Numbers that stand out from Indiana basketball’s 2-0 start
Indiana is 2-0 to begin the 2024-25 season with wins against SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois. The Hoosiers are off until Saturday afternoon when they’ll host South Carolina at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Here are some numbers that stand out from IU’s 2-0 start:
Mackenzie Mgbako’s hot start
Mackenzie Mgbako’s sophomore leap is on track so far. The Gladstone, New Jersey, native has been Indiana’s most productive player offensively through two games.
Mgbako is shooting 77.8 percent on 2s and 66.7 percent on 3s while averaging 24.5 points and eight rebounds in 27.5 minutes.
Those who cover the NBA draft have taken notice, as Mgbako is now listed as a second-rounder in ESPN.com’s mock draft for 2025.
While he often appeared timid and unsure early in last season, Mgbako has been assertive in finding his offense and is scoring at all three levels.
Indiana’s 3-point volume is still low
No conclusions can be drawn from two games, but Indiana isn’t shooting the 3-pointer at a significantly higher rate than last season early on.
Through two games, the Hoosiers have attempted 34 3-pointers. As of Wednesday morning, Indiana ranked 335th nationally in 3PA/FGA and 320th in point distribution on 3s.
Last season, Indiana was 351st in the country in 3PA/FGA and 355th in point distribution on 3s.
After IU’s exhibition win at Tennessee, Mike Woodson told reporters that the Hoosiers had been taking “27 or 28” 3-point attempts in their scrimmages. However, Indiana has attempted only 17 3s per game through two games.
The Hoosiers have been connecting at a 35.3 percent clip in their early wins against SIUE and Eastern Illinois.
Free throw shooting percentage has been strong
While Indiana’s free throw attempts have been low in their first two games, its percentage has been strong through the first two games.
The Hoosiers are shooting 75.9 percent from the line in wins against SIUE and Eastern Illinois.
Indiana shot 66.4 percent from the line last season.
Whether the improvement continues will be key to Indiana’s turnaround in offensive efficiency in year four of Woodson’s tenure in Bloomington.
The IU offense typically does a solid job of producing free throw attempts, but the Hoosiers have yet to shoot better than 71.1 percent from the line in any of Woodson’s first three seasons.
Turnovers are high, but that isn’t a surprise
With 28 turnovers and a turnover percentage of 19.4 through two games, Indiana is squandering possessions at a higher rate than it would like.
However, it’s not a surprise that all of the new pieces are getting acclimated to playing together.
Myles Rice, Indiana’s new point guard, has seven turnovers and is still trying to strike a balance between scorer and distributor.
The key number to watch for turnovers is 12 per game. Since his arrival, Woodson has stated that this is the program’s goal. He’s looking for that number (or fewer) per game to evaluate how well the Hoosiers value the ball.
Indiana has maintained its computer ranking through two games, which wasn’t the case a year ago
Last season, Indiana started the season ranked No. 50 in KenPom.
In two closer-than-expected wins against Florida Gulf Coast and Army last season, Indiana had fallen to No. 61 by its third game against Wright State. After IU struggled with the Raiders, it fell 12 more spots to No. 73 by the time it played UConn at Madison Square Garden.
Indiana’s two wins to start the season by a combined 54 points have helped the Hoosiers gain ground in KenPom.
The Hoosiers tipped off their season opener against SIU at No. 42 in KenPom and are No. 40 as of Wednesday morning.
With so much of the NCAA tournament selection process focused on computer numbers, it’s key to throttle lesser opponents on the slate. Despite a sloppy first half against Eastern Illinois, the Hoosiers recorded their first win by 20 points or more in that game for the first time since Dec. 20, 2022.
Filed to: Mackenzie Mgbako