2s this season. Williams has been effective since shifting to the 4 and his offensive rebounding percentage, block percentage and steal percentage are all up over last season. Welch, a transfer from Yuba Community College (Calif.), is Minnesota’s most reliable perimeter threat (19-of-46) and his assist rate (21.7) is among the top 15 in the league.

Ralph Sampson III is also back for the Gophers after flirting with entering the NBA Draft last spring. The 6-foot-11 senior is actually blocking fewer shots than Williams and his other numbers (8.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg) are disappointing for a player with his size and experience.

Three other Gophers to watch include sophomore guard Austin Hollins, freshman guard Andre Hollins and sophomore guard Maverick Ahanmisi. The elder Hollins has been ineffective from 3-point range (18-of-57), but is counted on more for his defense. Andre Hollins has also struggled thus far offensively, but did score in double figures in three of first six games. And Ahanmisi, who is counted on more as a distributor than a scorer, has improved his assist rate while lowering his turnover rate.

THE POMEROY BREAKDOWN

Minnesota’s defense, particularly on the perimeter, has not been good. Opponents are shooting 37.5 percent against the Gophers from 3 and the distribution of points coming from behind the arc (31.9 percent) is in the top 60 nationally. They’re certainly not Penn State bad in terms of giving up the 3, but given how well the Hoosiers are shooting, it could be another efficient night from distance.

And if the Hoosiers aren’t hitting from the outside, Minnesota’s suspect work on the defensive glass (32.4 DR%) could allow for some second-chance points. On the plus side for the Gophers, their block rate (16.2 percent) and steal rate (13.6) are both among the top 11 nationally.

Minnesota’s offensive scheme is primarily based on shooting a high percentage on 2s (51.9 percent) and attempting to pound the offensive glass (37.1 OR%). The Hoosiers have continued to improve their defensive rebounding numbers, but they’ve still got a ways to go and the size of Sampson and athleticism of Williams could present problems. Indiana’s defensive numbers at-large are still much improved over last season, but they’ll enter Thursday night giving up 1.11 points per possession, which is the highest mark in the Big Ten. Given the level of competition through the first four league games, perhaps this game will afford us a chance to learn whether the Hoosiers can begin to shore things up against an inferior team.

Ken Pomeroy likes Indiana by 15 with a 89% chance of victory and a final score prediction of 79-64.

QUICK FACTS ON MINNESOTA

All-time series: Indiana leads 93-65
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Student Enrollment: 52,557
Established: 1851

The No. 12 Hoosiers will look for their first Big Ten road win of the season on Sunday afternoon when they travel to the Bryce Jordan Center to take on Penn State. The Hoosiers last road conference win came against the Nittany Lions on Jan. 21, 2010.

The game will be shown on BTN (Tom Hart and Dan Bonner) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 94/XM 190):

Pat Chambers’ first season at the helm in State College had been playing out just as many had expected as of Thursday afternoon. The Nittany Lions were 8-7 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten (a pair of road losses) and a battle for the league cellar with Nebraska was to be decided in a pair of games on Jan. 11 and Feb. 11.

But in an upset few saw coming, Penn State crushed Purdue on Thursday night in front of 5,081 fans. Whether the outcome was more of an indictment on the Boilermakers or improved play from the Nittany Lions will play out in the coming weeks. The result, however, remains the same: Penn State just won a Big Ten game by 20 and will carry confidence into Sunday’s noon tip.

MEET THE NITTANY LIONS

Few teams in the country rely on a single player like Penn State does with Tim Frazier. Slowing down the 6-foot-1 junior guard is the key to beating Penn State. His name will be bolded, circled and highlighted on the scouting report. Frazier averages 17.1 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals. All of these numbers lead the team. He’s also playing in 89.5 percent of available minutes and his assist rate of 48.5 is second in the country. His effective field goal percentage (43.2) is pedestrian and his free throw percentage (69.5) needs some work, but given the limited pieces around him, Frazier is one of the best players in the Big Ten.

Beyond Frazier, the production becomes significantly more scattered. Sophomore guard Jermaine Marshall is hitting 37 percent of his 3′s for the season and is averaging 11 points in conference play. Senior guard Cammeron Woodyard had been starting in the backcourt alongside Frazier and Marshall, but missed the Purdue win with a hamstring injury. Woodyard has the best efficiency numbers among the three-man backcourt. Sophomore Matt Glover provides little offensively, but is second on the team in rebounding at 4.6 per game and had 11 against Purdue. Freshman guard Trey Lewis, runner-up to Michigan guard Trey Burke for Mr. Basketball in Ohio last winter, is fifth on the team in scoring, but played just one minute on Thursday.

