Indiana University Athletics
Release Notes
12/4/1997 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Release Notes
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Today's games is the fifth game of the season (out of six) away from home for the Hoosiers. Indiana began the year with three consecutive road games and this is the second neutral site game of the year. The last time Indiana opened the season with three "true" road games was 1918-19. However, Indiana's next three games are at home.
NEWCOMERS CONTRIBUTING: Indiana's three newcomers - JC transfers William Gladness and Rob Turner plus freshman Luke Recker - have all contributed in the early going. The three come into tonight's game averaging a combined 29 points, 12.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.
FROM THE FIELD: Indiana has been red-hot from the field in the last two games going a combined 73-127 (57.4%). That includes a season-high 58.5% (31-53) game against Notre Dame and a 42-74 (56.8%) against Northeast Louisiana. The consecutive above 50% performances was the first time IU has accomplished this since the end of 1995-96 when they shot 53.1% against Illinois and 50% vs. Wisconsin (a span of 40 games). The hot shooting has increased Indiana's percentage for the season to 50% (141-282) which is well above last season's 43.8% team mark. Four Hoosiers P William Gladness (60%), Rob Turner (60.5%), Jason Collier (57.9%) and Michael Lewis (50%) P are shooting at least 50% from the field. The Hoosiers have shot 54.9% (101-184) in their three victories but just 40.8% (40-98 ) in the two losses. Last season the Hoosiers shot better than 50% only three times.
CHARITY TOSSES: While the team has continued to heat up from the field, the same thing has happened at the foul line. The Hoosiers best effort in the first three games was just 66.7% twice however in the last two games IU is 41-49 (83.6%) from the line. That includes a season-high in attempts and makes (25-32) vs. Notre Dame and a season best 16-17 (94.1%) effort vs. Northeast Louisiana. The 94.1% mark tied for the 10th best in school history. Indiana was one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation last season finishing second in the nation at 76.6%. With the recent successes, the Hoosiers enter tonight's game at 70.9%. Andrae Patterson is the top player at 13-14 (92.9%) followed by Luke Recker at 9-10 (90%). Getting to the line is a sign of success for Indiana. In the three victories IU has made 59 free throws while the opponents have attempted 54. In the losses the opponents have almost twice as many attempts (45) as IU does free throws (24).
THREE-POINTERS: Indiana came back from its worst shooting game of the season from 3-point range against NE Louisiana (3-12) to make 4-11 vs. Notre Dame. The Hoosiers are shooting 37.5% on the season. Rob Turner is off to a hot start from 3-point range as he is 9-19 (47.4%) coming into today's game. He and A.J. Guyton have combined to make 20 of the Hoosiers 27 3-pointers.
THE BOARD REPORT: With all of the hot shooting in the Notre Dame game (the teams combined to miss just 46 field goals), rebounds were at a premium. The Hoosiers still managed to outboard the Irish by a 29-26 count. The 29 boards was a season-low (previous was 33 at Hawai'i). The Hoosiers have held an edge in rebounding in four of the five games and enter tonight's game with a +4.8 rebound margin on the season. Indiana has also registered 40 or more rebounds three times.
BLOCK PARTY: The Hoosiers have 20 blocks this season but 18 of those have come in the three victories. Indiana had 3 against Notre Dame after recording a season-high 9 vs. Northeast Louisiana. Jason Collier leads the team with 5 while Andrae Patterson has 4.
ASSISTS ANGLE: After recording a season-high 26 assists vs. Northeast Louisiana the Hoosiers came back with 21 against Notre Dame. This was the first time in 41 games (dating back to 1995-96) Indiana had registered consecutive 20+ assist games. IU has 47 assists to just 29 turnovers in these two games. Taking care of the ball has been a good barometer for Indiana success this season. In the three victories they have 62 assists but just 20 in the two losses. Helped by that 47-29 assist to turnover margin in the last two games, the Hoosiers enter tonight's game with just a -1 (83-84) mark in this category for the season. A.J. Guyton, Rob Turner and Luke Recker lead the team with 15.
