What to Expect: IU basketball vs. Lindenwood

Lindenwood guard Jadis Jones attempts a free throw.

Indiana will seek its fifth straight win on Thursday when it hosts Lindenwood at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Lions are 2-3 and are coming off a loss at Alabama A&M on Sunday.

The first-ever matchup between the two programs will tip off at 6 p.m. ET on BTN:

After completing a transition from Division II, Lindenwood – located in Saint Charles, Missouri – officially earned its status as a Division I program last summer.

The Lions, members of the Ohio Valley Conference, have compiled a 38-63 record since the 2022-23 campaign, their first season as a transition Division I program.

At No. 335 in KenPom as of Wednesday morning, Lindenwood is the second-lowest-ranked team the Hoosiers will face this season. The Lions were picked to finish fifth in the 11-team OVC.

MEET THE LIONS

Lindenwood is 0-3 in road games this season with losses at Texas Tech, Saint Louis and Alabama A&M, whom IU beat 98-51 in its season opener. The Lions have lost their three road games by an average of 30 points.

In Lindenwood’s most recent game, which was the nine-point loss at Alabama A&M, coach Kyle Gerdeman played a rotation of just seven guys.

The Lions are led in scoring by 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Jadis Jones. The lefty is averaging 17.3 points and is shooting 82.4 percent (28-for-34) from the floor. A native of New Madrid, Missouri, Jones isn’t a 3-point shooter but can attack off the bounce and get to the line. Last season, he had the second-highest free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) of any player in the OVC. Jones also averages 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 27 minutes per game.

Three other Lion guards are averaging in double figures: sophomore Dontrez Williams, senior Anias Futrell and sophomore Clayton Jackson.

Williams, a transfer from Abilene Christian, started the most recent game after missing the first two and coming off the bench against Saint Louis and Charleston Southern. The 6-foot-5 native of Sikeston, Missouri, is averaging 12.7 points in 27.7 minutes per game and is 3-for-7 on 3s.

The 6-foot-5 Futrell, a St. Louis native in his second season with the Lions, averaged 12.8 points in 30.5 minutes per game last season and his production so far in his final season is similar at 11.8 points per game. Futrell is 7-for-20 on 3s – 35 percent – and is shooting 40.5 percent from the floor.

Jackson, another St. Louis native, is a 6-foot-2 guard who is averaging a team-high 4.4 assists to go along with 10.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game. He’s struggled from distance (3-for-22) but is a solid 13-for-16 from the free-throw line.

6-foot junior point guard Mekhi Cooper, who played at Assembly Hall last season as a member of Miami (OH), averages a team-high 2.4 steals in 30 minutes per game. Cooper is shooting just 27.5 percent from the field and is averaging 7.4 points.

The two frontcourt names to know for the Lions are 6-foot-10 senior Milos Nedadic and 6-foot-9 junior Robert Lewis.

Nedadic, a transfer from Maine who played sparingly for the Bears over the last three seasons, is starting at the five for Lindenwood. The Kitchener, Ontario, native has scored in double figures three times, including 15 points and 13 rebounds in a neutral-court win against Charleston Southern on Nov. 14. He is third on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 per game.

Lewis, a St. Louis native who spent the last three seasons at Arkansas Pine Bluff, had 10 points and 12 rebounds against Texas Tech in the season opener in 31 minutes. He started the first two games and has come off the bench in the last three.

KEYS FOR INDIANA

• Continue to take care of the ball: Lindenwood ranked in the top 60 nationally in adjusted tempo and is 47th this season, according to KenPom. The Lions will pressure the ball and try to force turnovers. Last season, Lindenwood ranked 63rd nationally in opponent turnover percentage and this season, opponents are turning it over on 18.4 percent of their possessions against the Lions. That ranks 159th in the country through Tuesday’s games.

• Defend without fouling and limit dribble penetration: Lindenwood attacks the paint with the intent to score or get fouled. The Lions aren’t a strong 3-point shooting team and they don’t take many attempts, either. Last season, Lindenwood ranked 51st nationally in point distribution on 2s and 54th in point distribution from free throws. The numbers are similar this year at 57th and 82nd, respectively.

• Play a focused 40 minutes: In its most recent game – an eight-point win against Incarnate Word – the Hoosiers had mental lapses and breakdowns throughout the contest. It was a departure from the first three games when IU executed well and won comfortably. It’s easy to let off the gas against inferior competition, but Indiana will be looking to get back on track after Sunday’s uneven performance against Incarnate Word.

WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO

The KenPom projection has Indiana by 29 points with a 99 percent chance of victory and Bart Torvik also projects a 29-point win with a 98 percent chance for the Hoosiers to prevail.

Ideally, the starters will play well enough early that IU can get minutes for Trent Sisley, Nick Dorn and Jasai Miles and also earn a comfortable win ahead of next Tuesday’s game against Kansas State in Bloomington.

(Photo credit: Lindenwood Athletics)

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