The front court is not at all physically imposing, but can step out and knock down perimeter shots. Purdue learned that first-hand as sophomore forward Billy Oliver hit 7-of-11 shots from 3 for 21 points. Oliver has hoisted up a team-high 80 3-point attempts, but provides very little help on the glass with a defensive rebounding percentage of just 12.2. Jon Graham, Sasa Borovnjak and Ross Travis are all more interior-based players. Boronvnjak is hitting 61 percent of his 2′s and Travis is solid on the defensive glass (20.0 DR%).

THE POMEROY PERSPECTIVE

These are the lopsided numbers you’d expect to see when comparing one of the country’s top 15 teams with wins over Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio State to a team that hadn’t beaten a team in Pomeroy’s top 100 until Thursday. A solid defensive effort should put Indiana in good position to play with a lead in this contest. Penn State is shooting just 32.3 percent from 3 and 43.8 percent on 2′s. A big part of that, as mentioned above, will be slowing down Frazier.

Also of note after taking a glance at Penn State’s KenPom profile: 39.2 percent of their opponents’ points are coming from behind the 3-point line. That’s the most in the country. And Indiana is the best 3-point shooting team in the country. If the Hoosiers come out with crisp ball movement and play through Cody Zeller, it could free things up on the perimeter.

Penn State is scoring just .96 points per possession in conference play compared to 1.04 for the Hoosiers. On the flip side, the Nittany Lions have given up just 1.02 points per possession in Big Ten play compared to 1.09 for IU. Yes, you read that right. Indiana’s giving up more points per possession than it’s scoring through three league games. This is a game, however, where things could even out given the quality of opponent in comparison to Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan.

Pomeroy predicts a final score of 71-60 and while a victory may not appease some of the national folks calling for wins away from Assembly Hall to fully believe in this group, any road win in the Big Ten is a big win.

HOOSIERS TALK PENN STATE

Head Coach Tom Crean

“They are a very attack oriented team. They drive and space extremely well.”

“Billy Oliver looked like Tom Gugliotta against Purdue. He is a major league shot maker.”

“Sunday will be one of the toughest games we play all year.”

“Coach Chambers’ teams get after it every possession and you can see that they play really well together. They have a number of guys who are playing bigger roles and they are responding to the challenge.”

“Tim Frazier is playing as well as anyone in the league and he does a great job of getting in the lane as he looks to score or facilitating for others.”

“After watching the film (against Michigan), I told our guys that was a big-time win. Every win in the league is big and we have done a good job of preparing only for the task at hand. I think that is a by-product of a maturing, player-led team. They are very aware of picking each other up when someone may need it or delivering a tough message if the situation calls for it.”

“As I said before, a defining moment for our team this year was our win at Evansville. Our approach was outstanding and we have built off that experience which has allowed us to play pretty well away from Assembly Hall.”

Victor Oladipo

“We have to prepare in practice and compete at a high level. Our coaches do a great job of getting us ready .”

“We know the mentality you have to take if you are going to win on the road.”

“We take great pride in having to get stops in close games. During timeouts, you can see how we have come together and are communicating better.”

“We have to play great team defense. We have to get out on their shooters and win the 50-50 balls. They play really hard and hustle and we have to match and exceed their effort. It will be important for us to contain Tim Frazier. He is an outstanding player.”

Jordan Hulls

“I think our team has improved its maturity. We are a completely different team this year and all the adversity we faced has helped us and carried over to this year. There is no panic in close games because we believe in ourselves.”

“Going on the road and getting the wins early in the season has helped this team tremendously.”

“I think the hard work we put in the offseason has made us tougher. We know that when a team punches you in the mouth, you have to come back right at them. For us, our defense has been the reason for our success.”

“Our mindset is next man up. We know that a lot of different people at different times can step up and make a play that helps us win games on either offense or defense. We have done a good job of being unselfish and worrying only about getting the win. “

QUICK FACTS ON PENN STATE

All-time series: Indiana leads 28-9
Location: University Park, PA
Student Enrollment: 44,817
Established: 1855

(Photo credit: Mark Selders/GoPSUSports.com)

The No. 12 Hoosiers are back at it in Assembly Hall on Thursday night for a meeting with No. 16 Michigan. Indiana will be looking for its second consecutive conference win while the Wolverines seek their first true road win.

