The Indiana Hoosiers are coming off one of their most impressive wins on the road at Michigan on Tuesday and will now look to ride their momentum into State College to face the Penn State Nittany Lions.
These teams have had opposite seasons with the Hoosiers coming in at the top of the Big Ten while Penn State is in the bottom half of the conference. Although, as we have seen this season, anything can happen on any given night.
Last Time Out
As mentioned previously, Indiana had a big road matchup with Michigan on Tuesday and came away with an equally big win in Ann Arbor. Tom Crean and Indiana used a 41-9 run, along with 28 straight points during the run, to beat the Wolverines by a score of 80-67. The score doesn't show how much the Hoosiers really dominated.
Penn State comes into this game against Indiana having lost six of their last seven games in the Big Ten and a 2-8 conference record. Most recently, the NIttany Lions traveled to Iowa and put up no fight losing to the third ranked Hawkeyes by a score of 73-49.
Scouting Report: Penn State
Things are once again not going very well in State College under fifth-year head coach Patrick Chambers. The Nittany Lions have one of the worst offenses in the Big Ten at 12th in offensive efficiency as the struggles continue for this program.
Two guys to watch out for on this Penn State team, however, are senior forward Brandon Taylor along with sophomore guard Shep Garner.
Taylor is the go-to player for the Nittany Lions and he can really do it all. He leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game along with rebounding as he averages 6.2 rebounds per game. If Taylor has it going for the Nittany Lions, they can have some success, but without him scoring his average or close to it, Penn State has their struggles. He shoots 43.7 percent from the field, but is shooting just 32.2 percent from behind the arc.
Garner, however, leads the team in minutes per game with 34.7 and does a solid job of scoring the basketball with 13.7 points per game. He leads the team in assists with 3.0 per game, as well. Garner has really struggled shooting the basketball as he is shooting just 37 percent from the field.
Senior Devin Foster has worked himself into the starting five in the last few games and is Penn State’s best shooter from behind the arc shooting it 42.9 percent. The team as a whole doesn’t shoot the three ball well with just a 28.8 percentage.
The team’s leading rebounder is 6-6 forward Peyton Banks as he grabs 4.9 rebounds per game along with being the team’s third leading scorer with 10.3 points per game.
As for the team as a whole, they come in ranked 148 in the KenPom rankings. The Nittany Lions struggle to score the basketball at just 65.3 points per game, but are solid defensively giving up 69.1 points per game.
What the Hoosiers Need To Do
After coming off of a big win on Tuesday against Michigan, the Hoosiers need to come out against Penn State and almost validate that win. On paper, this shouldn’t be too close of a contest, but it is a road game in the Big Ten and sometimes those can be difficult to predict.
The Hoosiers can’t fall into a trap with this being the middle game following Michigan and before Iowa next Thursday at home. However, he leadership of Yogi Ferrell along with the weapons this team has should be enough to push those distractions to the side.
Freshman OG Anunoby has been playing some great basketball of late and has especially excelled on the defensive side of the floor. After marking Zak Irvin Tuesday and Nigel Hayes of Wisconsin in the past, expect him to get the assignment of Brandon Taylor on Saturday night.
Indiana needs to play their game in this one and getting a big lead early would crush any confidence this Penn State team has with this being their ‘Alumni Weekend.’
What To Expect
KenPom projects the Hoosiers to get a 75-67 win with a 78 percent chance of winning. Sagarin has the Hoosiers winning by 10.5 while Vegas has opened with Indiana as an eight point favorite.
Indiana has had success against Penn State recently, but this should not be a game they take lightly. Chambers always has his teams ready to play and the Nittany Lions are always physically tough and will be playing hard looking for a win as they have lost four straight.
Penn State has struggled against the three-ball this season and with so many weapons, the Hoosiers offense will pose problems for the Nittany Lions defense. Not turning the ball over will also be key for the Hoosiers so they can keep control of this game that they are projected to win.
Every game is important especially with the position the Hoosiers are in at first place in the conference. Indiana can’t be caught looking down the schedule because with Iowa and Michigan State coming up next, getting a win against Penn State seems like a must.
Prediction:
Indiana 80, Penn State 68
Game Info:
First tip is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST on BTN (Josh Lewin & Shon Morris) at the Bryce Jordan Center.