Indiana University Athletics
No. 23 Indiana Takes on Samford Friday
11/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2013
| Samford (1-1) at No. 23/RV Indiana (2-0) | |
| Date | Friday, Nov. 15 |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| Location | Bloomington, Ind. - Assembly Hall (17,472) |
| Television | BTN (Tom Hamilton and Shon Morris) |
| Radio | IU Radio Network (Affiliates) | Sirius 93 |
| Game Notes | Indiana | Samford |
| Statistics | Indiana | Samford |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Social Media | @IndianaMBB |
THE OPENING TIP
Indiana is in its 114th season of college basketball and will host Samford, coached by former IU assistant Bennie Seltzer, of the Southern Conference. The Hoosiers improved to 2-0 with a 73-72 win over LIU Brooklyn in the opening round of the 2K Sports Classic on Tuesday. Samford is 1-1 after losing at UT Arlington, 88-75, on Tuesday.
Senior Will Sheehey had a team-high 19 points and hit two 3-pointers in the final 2:46 to lead the Hoosiers to the comeback win over the Blackbirds. He also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Sophomore Kevin Yogi Ferrell added 17 points and three assists, while freshman Noah Vonleh had his second straight double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Junior All-SoCon guard Raijon Kelly leads the Bulldogs, averaging 16.0 points per game. Sophomore forward Tim Williams, the league's Freshman of the Year last season, is averaging 14.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.
SINCE 2011-12 ...
Indiana is 58-16, which is second in the Big Ten (.780 winning pct.), 12-8 on the road, 21-13 away from Assembly Hall (road and neutral combined) and 37-3 at home (third in the nation in that time frame).
THE COACHES
Indiana named Tom Crean as its 28th men's basketball coach on April 2, 2008, and he is in his sixth year with the Hoosiers. He is 276-178 all-time as a head coach and during the last two-plus years, he has led Indiana to a 58-16 record, the 2013 Big Ten Championship and back-to-back appearances in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1994. In 2012-13, he was named NABC District 7 and USBWA District V Coach of the Year. In 2011-12, Crean was named National Coach of the Year by ESPN's Jason King, and Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Sporting News and the BTN's Tom Dienhart.
Bennie Seltzer is entering his second year as head coach at Samford after spending four years with the Hoosiers (2008-12) and two at Marquette (2006-08) working as an assistant with Tom Crean. He was also a long-time assistant at the University of Oklahoma.
FRESHMEN STARTERS
This season marked the fifth time in six years under Tom Crean that a freshman cracked the starting lineup: 2008-09: Tom Pritchard, Verdell Jones III, Nick Williams; 2009-10: Christian Watford, Maurice Creek; 2011-12: Cody Zeller; 2012-13: Kevin Yogi Ferrell; 2013-14: Noah Vonleh, Troy Williams.
BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK/WOODEN WATCH
Freshman Noah Vonleh was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance against Chicago State on Nov. 8 and is one of 50 players listed on the Wooden Award Preseason Watch List, which was released Tuesday. He is averaging 14 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Vonleh was the only player in the Big Ten to post double-doubles in the first two games of the season.
NOTICEABLE NUMBERS FOR SHEEHEY
Senior Will Sheehey has seen his numbers jump compared to the first two games last season. He is averaging 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, compared to 9.5 points and 1.5 rebounds after two games last season. Two years ago, Sheehey averaged 9.5 points and 3.0 rebounds at the same time.
FERRELL DOUBLES HIS SCORING
After two games this season, sophomore Kevin Yogi Ferrell is averaging 14 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, after averaging 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds after two games last year. Ferrell is on the Cousy Award Preseason Watch List.