The game will be shown on ESPN2 (Dave O’Brien and Dan Dakich) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 91/XM 91):

Like several teams in the top 25, Michigan’s national reputation to-date is based more upon their finish last season (round of 32 loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament) and a strong preseason ranking. That’s not to say Michigan isn’t a good basketball team. They are. But without a marquee win and a 2-0 start in the league at home against Penn State and Minnesota, the jury is still somewhat out on this group.

The meat of the Wolverines’ non-conference slate consisted of a third-place showing in the Maui Invitational (beat Memphis and UCLA with a loss to Duke), a road loss at Virginia in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, a neutral court win over Oakland and a home win over Iowa State. All in all, Michigan owns a pair of top 50 RPI wins (Memphis and Minnesota) and eight wins over teams outside of the RPI Top 150. We’ll know a lot more about John Beilein’s team in the next four days as they’ll follow up Thursday night’s trip to Bloomington with a Sunday home game against Wisconsin.

MEET THE WOLVERINES

Stu Douglass and Zack Novak may be the vocal leaders, but the productivity in Ann Arbor stems primarily from a solid nucleus of underclassmen. The centerpiece is sophomore Tim Hardaway Jr., who we pegged for All-Conference honors before the season. Hardaway is off to a solid start — 15.6 ppg — but has struggled from 3-point range. He connected on 36.7 percent of his 3-point shots a season ago, but is hitting at just a 29.5 percent clip thus far.

Joining Hardaway Jr. in the backcourt is freshman point guard Trey Burke (pictured), who inherited the task of replacing Darius Morris. Through 14 games, Burke is arguably the Big Ten’s second-best rookie behind Cody Zeller. He’s scoring in double figures (14.0 ppg) and is fifth in the conference in assist rate (29.8 percent). His stellar play in Maui raised his profile to the point where he’s now considered among the top 100 prospects for next summer’s NBA Draft by Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Both Burke and Hardaway Jr. excel in transition and are worthy of drawing the defensive assignment from Victor Oladipo.

Michigan’s most improved player is sophomore forward Evan Smotrycz, who is hitting close to 55 percent of his 3′s and is the Big Ten’s third-best defensive rebounder. Fouling has been a problem for Smotrycz (5.1 FC/40), which has limited him to 24.7 minutes a night. Sophomore big man Jordan Morgan is Beilein’s best offensive rebounder with fellow sophomore Jon Horford out indefinitely, but isn’t much of an offensive threat. And the aforementioned Douglass and Novak, who have combined to take 110 3-point shots, are a big reason that 36.7 percent of the Wolverines points are coming from distance.

A QUICK GLANCE AT THE POMEROY NUMBERS

(Note: Rankings through Monday’s games.)

Indiana is the superior team when you dig into the KenPom.com numbers, but the Wolverines do possess an efficient offensive punch. Michigan is the only Big Ten team ahead of the Hoosiers in effective field goal percentage and they’re the best 2-point shooting team in the country at 58.1 percent. Toss in the fact that such a high percentage of their points come from behind the 3-point line and this is clearly a team that has the firepower to win. The Wolverines are struggling to get to the foul line which is a positive given the fact that IU’s opponent free throw rate is on the rise.

Conversely, can Michigan muster up the defensive effort to slow down the Hoosiers? The Wolverines haven’t guarded the 3 particularly well and IU should have some favorable matchups in the paint with Zeller going against Morgan and Watford going against Smotrycz.

CREAN FOCUSED ON TRANSITION

A few quotes from Tom Crean on Michigan from his radio show on Monday night, via Dustin Dopirak of The Herald-Times:

- ”Trey Burke, their freshman guard, is just explosive.”
- ”We gotta be very concerned about the 3, but also how they get them. We have to get back and stop the ball.”
- ”They really, really run well on your turnover.”
- ’The transition defense is crucial. I haven’t seen a team that runs better.”
- ”Michigan wants to run on misses and makes.”
-  ”We want to defend the 3, but at the same time we’ve got to step penetration.”

