Game Day Essentials: Game #17 at #25 Indiana

Indiana Info

Head Coach: Ryan "Archie" Miller
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Conference: B1G
Nickname: Hoosiers
Last time out: Lost to Maryland
Typical Rotation Depth: 8-9
Line: Indiana by 2

KenPom Line: 

Style: Middle assist % / Low 3pa%

Player to watch: Romeo Langford

The 6'6" freshman 5 star guard is the real deal and should be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Think of Langford as an elite level Palmer: a guy who can get to the rim almost at will, draw contract, and if he's hitting his 3s is almost unstoppable. He's scored in double digits in every game he's played and is averaging 22 ppg in conference. 

Player to watch: Juwan Morgan

The 6'8" 232# Senior Juwan Morgan has added a consistent 3pt shot to is already impressive arsenal of drives, rebounding, and shot blocking.  Morgan and Langford account for 45% of the Hoosier offense.

KenPom explains the roster

Indiana gets all of their offense in the paint and mostly plays without a traditional center

• Athletic Justin Smith is an inside the arc players and a threat on the offensive glass
• Durham has a Thomas Allen type of game
• Not pictured is starting Fr PG Rob Phinisee who has been out with a concussion for 3 games until getting some minutes vs. Maryland. Indiana feels like they have the consistent PG they've lacked since Yogi Ferrell graduated and his playing time tonight will matter
• Green split time with Newkirk last year and is starting in place of Phinisee. Hasn't been a great shooter and is turnover prone
• 6'10" 225 St. Mary's grad transfer Evan Fitzner has played limited minutes as while he's a versatile stretch 5 his lack of athleticism has made him a liability on defense and sometimes on offense
• 6'10" 255 De'Ron Davis is the only traditional center on the team and is also coming back from injury which saw him only playing 4 minutes vs Maryland. Seems like he'll be limited if played at all.
• 6'6" Zach McRoberts is a body they can try to throw at Palmer but otherwise is a non-threat to score.

Scouting Indiana Thread

Miles Presser

Nana is at 100%. Amir lost 20! pounds during his illness and has gained back 10. Looks like he should be available going forward but will probably still be limited.

The Skinny:  Nebraska looks into the mirror tonight as they face a highly regarded Indiana team that does most everything well except for rebounding. While you could arguably give Nebraska the edge for the better starting 5, you might need to give Indiana the nod for the top 2 players on the court in Langford and Morgan.

Nebraska has defensively focused on taking away the 3 but what sort of adjustments do they make against a team that shoots a low percentage of them? Will they roll out more zone looks tonight? Will they turn back the clock and run some pack?  Running that default defense against a team a Hoosier team that looks a bit like Minnesota or Texas Tech seems like it will result in layups and FTs which is how Indiana beats you. What's the plan, coach?

Defensively Indiana is going to make you work to get a good shot and in some regards it seems like this Nebraska offense is content in running clock to sometimes get a better shot. Indiana hasn't exactly been shutting down anyone in conference so if Palmer is struggling finding someone else on the team to shoulder the load shouldn't be asking much. 

Nebraska can win this game but will they?  At the end of the day the home team with two best players is the better bet.

Prediction: Indiana 77 - Nebraska 72