This game kicks off somewhat of an easier stretch for the Hoosiers (although saying any game in the Big Ten is easy is a very bad idea), as they play host to Nebraska on Wednesday and the hated Purdue on Saturday afternoon. The game tips-off at 7pm on Big Ten Network.
Now, after last season, I'm never going to say that this game is a guaranteed win. And I'm sure that every player who was on that team is thinking the same thing. Even so, this Nebraska team has been a bit of a basement-dweller this season with a conference record of 3-8. But don't let that fool you (see Illinois beating IU while sporting a record of 2-7 in conference). This team, under the leadership of first-year coach Tim Miles is on its way up over the next couple years. As it is, Nebraska currently leads the IU series since they joined the Big Ten, winning the only game last season 70-69 in Nebraska. Looking at that game, a couple things jump out. Only two Hoosiers (Cody and Jordy) scored in double-digits, the team turned it over 15 times, and only got to the charity stripe 13 times while sending Nebraska 19 times. They were also doubled in the offensive rebound category. However, this Hoosier team is a whole different animal this season.
There are not many stats that jump off the page for the Cornhuskers. They are very good at holding onto the ball (ranked 32 in the nation per Ken Pomeroy), and do a decent job of defending the perimeter, holding their opponents to 31.7% from three-point land. Other than that, it could be a rough night for Nebraska. They average 59 points per game, good for a whopping 333rd in the country. The Hoosiers, on the other hand, are second in the nation in scoring with 83.2 points per game. The Hoosiers also lead in the rebound and assists categories, pulling down 39 rebounds and dishing out 16 assists compared to 33 and 10 respectively for the Cornhuskers. And it doesn't get any better for them if you look at the individual match-ups.
The biggest match-up which could hold some interest for once does not involve any players named Victor Oladipo. Instead it features Cody and Brandon Ubel for Nebraska. The 6'10" senior Ubel is averaging about 12 points and 7 rebounds per game, but is also turning the ball over a team-high two times per game. He also has a surprisingly low field goal percentage for a big man at 47.7% Cody is averaging 16.5 points and 8 rebounds while playing on average three fewer minutes than Ubel. He is also hitting 60% of his field goal attempts. Cody should be able to have his way with Ubel, especially considering some of the elite talent he's faced so far. He will have to be careful on fouls, as Ubel is pretty good at drawing fouls, and he has the highest free throw rate on the team, shooting almost one free throw for every two field goal attempts. At the same time, he has been committing fouls at a somewhat high rate, and he'll be going up against Cody, who is one of the best players in the country at drawing fouls and he gets to the line more than three times for every four field goal attempts. Actually, one of the only players who fouls more frequently than Ubel is his big-man buddy Andre Almeida, who weighs in at 314. If matched up with Almeida, Cody should be able to run the fellow big until either Coach Miles has to pull him out or he passes out from exhaustion, whichever comes first.
The only other somewhat high-key match-up is between the 6'5" guards of Victor and Dylan Talley. Talley is averaging 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, but also turns it over 2 times a game. His field goal shooting is also not overly impressive at 35% and his three-point percentage sits at 31.8%. Victor is averaging 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 steals, but also turns it over 2 times per game. The amazing stat, however, is that while playing the same position, Victor's percentages are significantly higher at 64.5% field goal and 53.8% three-point. Talley is pretty good at avoiding fouls, but once again Victor is very good at drawing them. Once again, this match-up should strongly go toward the Hoosiers, as there are few players in the country who can match-up with Victor and I don't see Nebraska even having a chance at stopping him.
This game should be pretty straightforward, especially being played at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers should be able to come out strong and do what they do best: run, run, run, and run some more. This could also be a good game to see some role players get bigger minutes, particularly the recovered Derek and Mo. I'd also like to see Remy get some time to try to work out whatever is causing him to struggle, and I hope Jeremy gets some good time too, as he has really impressed me the last few games. As long as the Hoosiers can do a decent job of holding onto the ball and can get to the free throw line more often than they did during the game last season, this one should be the start of a winning week for IU.
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