THE JOURNEY

Burke had his journey to Ann Arbor documented in a YouTube series and here he is scaling the stairs at Hoover Dam in Westerville, Ohio:

QUICK FACTS ON MICHIGAN

All-time series: Indiana leads 100-55
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Student Enrollment: 41,674
Established: 1817

(Photo credit: Dustin Johnson of UMHoops)

The game will be shown on ESPN2 (Dave O’Brien and Dan Dakich) and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 128/XM 191):

For the second (and most likely last) time this season, the Hoosiers will take Branch McCracken floor as underdogs on Saturday evening. Ohio State has overtaken Michigan State as the Big Ten’s top program with four regular season titles and three conference tournament titles over the past six seasons. The Buckeyes are once again the heavy favorite to win the Big Ten thanks to Jared Sullinger’s decision to return to Columbus for his sophomore season.

MEET THE BUCKEYES

Ohio State comes to Bloomington sporting a 13-1 mark and their lone blemish came at Kansas on Dec. 10 without Sullinger in the lineup. Sullinger (16.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg), who is now healthy, is once again the centerpiece of Thad Matta’s team and his ability to dominate a game in the paint is unmatched in the conference. He currently ranks as the nation’s top defensive rebounder (34.4 DR%) and sits in the top 60 in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.7).

Perhaps equally as dangerous, at least offensively, are senior William Buford (16.6 ppg, 41.4% from 3) and sophomore Deshaun Thomas (15.9 ppg). Buford is coming off his best game of the season — 28 points in a 87-54 win over Northwestern on Wednesday — and is a guy Indiana can’t afford to lose on the perimeter. Even if he’s not hitting from behind the 3-point line, Buford’s midrange game is already NBA-ready.

Thomas’ role has increased significantly as a sophomore and thanks to efficiency from inside the 3-point line (62.5 percent on 2s), he finds himself as one of three Buckeyes scoring over 15 points per game. Given his size and athleticism, Matta would probably like to see more effort on the glass from Thomas. His defensive rebounding percentage (8.7) is mediocre.

Sophomore point guard Aaron Craft will probably draw the Jordan Hulls assignment and his ability to lockdown the perimeter may be unmatched in the league. Craft isn’t much of a threat to score, but his steal percentage (5.3) is 11th in the country and his assist rate of 28.4 is top ten in the conference.

Beyond those four contributors, the Buckeyes are playing just two others — sophomore guard Lenzelle Smith and sophomore guard Jordan Siebert — more than 15 minutes per game. Their heralded four-man freshman class has been largely unused and is averaging a combined 9.6 points per game.

POMEROY PREVIEW

Unlike the Kentucky game where the Hoosiers were able to take advantage of some undisciplined work on the defensive glass from the Wildcats, second-chance points for IU will be at a premium Saturday night. Ohio State is the nation’s best defensive rebounding team. Two of their worst performances on the defensive glass came without Sullinger in the lineup. Toss those games out and their numbers would be even more impressive. The Buckeyes are corralling 77.6 percent of their opponents misses.

Turnovers will also be a concern for Indiana. Ohio State’s defensive turnover percentage (27.6) is fourth nationally. While coughing up the ball hasn’t been much of a problem thus far for IU, they did turn it over at a high rate (a season-high 25.7%) against a comparable defense in Kentucky. That was largely negated thanks to Kentucky turning it over at a high rate as well, but that’s not likely to be the case with Ohio State.

With another difficult matchup inside for Cody Zeller looming, the key for Indiana is going to be hitting 3s at a high rate. The Hoosiers are shooting 45.1 percent from behind the arc, which is the nation’s best mark. Finding a way to free Jordan Hulls from the suffocating pressure of Craft for some open looks could determine how close this game stays.

IT’S A PARTY

Just in case you didn’t watch this last season, it’s required YouTube viewing. Particularly Craft hitting the high notes:

QUICK FACTS ON OHIO STATE

All-time series: Indiana leads 101-77
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Student Enrollment: 56,867
Established: 1870

Before the Hoosiers hit the road in nine days for East Lansing, two games await in Assembly Hall to finish out the pre-conference schedule. And according to both the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and KenPom.com, the opponents are the two weakest on the entire schedule.

Through Saturday’s games, Howard, a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ranks No. 333 in the RPI and No. 302 in the Pomeroy Ratings out of 345 Division I teams. The Bison (3-8) have not won a road game since Jan. 18, 2010 and are coming off a 21-point loss at Oregon State last Thursday.

