PREVIEW: Hoosiers at Penn State For Midweek Matchup

Wednesday, January 18

University Park, PA

7:00 PM

Indiana University

Penn State

PREVIEW: Hoosiers at Penn State For Midweek Matchup

1/16/2017 6:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Indiana Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats Listen Online ($)Watch Online (BTN2Go)

OPENING TIP
• This season marks the 117th season of Indiana Basketball and the defending Big Ten Champions will look to build off a 76-57 win over Rutgers on Sunday.

UP NEXT
• The Hoosiers will host Michigan State at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 21 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Indiana (12-6, 2-3 Big Ten) at Penn State (11-7, 3-2 Big Ten)
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017
Location	University Park, Pa.
Venue	Bryce Jordan Center (15,261)
Tipoff	7:00 p.m. ET
TV	BTN & BTN2Go (Jeff Levering & Stephen Bardo)
Radio	IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, Joe Smith)
Live Stats	IUHoosiers.com

IU INSIGHT
• IU 5th in the nation in rebound margin, 8th in rebounding, 14th in field goal percentage and 17th in scoring.

• The Hoosiers 5.39 blocks per game would be the highest total for a Hoosier team in the Crean Era. The previous high was 4.31 in 2013-14.

• Indiana's 13.1 offensive rebounds per game is the highest total in the Crean Era since the team averaged 12.7 in 2009-10.

• Since 2011-12, IU has had the most potent offense in the Big Ten, leading in points scored (78.4), field goal percentage (48.0), and 3-point field goal percentage (40.1). The Hoosiers lead all major conference schools in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage during that same time frame.

• In conference games only, IU leads the Big Ten in scoring (79.8), field goal percentage (48.5), three-point field goal percentage (44.3), offensive rebound % (40.9), and three-point field goals made per game (9.8).

• Since 2014-15, the Hoosiers have averaged 9.5 3FG per game, the most of any major college program. Villanova is 2nd (9.0). Junior James Blackmon, Jr. is 6th among major conference players making 2.6 triples per game during that time frame. He is averaging 21.0 points in his last 3 games.

• With the 76-67 win over No. 3 North Carolina in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Hoosiers are tied with took with a national-best 6 wins against top 3 programs since the 2011-12 season. IU also beat Kansas, 103-99 in overtime in the season opener at the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu.

FAST START
• The Hoosiers opened the Illinois game by outscoring them 15-0 in the first 5:54. IU was 5-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-5 3FG, while Illinois missed its first 8 shots.

HEAD COACH TOM CREAN
• Tom Crean, the 2016 Big Ten Coach of the Year, begins his ninth year of leading the Hoosiers. Over the last five+ years, IU is 132-59 and leads the Big Ten with 25 regular season wins over ranked opponents during that time. IU has been nationally ranked for the sixth straight season. Nine players in his first 7 recruiting classes have scored 1,000 points in their career under Crean at Indiana. Yogi Ferrell (1,986), Christian Watford (1,730), Verdell Jones III (1,347), Jordan Hulls (1,318), Cody Zeller (1,157), Will Sheehey (1,120), Victor Oladipo (1,117) Troy Williams (1,115), and most recently James Blackmon, Jr. (1,022) also have scored 1,000 points or more. Three players, Yogi Ferrell (2016), Cody Zeller (2013) and Victor Oladipo (2013) have been selected as All-Americans. In addition, Oladipo earned two National Player of the Year honors and was named National Defensive Player of the Year. IU won the 2013 and 2016 Big Ten titles outright. Last year's outright title is the team's second in a four year period with the last time that happened at IU coming in 1980, 81 and 83.

The Hoosiers are now tied for the Big Ten lead in overall championships (22) and outright titles (13).

THE SERIES
• IU holds a 35-11 lead in a series which began in 1978. The Hoosiers have won 7 of the last 9 meetings but each of the last 4 games have been decided by an average of 3 points. PSU won last year in University Park, 63-58.

DID YOU KNOW
• After trailing 15-6 with 14:12 left in the first half against Rutgers, IU outscored the Scarlet Knights, 70-42, holding the visitors to 38.5 percent the remainder of the game, including zero 3-point field goals made.

• Sophomore OG Anunoby had 7 steals against Rutgers, the most in the 21st century for the Hoosiers. His total is tied for 4th all-time in Hoosier lore. As a team, the Hoosiers had a season-high 14 steals.

• Junior James Blackmon, Jr. became the 50th player in IU history to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career last week against Maryland. He finished with a team-high 22 points in the game. Last week, he matched his Big Ten career-high (Northwestern) with 25 points against Illinois. He had 16 against Rutgers and is now 49th on the all-time scoring list with 1,022 points.

• IU leads the Big Ten in scoring (84.6), field goal percentage (49.8) and in offensive rebounding percentage (39.8%).

