Indiana University is a basketball team that is well aware of their flaws on both sides of the ball. The Hoosiers will have to play small as they lack experience and height down in the paint. They will have to rely on Junior point guard Yogi Ferrell and freshman guard James Blackmon Jr. to score on a consistent basis for the Hoosiers to have a good chance at decent season.
Off-Season
The Hoosiers added many of new faces in the off-season including All American James Blackmon Jr. This was a huge addition for the Hoosiers as they look to improve on their poor shooting performance from last season. They also had to try to replace Noah Vonleh who left for the NBA draft. So the Hoosiers added a couple big boys to help the presence down low in Jeremiah April who stands at 6-11 and Tim Priller at 6-9. Indiana will have to put a lot of faith in their freshman this year as they are once again a young squad.
Schedule
Indiana did not make it to the NIT tournament last season not only by not having a decent record, but also by not playing enough top ranked opponents. So what did the Hoosiers make sure to do this season? Finally add some good opponents to their schedule. Starting off with pre season ranked 22nd SMU on November 20th, then IU will kick off a big month of December when they host Pittsburgh in the B1G Ten/ACC challenge on December 2nd. On December 9th they will go to the oh so famous Madison Square Garden to face off against the Louisville Cardinals who are pre season ranked number 9. In the Crossroads Classic the Hoosiers will play an always talented and tough squad in Butler. The last time these two teams played here Butler came out with the upset victory over the Hoosiers. To end the crazy month of December the Hoosiers will play Georgetown in New York where the Hoosiers beat them in overtime just two years ago.
Devin Davis
Sophomore Forward Devin Davis was struck by a vehicle driven by teammate Freshman forward Emmit Holt early Saturday morning. Holt was leaving Memorial Stadium when Davis apparently walked in front of his car causing them to collide. Davis suffered head injuries and some where internal, since the incident Davis has regained his speech and use of all extremities.
Prediction
Indiana will look to shoot a lot more threes and spread the floor with lack of depth and experience down low. Blackmon, Ferrell and transfer Nick Zeisloft will have to produce more than half of Indiana’s points as they will be the key shooters for the Hoosiers this season on offense. My prediction for the Hoosiers is that they will finish the season 19-13 overall and 9-9 in conference play.
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