A LOOK AT THE POMEROY NUMBERS

Howard is simply outmatched against an Indiana team that will be looking to get back on track following a subpar offensive performance  in Conseco Fieldhouse. Only two teams in Division I are sending their opponents to the free throw line at a higher rate than the Bison and not many teams are turning it over with more frequency, either.

It’s tough to pinpoint a single area where Howard could give the Hoosiers trouble. Their profile is that bad despite losing some close games. This should be a solid opportunity for Tom Crean to work on putting in some new sets and also dip into the bench a little deeper to get some guys like Austin Etherington, Daniel Moore, Matt Roth, Remy Abell and Tom Pritchard some solid run once the game is in hand.

MEET THE BISON

Kevin Nickelberry’s team has five players averaging between 9.3 and 11 points per game, but not one of them boasts a KenPom offensive rating over 100. For some perspective, only Tom Pritchard and Verdell Jones are below 100 in that category on the entire Indiana roster.

Simuel Frazier, a 5-foot-11 freshman, is using the second most Bison possessions and his 10.8 points per game are fifth on the team. His effective field goal percentage (52.6) is by far the best among the regulars in the back court. Frazier will likely be joined in the lineup by 6-foot-5 freshman Prince Okoroh, who is shooting close to 55 percent on two’s but just 4-of-19 from behind the 3-point line.

Senior guard Glen Andrews, a transfer for Tulsa, started in his first game on Thursday at Oregon, but shot just 3-of-13.

A player the Hoosiers will need to keep a body on, particularly on the glass, is Mike Phillips. The 6-foot-7 junior is third on the Bison in scoring (10.5) and first in rebounding (7.7).

QUICK FACTS ON HOWARD

All-time series: Indiana leads 1-0
Location: Washington, D.C.
Student Enrollment: 10,491
Established: 1867

It was November of 2008, the beginning of Tom Crean’s first season in Bloomington. The Hoosiers lost to the No. 8 Fighting Irish 88-50 in the Maui Invitational, their first of 25 losses in a trying season.

Indiana’s leading scorer that day was Tom Pritchard (14 points, six rebounds), who has been part of the program’s resurrection since then.

“It definitely feels different,” Pritchard said. “It’s just been a giant step. From the team freshman year to where we are now — I’m blessed to be on this team.”

The No. 20 Hoosiers (9-0) enter Saturday’s game against Notre Dame (7-4) at Conseco Fieldhouse as the heavy favorite — a far cry from where they were three-plus years ago. They’re fresh off a 73-72 upset of then-No. 1 Kentucky, and they’ve had an entire week to prepare for their Crossroads Classic opponent.

Even though final exams kept the Hoosiers from having a normal practice schedule, Crean said his team is ready and focused for the Irish.

“I don’t want them to put [the Kentucky win] behind them. I want them to build on it,” Crean said. “If we tried to downplay that game, it wouldn’t make much sense.

“[Notre Dame] is a really good team. They’re learning to play without Tim [Abromaitis], and you can see that. That’s a veteran group. … You’ve got to be really locked in to knowing that their spacing is their great weapon. They can drive it, they can pass it and they utilize the corners.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge for the Hoosiers will be preparing for a team that plays nothing like their previous opponent. Whereas Kentucky thrives in the fastbreak game and looks to drive for easy baskets, the Irish live and die by the 3-pointer. Notre Dame has made 72 3-pointers in 11 games, compared to only 48 for Kentucky through nine games.

Leading the way in that department for Notre Dame is guard Eric Atkins, who has made 16 shots from beyond the arc and is averaging 13.9 points per game.

“We’ve been watching film on it and we’ve been studying it,” said Indiana guard Victor Oladipo. “We’re just going to continue to play good defense and stress help side defense.”

Notre Dame is coming off back-to-back wins against Maine and Dartmouth, but the Irish have struggled against quality competition this season. They’ve played only two ranked teams (Missouri and Gonzaga), and lost by 20 or more points to each of them.

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey knows his team will face a similar challenge against the Hoosiers — especially after the win they just had.

“We’re facing at team that’s extremely confident right now, given what’s happened the last two weeks,” Brey said. “I looked at the score from the last time we played them in Maui. It’s just opposite now. They had all young guys running around and walk-ons. We had all men who won together. It’s really kind of the scenario has flipped.”

NOTES

+ Crean said forward Derek Elston, who missed last week’s game against Kentucky with a back injury, has practiced all week and has looked good.

