2024-25 Indiana non-conference opponent preview: Chattanooga
Indiana’s 2024-25 non-conference schedule was finalized on July 9 and Inside the Hall will have a team-by-team look at each opponent. Today: Chattanooga.
Indiana’s final game before Christmas will see the Hoosiers host Chattanooga at Assembly Hall on Saturday, December 21.
The two programs last met in the 2016 NCAA tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. Indiana cruised to a 99-74 win and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series 3-0.
The Mocs finished last season 21-12, tied for second in the Southern Conference and No. 140 in the KenPom ratings. Dan Earl enters his third season at Chattanooga after seven seasons at VMI.
Chattanooga is currently ranked 154th in Bart Torvik’s preseason projections for next season. Torvik projects the Mocs to have the nation’s 121st-best offense and 199th-ranked defense.
While Chattanooga lost several key contributors to the transfer portal, it returns its two best players from the 2023-24 season.
Guards Honor Huff and Trey Bonham will anchor the Chattanooga backcourt, which should be one of the better mid-major combos in the country.
The 5-foot-10 Huff, a junior, averaged a team-high 34.4 minutes per game last season and was named second-team All-Southern Conference. Huff averaged 17.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He finished the season with a 2-to-1 turnover ratio, shot 38 percent on 3s and 82.8 percent from the free throw line. Huff attempted 8.8 3-pointers per game.
Bonham, who was ruled eligible in December last season after transferring from Florida, averaged 16 points, five rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 30.9 minutes per game. He shot 41.3 percent on 3s and 84 percent from the free-throw line. Bonham, a senior, was named All-Southern Conference first team.
Bellarmine grad transfer Bash Wieland should slide right on the wing as a featured scoring option. The 6-foot-6 native of Cincinnati led the Knights in scoring last season. He averaged 14.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Wieland shot 51.8 percent from the field but just 23.9 percent on 3s.
The Chattanooga frontcourt was built from the transfer portal with four new arrivals who should figure heavily into the rotation. The Mocs added Makai Richards (Pacific), Frank Champion (D2 North Georgia), Adam Larson (Southeast Missouri State) and Garrison Keeslar (D2 Walsh).
Richards, a 6-foot-10 redshirt junior, averaged 4.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14 starts at Pacific. Champion, the all-time leading scorer at North Georgia, averaged 17.6 points and 7.5 rebounds last season. The 6-foot-7 forward has one season of eligibility remaining.
Larson, a 6-foot-9 junior, started 23 times last season at SEMO and averaged 7.2 points and 2.3 rebounds. He’s a capable floor spacer who shot 51-of-126 from distance, good for 40.5 percent. Keeslar, another Division II up transfer, was an all-league player in the All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 15.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Noah Melson is the only other returnee for the Mocs with starting experience. The 6-foot-6 sophomore played in all 33 games last season and made three starts. Melson averaged four points and shot 44.1 percent from distance.
Jack Kostel, a Division II transfer from Alabama-Huntsville, will provide depth behind Huff and Bonham. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 13.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists and was named All-Gulf South Conference second team last season.
The matchup with Chattanooga falls after finals week in Bloomington and will also be during winter break for students. The Mocs were highly reliant on 3-pointers last season, with 40.7 percent of their points coming from distance. That ranked third nationally. Between Huff and Bonham, the Mocs will take a high volume of 3-pointers and should provide a test for the revamped Indiana backcourt.
Filed to: Chattanooga Mocs