BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana will play the second of three games in the Hoosier Classic on Wednesday night at Assembly Hall against Little Rock.
After a slow start on Sunday, the Hoosiers picked up a 30-point win over Miami of Ohio at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to improve to 4-0 on the season. Indiana picked up a road win in its first real Test against Xavier on Friday behind 30 points from Trayce Jackson-Davis and Xavier Johnson.
With those wins, the Hoosiers have moved up one spot to No. 11 in the AP poll, and coach Mike Woodson feels good about the depth of the team as he works to find the best mix.
“I have faith and believe in everyone who wears this uniform,” Woodson said. “They just have to stay ready. You know, I mean, I’m still trying to figure out the rotations and who can do what and what combinations work, and that can be an ongoing process, you know, as we navigate this season. So, hey, stay ready. That’s all I can say to our guys coming off the bench. Get ready to play.”
- *** LIVE BLOG: And once the game launches, follow all the action on our live blog from Tom Brew, editor of HoosiersNow.com. To read this story, CLICK HERE.
How to watch Indiana Hoosiers vs. Little Rock Trojans
- Who: No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers (4-0) vs. Little Rock (2-3)
- What: Hoosier Classic
- When: 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 23
- Where: Simon Skjodt Meeting Room in Bloomington, Ind.
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Advertisers: Kevin Kugler (game by game), Stephen Bardo (analyst)
- Direct: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
- Radio: UI radio network
- Radio hosts: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (pre-game, half-time, post-game)
- Point spread: Will update as soon as it becomes available
- AP Poll: Indiana is No. 11 in the AP Poll, the program’s highest ranking since December 2016 and the highest ranking of any Big Ten team. Little Rock is unrated.
- KenPom Ranking: Indiana is ranked No. 8 overall in KenPom after Sunday’s win over Miami of Ohio. The Hoosiers are No. 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency. Little Rock is ranked No. 325 overall, No. 334 in adjusted defensive efficiency, and No. 289 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
- Season forecast: On Tuesday afternoon, Indiana is plus-900 to reach the Final Four and plus-3,000 to win the national championship, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Hoosiers were the betting favorite to win the Big Ten regular season title at plus-290 odds on Sunday, but FanDuel has no odds for that now.
- Top scorers: Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis leads the Hoosiers with 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game on a 75.6 field goal percentage. Freshman forward Malik Reneau is averaging 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and senior point guard Xavier Johnson is next with 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. match. Little Rock’s DeAntoni Gordon leads the Trojans with 13.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, and Myron Gardner is averaging 12.8 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent from 3. DJ Smith is Little Rock’s third and last double-digit scorer with 10.8 points and 3.0 assists per game.
- Notable games: Indiana proved their No. 11 ranking with an 81-79 victory over Xavier, who was chosen to finish second in the Big East coaches’ preseason poll. Little Rock is 2-0 at home with wins over Arkansas Baptist and recently beat Jackson State 94-91 in the Hoosier Classic. The Trojans are 0-3 on the road with losses to Southern Illinois, Central Arkansas and Eastern Tennessee State.
- Records from last season: Indiana went 21-14 overall, 9-11 in Big Ten play, 14-4 at home, 3-8 on the road and 4-1 at neutral sites in 2021-22. The Hoosiers reached the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 2016, beating Wyoming in the top four and losing to Saint Mary’s in the Round of 16. -7 at home, 1-10 on the road and 2-2 at neutral sites in 2021-22. The Trojans defeated Southern Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament before ending their season with a loss to Tory.
- Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series 2-0, most recently beating Little Rock 77-53 on December 29, 1994 at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Ind. Alan Henderson led the No. 24 Hoosiers with 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Brian Evans added 18 points and nine rebounds. Indiana finished third in the Big Ten in the 1994-95 season and lost to Missouri in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 as the No. 9 seed.
Meet the coaches
- Darrell Walker, Little Rock: Darrell Walker is in his fifth season as head coach at Little Rock and is 51-64 overall and 30-40 in conference play. After a 10-21 record in his first season, he led an impressive turnaround to go 21-10, which culminated in a Sun Belt Conference regular-season title and coaching honours. year of the Sun Belt. As a player, Walker was the 12th overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks after three college seasons at Arkansas and one at Westark Community College. Walker played in the NBA from 1983 to 1993 for the Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets and Detroit Pistons, and he appeared in 28 games for 1993 NBA champion Chicago Bulls. Walker’s first coaching job was as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors before becoming head coach for two seasons. He made saves with the Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics, New Orleans Hornets, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. Prior to Little Rock, Walker served as Division II head coach at Clark University in Atlanta for two seasons where he was 45-18.
