What to Expect: IU basketball vs. Incarnate Word

Incarnate Word guard Davion Bailey.

Indiana continues a five-game home stand on Sunday against Incarnate Word at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are 3-0.

Incarnate Word is 2-1 with home wins against a pair of non-Division I opponents and a 34-point loss at Colorado State. Sunday’s tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on BTN:

Indiana will look to continue its strong start to the 2025-26 season when it hosts Southland Conference opponent Incarnate Word on Sunday evening.

The Cardinals won 19 games last season and advanced to the CBI semifinals under coach Shane Heirman, a 37-year-old Chicago native.

It will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Hoosiers are 9-0 all-time against the Southland Conference.

MEET THE CARDINALS

Incarnate Word returns three starters from last season’s team that finished in the top 50 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage and the top 100 in 3-point shooting percentage.

The headliner is 6-foot-4 senior guard Davion Bailey, an Indianapolis native who played at Pike. Bailey began his career at Southeastern Community College before transferring to Ball State.

Bailey averaged 16.7 points per game last season and made 126 3-pointers, which ranked third nationally, while shooting 38.8 percent from the perimeter. Through two games this season – he missed the team’s most recent game against Southwestern Christian – Bailey is averaging 19.5 points in 34 minutes per game.

Junior forward Jordan Pyke, a 6-foot-7 forward from Greensboro, North Carolina, is the second of the three returning starters. Pyke averaged 10.6 points and a team-leading 5.3 rebounds per game last season. Pyke scored 17 points in each of the previous two games after struggling in the season opener at Colorado State (three points in 22 minutes).

The Cardinals also return 6-foot-8 Chicago native Marcus Glover, who started 22 games last season. The forward averaged 2.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and shot 61.1 percent last winter, which was his second season at Incarnate Word.

Incarnate Word landed Cleveland State transfer guard Tahj Staveskie from the transfer portal. The 6-foot guard from Sandusky, Ohio, began his career at Canisius and was one of the better guards in the Horizon League last season at Cleveland State. He shot 36.1 percent on 3s last season and connected on 83 attempts from distance. He’s started all three games for the Cardinals this season and had 27 points in the opener at Colorado State.

Northeastern transfer Harold Woods, who is from Hammond, Indiana, is a 6-foot-5 forward who had seven double-doubles last season. Woods averaged 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds last season and recently had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Jarvis Christian.

Redshirt sophomore guard Harrison Reede has already made 17 3-pointers off the bench in the first three games, including a 12-for-18 performance from deep against Jarvis Christian on Nov. 7. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 2.5 points last season in limited minutes.

Northwestern State transfer guard Love Bettis is at his fourth Division I school in four years and played at the junior college level prior to that. The 5-foot-11 guard is averaging more than 20 minutes off the bench and has scored in double figures in the last two games.

Sophomore forward Jayden Williams was rated the No. 229 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings in the 2024 class, making him the highest-rated recruit in Incarnate Word history. The 6-foot-9 big man turned down power four offers to play at Incarnate Word and he shot 61 percent on 2s last season while averaging 4.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game.

KEYS FOR INDIANA

• Limit Incarnate Word’s open 3-point looks: The Cardinals shot a respectable 35.2 percent on 3s last season, which ranked 98th nationally. While the volume wasn’t high last season for Incarnate Word, it did make 10 or more 3-pointers in 13 games. This season, the Cardinals are attempting 29 3s per game over their first three contests. It’s worth noting that the last two opponents have been from the NAIA ranks.

• Defensive rebounding: Incarnate Word ranked in the top 45 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. The Cardinals are going to crash the offensive glass and try to generate second-chance points. The Hoosiers have been strong on the defensive glass through their first three games, as opponents have grabbed just 26.3 percent of their missed shots. It’s a stat that is very important to Darian DeVries and one worth watching closely as the season progresses.

• Defend without fouling: The Hoosiers are very much a work in progress defensively and through three games, opponents have a free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 40.2 percent against Indiana, which ranks 223rd nationally. That’s skewed due to the Marquette game, but this point remains: the Hoosiers need to avoid silly fouls and keep their starters on the floor as much as possible with their current depth issues.

WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO

This is a game the Hoosiers should win comfortably and the analytics agree. KenPom likes the Hoosiers by 23 with a 98 percent chance of a victory, and Bart Torvik also likes IU by 23 with a 95 percent chance of a win.

Heirman has several players with Indiana ties on his roster and he spent time as the coach at La Lumiere before beginning his college coaching career. For the Cardinals, the opportunity to play in Assembly Hall will have meaning.

For Indiana, sticking to what has led to its 3-0 should continue to yield success. The Hoosiers are sharing the ball and shooting at an elite level from the free-throw and 3-point lines. Opponents from the mid-major level and below will be hard-pressed to match IU’s offensive firepower. This contest should present an opportunity to get more minutes from Nick Dorn, who made his season debut against Milwaukee.

(Photo credit: Incarnate Word Athletics)

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