+ After Butler made back-to-back runs to the NCAA Championship game and Purdue and Notre Dame made the NCAA Tournament last season, it seemed unlikely the Hoosiers would have a chance to become the state’s premier team this season.

A win against the Irish on Saturday would put them a step closer to taking back the state.

“One of our goals was to dominate in-state so we’ve just got to continue to do that,” Pritchard said.

Notre Dame entered the season with hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season.

But those prospects quickly hit a bump in the road when senior Tim Abromaitis suffered a torn ACL in practice on the morning of Nov. 26. Abromaitis, a co-captain and preseason All-Big East selection, had returned to the Fighting Irish just eight days earlier after serving a four-game suspension for playing a pair of exhibition games during a redshirt sophomore season.

Notre Dame lost both games it played with Abromaitis in the lineup — a 29-point drubbing to Missouri and a narrow loss to Georgia. And without him, the Irish sit at 3-2 with losses to Gonzaga and a rebuilding Maryland program. They’ve beaten one team, Detroit, inside of KenPom’s top 200.

Had Abromaitis remained healthy, Mike Brey’s club figured to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big East and potentially sit on the bubble come Selection Sunday. His absence will make finishing better than tenth in the league challenging.

POMEROY PREVIEW

This chart, unlike the Kentucky game, is stocked full of numbers that appear favorable for Indiana. The Hoosiers have one of the country’s most efficient offenses and Notre Dame’s defense has been mostly average. Notre Dame has been particularly shaky at defending the 3-pointer. That’s a factor not depicted above, but weighs in heavily on effective field goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting 36.6 percent from three and Indiana is currently the second-best team in country from behind the arc.

Indiana’s one area of concern that must be addressed continues to be defensive rebounding. As I wrote in yesterday’s mailbag, the Hoosiers have been able to mask that deficiency with one of the country’s most prolific offenses (1.18 points per possession) and a much improved opponent free throw rate. But with the start of Big Ten play just twelve days away, Indiana must do a better than last in the league on the defensive glass.

Tempo will be an interesting battle as Brey likes a slower, deliberate pace while the Hoosiers just went blow-for-blow with one of the country’s best running teams. It wasn’t always effective, but Indiana didn’t slow it down against Kentucky and they won’t be looking to slow it down on Saturday either. Notre Dame’s best chance is sticking around early and then trying to force a half-court game if they can get a lead.

A RUN DOWN OF THE ROSTER

In the absence of Abromaitis, a pair of sophomores have emerged as the two best options on offense. Jerian Grant, a high school teammate of Victor Oladipo at DeMatha, is using 18.6 of Notre Dame’s possessions, but has the top offensive rating on the team and boasts a 59.5 effective field goal percentage. The 6-foot-5 guard is hitting over 60 percent of his 2′s and close to 39 percent on 3′s. Grant also leads Notre Dame in assists (2.7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio).

Eric Atkins, a 6-foot-1 guard, is using the most possessions for the Irish and is the team’s best 3-point shooter. Atkins has connected on 16-of-31 attempts from 3, but is hitting just 35.6 percent of his 2′s.

In the front court, senior Scott Martin will return after missing last Saturday’s win over Dartmouth with a concussion. The 6-foot-8 forward from Valparaiso has been dreadful offensively through ten games. He’s shooting 12-of-45 from 3 and his effective field goal percentage of just 41.9 is by far the worst among the regulars. 6-foot-9 junior Jack Cooley is one of the country’s better rebounders (top 30 national rank in both OR% and DR%), but is taking just five shots per game.

A PRO-INDIANA CROWD 

That’s the expectation given the proximity to Bloomington, a heavy IU fan presence in the Indianapolis area, the 9-0 start and a return to the top 25. Conseco Fieldhouse announced a sellout earlier in the week and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see more than half of the building filled by IU fans.

NON-CONFERENCE WINDING DOWN

When the season tipped off, this game was viewed as the last of five that could shape the direction of Indiana’s season.

Wins in three of the following five games — Evansville, Butler, N.C. State, Kentucky and Notre Dame — was viewed as the ticket for the Hoosiers to put themselves in position for the NCAA Tournament discussion entering conference play. Indiana has exceeded everyone’s expectations and according to KenPom, has a 79% percent chance to leave Conseco Fieldhouse with a 10-0 record.

With athletes like sophomore Terrence Jones and freshman Anthony Davis, the Wildcats play above the rim more often than most teams.