TURNOVER TALE: The Hoosiers have been much better at not turning the ball over as the season has progressed. After a season-opening 23 turnovers against Temple, Indiana has averaged 15.3 tpg over the last four contests. Indiana had 16 against Notre Dame but only 5 in the second half as they pulled away from the Irish. In the three victories the Hoosiers have turned the ball over just 44 times (14.7 tpg) while in the two losses that number inflates to 40 (20 tpg). The last two games mark the first time this season the assists have outnumbered the turnovers in consecutive games (happened only 5 times last season).
MAKING THE STEAL: While the Hoosiers have done a better job of taking care of the ball, they have been taking it away from the opposition. IU has 26 steals in the last two games which includes 12 against Notre Dame and a season-high 14 against Northeast Louisiana. That mark is a season-high and ties for the eighth-highest mark in school history (recorded five previous times). This is the first time in 45 games (dating back to midway through 1995-96) the Hoosiers have registered double figures in steals in back-to-back games. IU has 34 steals in the three victories but just 8 in the two losses. Luke Recker leads the team with 9 steals (all of which have come in the three wins).
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Indiana's defense has held three of its first five opponents under 40% (accomplished this 13 times last year in 33 games). The opponents are shooting just 42.8% coming into today's game. In the three victories, Indiana has held the opponents to just 42.1% from the field and forced them into 61 turnovers. By contrast in the two losses, the opponents are shooting 44% and have turned the ball over 25 times. Notre Dame had a hot-shooting night going 31-55 (56.4%) for an opponents season best.
GET AHEAD, STAY AHEAD: This year the Hoosiers are 2-1 while leading at halftime, 1-0 when trailing and 0-1 when tied. The Hoosiers are usually good at holding onto a lead as they are 19-2 in the last 21 games in which they led at the half.
MARGIN MATERIAL: Each of Indiana's wins this season have been by at least 11 points. The average margin of victory is 20.3 ppg while the loss margin stands at 11.5 per contest. Only one of the Hoosiers' games this season has been decided by less than 10 points and that was the season-opening 6-point loss at Temple (59-53).
SCORING SOME POINTS: The Hoosiers enter tonight's game averaging 78.4 points per game. Indiana averages 91.3 ppg in the three wins but just 59 ppg in the two losses. IU has registered 194 points in the last two games which is its best two-game total since 1993-94 when they scored 218 in wins over Notre Dame and Tennessee Tech (span of 124 games). The 103 points was the first time the Hoosiers had eclipsed the century mark since Dec. 29, 1995 when they also scored 103 points against Appalachian State (span of 56 games). The Hoosiers scored over 90 points only twice last year in 33 games but have already matched this number through 5 games.
IT'S A FACT: Indiana has led the Big Ten in scoring over the last seven years with a average of 79.9 points per game.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE WATCH: As strange as it might sound, no Indiana player has ever recorded a triple-double.
HOOSIERS ARE THE BIG TEN'S BEST: The Hoosiers have had 27 consecutive winning seasons. Every Coach Knight team at IU has had a winning season. During Knight's tenure in Bloomington, Indiana is the only school in the Big Ten to register an overall winning record each year. Along those same lines with 9 conference victories last year, the Hoosiers have 24 (out of 26) non-losing conference seasons during Knight's tenure.
INDIANA - ONE OF THE NATION'S ELITE PROGRAMS: Indiana is one of the top schools in the country during the 1990's. Entering the season, IU ranks 12th among all teams during this span with a 72.4 winning percentage.
HOOSIERS AT HOME: All-time in Assembly Hall the Hoosiers are an impressive 320-42 (.884) including a 193-35 (.846) record in Big Ten games. Since the beginning of the 1990-91 season the Hoosiers are 87-9 (.906) in Assembly Hall. Indiana is 61-22 (.735) against ranked teams in Assembly Hall.
NEXT UP: The Hoosiers host Evansville Tuesday (Dec. 9). Tipoff is 8 p.m. The ESPN-Plus over-the-air network will broadcast the game.
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