IU basketball concludes exhibition play against Western Kentucky on Sunday at the Ford Center in Evansville.
Here’s how to watch the Hoosiers take on the Hilltoppers at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, along with three things to watch for in the exhibition matchup:
How to watch IU-WKU exhibition
Sunday’s exhibition will stream exclusively on B1G+, the Big Ten’s streaming platform. In addition to the WKU exhibition, three regular-season games will also be on B1G+: Eastern Illinois (Monday, November 2), Jacksonville (Tuesday, November 24) and Farleigh Dickinson (Monday, December 22).
There are several options to watch Sunday’s exhibition:
• Sunday’s game against WKU only: $8.99
• Monthly subscription: $12.99 (would need for two months to cover Sunday’s exhibition and three regular season games)
• Annual subscription: Regularly $89.99 plus tax, but available for 50% off with promo code B1GPLUS50 at checkout. This covers all B1G+ content for the next 12 months.
• Season pass: $34.99 for three months, saves 10% versus paying monthly and does not auto-renew.
• Winter pass: $44.99 for six months, saves 40% versus paying monthly and does not auto-renew.
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Will Indiana’s dominance on the glass continue?
A key statistic in the first two exhibitions against Butler and North Carolina: Indiana’s dominance on the glass.
In a 96-68 win against the Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Hoosiers grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. That gave them an offensive rebounding percentage of 40.
Last Sunday, in a 76-58 win against UNC at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, IU grabbed 20 offensive rebounds. The Hoosiers rebounded 49 percent of their missed shots against the Tar Heels.
Through two exhibitions, the Hoosiers have outscored opponents 42-12 in second-chance points.
The dominance on the glass hasn’t been limited to the offensive end. IU is ending possessions on the defensive glass, a facet of the game it often struggled with last winter.
In the exhibition finale against Western Kentucky, Darian DeVries will look for his team to continue the work exhibited on the boards in their first 80 minutes of exhibition play.
“It was certainly something very intentional for us just from a roster construction standpoint,” DeVries said Wednesday. “And then also a point of emphasis that we wanted to prioritize being an elite offensive rebounding team, elite defensive rebounding team.”
Can Indiana generate offense in transition?
DeVries hopes the Hoosiers will be much stronger on the defensive glass this season and he also wants his team to turn up the pressure on its opponents with transition offense
If IU can limit second-chance opportunities for its opponents, DeVries would like to see better transition offense in the third and final exhibition game.
The Hoosiers had 13 fast-break points against Butler and only seven against North Carolina.
“That’s one of the areas that I don’t think we’ve been as good as I think we can be, is in our transition offense,” DeVries said. “I think we’ve rebounded at a high rate, but I don’t know that we put enough pressure on defenses yet in transition.
“So it’s certainly something we’ve continued to stress in getting kick-aheads and being able to put guys on their heels, attack the rim a little bit more, get some paint touches out of transition, which can lead to more of those kick-out threes once we get the defense collapsed. So we need to continue to get better at that. But yes, it should be a strength of ours as the season goes along.”
Will we see more of IU’s freshmen?
The first two exhibition games have been played with regular-season intensity.
The Hoosiers went into a hostile environment against Butler, then played a neutral-court battle against North Carolina.
While the final score ultimately didn’t matter in either contest, IU approached each contest as it did.
The same will hold true against Western Kentucky, a lesser opponent on paper than Butler and North Carolina. The Hilltoppers, ranked No. 122 in KenPom to open the season, narrowly beat Bowling Green 65-62 in their first exhibition, which was played at home.
If IU builds a comfortable lead in its final exhibition, it could be an opportunity to see more of Prince-Alexander Moody, Clemens Sokolov and Vaughn Karvala.
Trevor Manhertz has separated himself among the freshmen and is currently the only one in the rotation.
Karvala didn’t play in the Butler exhibition for precautionary reasons and logged three minutes against UNC. Moody played eight minutes at Butler and three against UNC. And Sokolov played six minutes against Butler and less than a minute against the Tar Heels.
Given IU’s strong rotation at guard and on the wing, Karvala and Moody may earn only spot minutes this season, which says more about this roster’s talent than either player’s long-term potential.