But it’s what leads to those highlight-reel breakaway dunks that has Indiana coach Tom Crean concerned in anticipation of Saturday afternoon’s game in Assembly Hall against the nation’s No. 1 team.

“I think the thing that separates them right now is their defense,” Crean said. “I’ve always thought [Kentucky coach] John [Calipari] doesn’t get nearly enough credit as a coach for his defense. He’s always got a game plan. He does a great job with getting talent to play really, really hard. This is the best defensive team, in my opinion, that he has had.”

The Wildcats (8-0) have given up more than 70 points only once this season – last Saturday against No. 5 North Carolina.

Crean said Kentucky benefits from its remarkable athleticism defensively, which allows it to make up for mistakes other teams can’t. The defense starts with Davis, a 6-10 freshman who is averaging 4.5 blocked shots per game.

“If there’s a mistake made defensively, he can make up for it like nobody else I’ve seen,” Crean said. “I can’t think of anybody that can make up for mistakes that his teammates might make like he can.”

Indiana freshman Cody Zeller hasn’t been part of the IU-Kentucky rivalry yet, but he’s very familiar with his likely matchup in Davis. Zeller played against him on multiple occasions in the summer of 2010.

“He’s definitely a great player,” Zeller said. “I think each game I’m trying to improve. This is just another step in that.”

To keep it from turning into a Kentucky dunk fest, Crean said the Hoosiers may consider slowing the game down and grinding it out. The most important thing, he said, is taking care of the ball.

“To think that it’s going to be conventional basketball and we’re just going to go up and shoot over the top of this team – that’s not realistic,” Crean said. “This is not a game where you can ever think you’re going to take ‘hero’ shots and it’s going to work out for you. You’ve got to make the next pass.”

DEALING WITH THE HYPE

The Indiana campus has been abuzz with talk about the game all week, and the atmosphere at Assembly Hall is expected to be electric.

But will the Hoosiers (8-0) be so excited that they play out of control early?

“It’s not like we can have some magic words to calm them down,” Crean said. “I would want guys excited to play them.”

Added guard Jordan Hulls: “I feel like everybody on campus is buzzing a little bit, but I think we’re mature enough to keep our composure.”

Students began camping outside Assembly Hall on Tuesday before later being given vouchers to enter the game first when the doors open Saturday. No other fans are allowed to line up outside the arena until 7 a.m. Saturday.

Crean supported the way the University handled the situation.

“You want to really appreciate their passion, but you want them to be safe. … We don’t want to do anything to affect the GPA overall at Indiana.”

A WEEK TO PREPARE

From afar, it seems like the Hoosiers would benefit from a full week to prepare for an opponent like Kentucky.

Crean, however, is not a fan.

“I don’t like it,” he said. “As the week goes on, you just get that much more edgy as a coach. You don’t want to overdo it. You don’t want to spend so much time that they’re not excited about the game. … I love short turnarounds. I think the players probably like short turnarounds. But this is the way it is.”

ON EQUAL FOOTING?

There’s no denying the fact that Kentucky has gotten the best of the Hoosiers during the Crean era.

Indiana lost 72-54 in 2008, 90-73 against John Wall and Co. in ’09, and 81-62 last season. The Hoosiers were close at halftime in each of the last two meetings, but couldn’t keep up with the more talented Wildcats down the stretch.

Now that Crean has his best team in his four seasons in Bloomington, this game has a different feel to it.

“Even though the talent difference has been great, there’s always a game plan,” Crean said. “If you don’t believe you can win, at some point in time your players are not going to believe they can, either. We’ve never felt like that.”

The stage is set. 17,000 screaming fans. Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale on the call. And the nation’s most talented team on Branch McCracken Court opposite the Hoosiers.

This is what college basketball is all about.

Indiana has passed all eight of its early season tests with relative ease. They’ve dismantled less talented opponents. They took a punch from Butler in Assembly Hall and responded with a punch of their own to run away late. And they’ve won on the road twice.

But this is different.

This is IU’s first test against an elite team. It’s an opportunity to learn just where the Hoosiers stand in a game that will have the eyes of the nation. Some national experts are already predicting an IU win. Is the basketball Hoosier fans have so desperately craved over the past three plus seasons finally back in Assembly Hall? We’ll know the answer on Saturday.