•Five former Crean-coached Hoosiers have been on active NBA rosters this season including Cody Zeller (Charlotte), Victor Oladipo (Oklahoma City), Noah Vonleh (Portland), Yogi Ferrell (Brooklyn)and Troy Williams (Memphis). Three of his former players at Marquette also are active, including Dwyane Wade (Chicago), Steve Novak (Milwaukee) and Wes Matthews (Dallas). Oladipo signed a 4-year, $84 million extension and Zeller got 4-years and $56 million earlier this season.

• The Hoosiers have three former head coaches on their coaching staff this season (Buckley, Martin, Judson). Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley begins his ninth year at Indiana. The former head coach at Ball State, his Cardinals beat No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 UCLA at the 2001 Maui Classic. Assistant Coach Chuck Martin is in his third year with the Hoosiers and was the head coach at Marist (2008-13). Assistant Coach Rob Judson is in his second year as an assistant coach after serving as Director of Operations in early 2014. He was the head coach at Northern Illinois (2001-07) and won the MAC West title in 2006.

• Sophomore Thomas Bryant was named Preseason All-American by Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook and NBCSports.com. He tied his Big Ten career-high (Minnesota) with 20 points against Illinois and made all six of his field goal attempts. He is now shooting 41.4 from long distance making 12 of 29 attempts. Last year, he made 5 of 15 3FG all season. He had his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Nebraska. He had a 15-point, 7-rebound performance against Butler. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas. He had 12 points and 7 boards against North Carolina. He is now 8th in the Big Ten in rebounding at 6.9 per game and 6th in blocks (1.7).

• Freshman De'Ron Davis made his first career start against Louisville and had 12 points off the bench against Wisconsin. He made all 6 of his free throw attempts against Illinois. He had back-to-back 14-point efforts against SIUE and SEMO. He is 35-for-65 from the floor this year and is averaging 6.1 points and 3.3 rebounds. He hit two key free throws in the final minute in the win over Kansas. He had five points, three rebounds and two blocked shots against North Carolina. The Colorado native is 4th on the team with 14 blocked shots.

• Junior James Blackmon Jr. has the highest career average (16.2) of any player who has played for Crean at Indiana. He was National Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week following his 26-point effort against Kansas. He is 5th in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.5 per game. He had 14 points and tied his career-high with 9 rebounds against North Carolina. He had 24 points against Austin Peay. He leads the Big Ten averaging 3.1 3FG made per game. He had his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Louisville.

Top 5 Career Scorers In Tom Crean Era
James Blackmon, Jr. 16.2
Cody Zeller                  16.1
Yogi Ferrell                 14.5
Christian Watford       13.1
Thomas Bryant           11.9

• Junior guard Robert Johnson is the most experienced Hoosier, having started 72 career games. Coming off of ankle surgery in the offseason, he is averaging 13.7 points and is second on the team with 39 assists. He had 20 points and made a career-high 6 three-point field goals against Austin Peay. He followed that up with 19 points and 4 rebounds against Nebraska. He has scored 16 points or more 8 times this season. He is shooting 50.3 percent from the field and is shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range.

• Sophomore forward OG Anunoby is averaging 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. He had 12 points and 2 blocks against Illinois. Against North Carolina, he had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. He is shooting 59.8 percent from the field. He had 19 points, 9 rebounds and a career-high 4 blocks against Delaware State. He had 14 points and 2 steals against Louisville. He is second on the team in blocked shots (19) and third in steals (13). He missed three games with a sprained ankle following the North Carolina game. He is 9th in the Big Ten in FG% at 56.5, 8th in blocks (1.3) and 6th in steals (1.4).

• Senior forward Collin Hartman is rehabbing his injured knee. He played three games in the 2016 NCAA Tournament with a fractured wrist and averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 rebounds.

• Junior guard Josh Newkirk had a career-high 11 assists against Austin Peay. He added 11 points for his first career double-double. He is averaging 7.5 points and 3.5 assists. A native of Raleigh, N.C., he scored 10 points and 3 assists in helping the Hoosiers to the win over UNC. He had 8 assists against SEMO and had 9 points against Butler. He had 11 points against Nebraska and 9 against Maryland.

• Sophomore forward Juwan Morgan had 10 rebounds and had a career-high 4 blocked shots against Butler. On the season, he is contributing 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds. He is third in blocked shots with 18. He has started 11 games this season and is shooting 60.6% from the field. He had 12 points and 7 rebounds against Wisconsin. He made a school-record 14 straight field goals over a three-game period earlier this season.

• Sophomore walk-on Zach McRoberts had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 10 minutes against Rutgers.

• Freshman Curtis Jones had 6 points against Maryland and Rutgers and has made 5 of his last 7 3FG. He had seven of his 15 points in overtime in beating Kansas.

• Freshman Devonte Green is averaging 4.3 points and has made 3 of 6 3FG during Big Ten play. He had 5 points against Illinois and Maryland and added 4 against Rutgers.

• In Big Ten play, Penn State has the top field goal percentage defense limiting opponents to just 39.2% shooting. IU is second in league play in shooting at 48.1%.