Game Day Essentials: Game #27 at Indiana

Indiana Info

Head Coach: Mike Woodson (3rd year)
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Conference: B1G
Nickname: Hoosiers

Line: Indiana by 1.5
Typical Rotation Depth: 8

KenPom rank: 97

Nota bene:  

• Fred Hoiberg vs Mike Woodson is a matchup of former NBA coaches
• Indiana Center Payton Sparks was a teammate of Boogie Coleman last season at Ball St.
• Indiana boasts one of the tallest lineups in D-1, clocking in at #3 in KenPom's average height metric. Nebraska's secret scrimmage foe Utah is #2.
• Mackenzie Mgbako attended Roselle Catholic HS last season, playing with Simeon Wilcher. This is the same HS attended by CJ WIlcher and Jamarques Lawrence.
• Nebraska beat Indiana 86-70 back on Jan 3rd behind 28 points from Keisei Tominaga though give a lot of credit to Nebraska winning the turnover game 19-8.  Below is from Woodson's radio show where he recalls Keisei but doesn't bring up the turnovers

KenPom most used lineups

Player to watch: Malik Reneau

While not as dominant as Trayce Jackson-Davis, F/C Reneau has taken over as Indiana's go-to scorer in the paint while also ranking 2nd on the team in assists. Does have 3pt range.  Has fouled out of 3 of his last 6 games.

Player to watch: Mackenzie Mgbako

The 5 star freshman has become the Hoosier's main 3pt threat, shooting 36.7% from 3 in conference play.

Player to watch: Kel'el Ware

Another former 5 star, Ware transferred from Oregon and has started at the 5 for Indiana where he's arguably been their best player. Ware looks like a lottery pick at times but sometimes his motor doesn't match.

Player to watch: Trey Galloway

The Senior guard has become the primary distributor with Xavier Johnson out. Poor outside shooter and remarkably poor FT shooter.

Others to watch

Freshman guard Gabe Cupps is mostly just bringing the ball up the court and shoots at a Benny Parker like rate. 6'8" 215# Miami transfer Anthony Walker is nice depth but he's yet another post player who doesn't take outside shots. Guards CJ Gunn and Anthony Leal provide some end of the bench shooting.

UNL Game Notes

Out indefinitely 

5   Ahron Ulis     6-3    190 lbs    Junior - Likely out for the season

Questionable

15  Blaise Keita     6-11    257 lbs    Junior - Ongoing ankle injury recovery

11    Eli Rice                         6-8    213 lbs    Freshman - Ankle injury

Possible starters for Nebraska

53   Josiah Allick                 6-8    231 lbs    Senior

30   Keisei Tominaga           6-2    179 lbs    Senior

3     Brice Williams               6-7    213 lbs    Junior

4   Juwan Gary                   6-6    221 lbs    Junior

51    Rienk Mast                 6-10    248 lbs    Junior

Bench

10    Jamarques Lawrence  6-3    183 lbs    Sophomore

0    C.J. Wilcher                  6-5    214 lbs    Junior

1    Sam Hoiberg                 6-0    183 lbs    Sophomore

9    Jarron Coleman            6-5    213 lbs    Senior
21    Matar Diop                 6-10    213 lbs    Freshman

35    Henry Burt                  6-7    216 lbs    RS Freshman

2    Ramel Lloyd Jr.             6-6    210 lbs    RS Freshman

31    Cale Jacobsen            6-4    200 lbs    RS Freshman

24    Jeffrey Grace III         6-3    197 lbs    Sophomore 

The Skinny: 

There is certainly individual talent on this Hooiser roster as they currently roster more McDonald's All-Americans (Ware, Mgbako) than Nebraska has ever rostered (0). Those individual talents haven't amounted to much success for Indiana in 2024 as Indiana finds themselves at 14-11 after a 10-3 start with Mike Woodson talking about coming back next year during his presser. While Indiana plays hard at this point the season seems certainly lost.  Not really sure what sort of effort to expect from this inconsistent Indiana squad.

After a week off Nebraska put together their best defensive effort of 2024 as they stymied Penn St while not playing anyone over 31 minutes. Look for Nebraska's legs to still have juice as effort will be required in addition to Indiana being a team that for the most part plays to Nebraska's strengths. If the Huskers keep tracking down 50-50 balls and don't put Indiana on the line all night, this is a great opportunity for a statement game.  In a close game it will come down to Nebraska's FT shooting vs Indiana's home court advantage.

Just feels like Nebraska will go all out in this game.

Prediction: Nebraska 79 - Indiana 70