POMEROY PREVIEW

A lot of impressive numbers on this chart for both programs. For the Hoosiers, it’ll be interesting to see if the hot shooting (58.0 eFG%) continues against one of the country’s best defensive teams (37.5 eFG% allowed). Points are going to be extremely difficult to come by in the paint for IU as Kentucky is allowing opponents a 2-point field goal percentage of just 33.2 and the Wildcats’ block percentage of 25.8 is tops in the nation.

A couple of other areas that will be key for Indiana: Keeping Kentucky off the offensive glass. This is going to be a topic of conversation going into most games until the Hoosiers produce a few stellar defensive rebounding performances. Indiana cannot afford a first half defensive rebounding performance like the one produced in Raleigh.

Tom Crean has put an emphasis on getting to the line more frequently — 24.3 percent of IU’s points come on free throws — but Kentucky’s opponent free throw rate has been low to this point. Two things to remember: 1. Free throws, more so in this game than any thus far, are going to be among the highest percentage shots available. 2. If Indiana can draw some fouls and get into UK’s bench, that’s a positive.

THE ATMOSPHERE

If Indiana stands any chance of knocking off the No. 1 team in America, the energy and noise inside Assembly Hall must become a factor. If Camp Crean is any indication, the students seem poised to make this the best atmosphere since the Duke game in 2005.

On the flip side, how will Kentucky handle playing in a hostile environment for the first time this season? Kentucky beat Kansas on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden and North Carolina at home, but they’ve yet to play a true road game. It bears watching how a group starting three freshman and two sophomores will respond to adversity away from home.

RECRUITS EXPECTED

A pair of recruits — 2012 signee Jeremy Hollowell and 2014 commitment Trey Lyles — will likely be in attendance.

In addition, 2014 Evansville Bosse guard JaQuan Lyle will make the trip to Assembly Hall per his Twitter account.

QUICK FACTS ON KENTUCKY

All-time series: Kentucky leads 31-23
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Student Enrollment: 27,209
Established: 1865

After a stern test in Raleigh, the Hoosiers return to Assembly Hall for a Sunday matinee with the Stetson Hatters out of the Atlantic Sun conference. The game will be shown on BTN.com and broadcast on the IU radio network (Sirius 135/XM 192):

Here’s a look at what to expect from the Hatters, who are 4-3 with losses to Florida State and Florida:

The task to lift Stetson to respectability in the Atlantic Sun won’t be easy for first-year coach Casey Alexander. The former Belmont assistant inherited what appeared to be a solid nucleus of young talent, but that quickly went awry just weeks after accepting the job.

The Hatters top three scorers (a freshman and two sophomores) opted to leave the program, leaving Alexander with a tall task to climb out of the conference cellar.

WHAT’S LEFT

Tyshawn Patterson, a 6-foot junior guard, is the top returnee, but his role has declined significantly through seven games. A pair of transfers, 6-foot-9 junior Adam Pegg and 6-foot-3 sophomore Chris Perez, are shouldering important offensive roles.

Pegg, who can step outside and hit the 3-pointer, is averaging 13.4 ppg and 5.0 rpg. Perez, who is logging a team high 31.1 minutes per games, is shooting over 50 percent on 2′s, but just 28.6 percent on 3′s.

Aaron Graham (15-of-37) and Joel Naburgs (17-of-46) are a big reason that 34.6 percent of Stetson’s points come from behind the 3-point line. The Hatters are shooting well from outside (38.1 percent), but just 48.3 percent inside the arc. They’ve also struggled at the foul line (64.5 percent).

POMEROY PREVIEW

Stetson will struggle to keep this close as they’re simply outclassed by a constantly improving Indiana team. Three things to keep an eye on: IU’s free throw rate, Stetson’s outside shooting and turnover percentage.

The Hoosiers have been getting to the line at a blistering pace and it’s a point of emphasis by Tom Crean to score 25 percent of IU’s points from the line. For Stetson to have any shot of staying in the game, knocking down 3′s and taking care of the ball are two areas of emphasis.

PUSHING THE PACE

Alexander talked about pushing the tempo when he accepted the job last April. ”We’re going to play as fast as we can play without being reckless,” he said at his introductory press conference.

So far, he’s been true to his words. Stetson’s adjusted tempo according to KenPom.com has been the 29th fastest in the country.

QUICK FACTS ON STETSON

Location: DeLand, Florida
Student Enrollment: 2,200
Established: 1883
Notable Sports Alumni: Richard McKay (President and GM of the Atlanta Falcons)

(Photo credit: John Raoux/AP)