- Mike Woodson, Indiana: Woodson has NBA head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-2010 and the New York Knicks from 2012-2014. Since 1996, Woodson has also served as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers , New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. Woodson played at Indiana University from 1976 to 1980 and was named the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player as a senior under coach Bob Knight. He was the 12th overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft and played for various teams from 1980 to 1991, averaging 14 points in 786 games.
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Three things to watch for in Indiana vs. Little Rock
1. Jalen Hood-Schifino finds his shot
Indiana’s 6-foot-6 freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino has a knack for impacting the game in a variety of ways. He leads all Hoosiers with 18 assists, is tied for the team lead with five steals and tied for fourth with 4.3 rebounds per game. Playing 26.1 minutes per game, behind only Trayce Jackson-Davis, Hood-Schifino was crucial to Indiana’s 4-0 start.
But the only flaw in Hood-Schifino’s game early in his Indiana career was shooting efficiency. After a 3-for-4 night in his debut against Morehead State, he shot a combined 3-for-17 and 1-for-6 of 3 against Bethune-Cookman and Xavier. Most recently, he went 5 for 12 against Miami of Ohio, including 2 for 4 of 3. Hood-Schifino didn’t force contested or off-pace shots, but his improvement as a shooter is key for Indiana. reaches its full potential.
“I’m not concerned about shooting,” Woodson said of Hood-Schifino. “Hell, we scored 80 points tonight, about 80 points. We’re averaging 90 points. Again, Jalen will be there when it counts. He’s capable of making big shots, so he’s not a big problem.”
2. Start strong
Indiana picked up easy wins in three of its four games and picked up an energizing win at Xavier on Friday. In each of those wins, however, the Hoosiers weren’t at their best in the opening moments.
Morehead State tied the game with 9:17 left in the first half, Bethune-Cookman cut the deficit to two points at 12:01, and Indiana trailed Xavier by up to nine first-half points. On Sunday, Miami of Ohio made it a 21-20 game with 7:46 remaining before halftime. The Hoosiers finally found an offensive flow and locked in defensive to start the year 4-0. But with two games before a matchup with No. 1 North Carolina, it will be important for Indiana to start games with the same energy they will prove later.
3. Defend Myron Gardner
Myron Gardner, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound guard, does a bit of everything for Little Rock. Gardner is averaging 12.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals in five games. He made a number of dunks last season and also showed his ability to step back and knock down 3 or mid-range jumpers.
Little Rock leading scorer DeAntoni Gordon (13.4 ppg) is making the majority of his scoring inside, which means a tough game against Trayce Jackson-Davis and Indiana’s deep forward field on Wednesday . That could lead to more focus on the game through Gardner, who has a hot hand after going 23-of-5 for 6-3 in Little Rock’s win over Jackson State on Sunday.
- PHOTO GALLERY: Relive the action and view 25 photos from Indiana basketball’s 86-56 victory over Miami of Ohio inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Hoosiers improve to 4-0 in the young season. CLICK HERE
- CJ GUNN EXUDES CONFIDENCE CJ Gunn didn’t play Friday at Xavier, but he did a bit of everything in 22 minutes against Miami of Ohio on Sunday. He was ready to play and exuded a confidence that isn’t always common in freshmen, and that’s all Coach Mike Woodson asks for. CLICK HERE
- KOPP’S GOOD START: Miller Kopp is shooting 53 percent from three-point range in four games, and he’s playing well in Indiana’s 4-0 start. He may not be Indiana’s most important player, but he is when the ball is in his hands. He’s Indiana’s best perimeter shooter, and they need him to play well to win titles this year. CLICK HERE
- NDIANA BEAT MIAMI: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds and eight other Hoosiers scored six or more points as the No. 12 Hoosiers earned their fourth straight victory with an 86-56 win over Miami from Ohio on Sunday in Indianapolis. CLICK HERE
- MIAMI WEARS: Miami of Ohio hung with Indiana for the majority of the first half, but Redhawks coach Travis Steele thought the size, strength and athleticism of the Hoosiers were wearing down his team as the game progressed. match. Here is the story of Jack’s opposing locker room. CLICK HERE