Preview: IU Hosts Wisconsin, Undefeated 1976 IU Team

Tuesday, January 5

Bloomington, IN

7:00 PM

Indiana University

Wisconsin

Preview: IU Hosts Wisconsin, Undefeated 1976 IU Team

1/4/2016 6:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

OPENING TIP
• Indiana University is in its 116th season of men's basketball and will put a seven-game winning streak on the line when it hosts Wisconsin on Tuesday. IU completed a Big Ten road weep with a 79-69 win at Nebraska on Saturday. The Hoosiers will host the Badgers for the first time since January 14, 2014 when IU topped previously undefeated UW, 75-72.

1976 UNDEFEATED CHAMPS TO BE HONORED
• Members of the 1976 undefeated national championship team will be recognized at halftime in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their accomplishment which landed them the distinction of being the All-Time March Madness Team by the NCAA in 2013. For thoughts from Coach Crean on the 1976 team, scroll to the bottom of this page.

Wisconsin (9-6, 1-1 Big Ten) at Indiana (11-3, 2-0 Big Ten)
Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Assembly Hall (17,472) • Bloomington, Indiana
Live Stats: IUHoosiers.com
TV: ESPN & WatchESPN (Mike Tirico, Dan Dakich, Allison Williams)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, Joe Smith)
Series History: Indiana leads, 95-69
Last Meeting: IU 78, at WIS 92 (2/3/15)

HEAD COACH TOM CREAN
• Tom Crean is in his eighth year of leading the Hoosiers. Over the last four+ years, IU is 105-48 and leads the Big Ten with 19 regular season wins over ranked opponents during that time. During that same span, the Hoosiers have appeared nationally ranked in at least one major poll during the season. He has recruited a McDonald's All-American in each of the last five years. In addition, he has seen seven of his players score 1,000 points or more in an IU uniform. Since 2011, the Hoosiers have averaged 23 wins per season compared to 20 averaged at IU from 1995-2008. Seven players have scored 1,000 points in their career under Tom Crean at Indiana. Christian Watford (1,730), Yogi Ferrell (1,632), Verdell Jones III (1,347), Jordan Hulls (1,318), Cody Zeller (1,157), Will Sheehey (1,120) and Victor Oladipo (1,117).

BRINGING FATIGUE TO THE GAME
• In Hoosier wins, IU is shooting 62.0% from the floor and 53.0% from three-point range in the final 10 minutes of games compared to its opponents shooting 39.7% from the floor and 27.3% from long distance during crunch time.

YOGI IS BIG TEN ACTIVE LEADER
• Senior Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell enters his final conference season as the active leader in scoring (1,632), assists (529), three-point field goals made (220) and is the only senior in the league to have started every game he has played (117).

Last week, he averaged 22 points, seven assists and three rebounds and averaged 15.5 points in the second half to rally IU to two road wins to start Big Ten play. He is currently sixth in the Big Ten in scoring, fourth in assists, and sixth in free throw percentage.

GOOD DEFENSE
• The Hoosiers held Nebraska's top two offensive threats, Shavon Shields and Andrew White III to just 34.7% shooting between the two (8 for 23) after they entered the game shooting 49.4% from the field.

FRESHMAN IMPACT
• Last week, IU freshmen Thomas Bryant, OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan posted big numbers as a group in their first exposure to the Big Ten. Collectively, they contributed 45 points, 20 rebounds, shot 76.1% from the floor, made all three long distance attempts (Anunoby) and made 76.9% of their FT attempts. In addition, they combined for three assists and four blocks and steals.

MORE YOGI
• Ferrell is one of two active players in the country to have at least 1,550 career points (1,608), 500 assists (522) and 350 rebounds (369)(other is Juan'ya Green, Hofstra) He was named second team Preseason All-American by The Sporting News and USA Today, in addition to garnering third team honors from Athlon Sports and fourth team mention in Blue Ribbon Magazine. Ferrell now has 1,632 points in his IU career, which ranks 12th on the all-time list at IU. He also has 529 career assists in his IU career, which ranks third in school history. He has made 216 3FG in his IU career, which ranks third in school history. For the season, he is averaging 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists.

MAX SET THE TONE AT RUTGERS
• Senior graduate transfer Max Bielfeldt had his best day as a collegian with 18 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench at Rutgers. He has exceeded his career averages at Michigan in his one season with Indiana. He is averaging 8.3 points (3.5 at UM), 5.1 rebounds (2.3 at UM), and is shooting 59.5% (5th in Big Ten) from the field (45.3 at UM) and 50.0 from three-point range (26.8 at UM).

WILLIAMS IMPACT
• Junior forward Troy Williams is averaging 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds in his last 10 games and is shooting 59.3 from the field. His seven three-point field goals in 15 games eclipses his season-totals of six in each of the last two seasons. Williams is seventh in the league in rebounding and in field goal percentage and is second in the Big Ten in steals.

MOST 40%+ 3-POINT EFFORTS (LAST TWO SEASONS)
North Florida     31   (52 gms played)
Indiana                                    30   (49 gms played)
UC Davis                28   (45 gms played)
Drake                      27   (44 gms played)
Gonzaga               26   (53 gms played)
Kansas                                    26   (49 gms played)

ODDS AND TRENDS
• The Hoosiers have notched 50 percent or better shooting in 22 out of 30 halves played so far this season.

• Freshman Thomas Bryant is third among the league's first-year players averaging 12.0 points. He leads the Big Ten in field goal shooting making 73.1% of his shot attempts. He had 19 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots at Nebraska.

• Sophomore Robert Johnson is second in the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage making 52.2% of his shots.   Team is 9-0 when he starts. He had 16 point against the Badgers in Madison last season.

• Sophomore James Blackmon, Jr., is 10th in the league in scoring (15.8), third in three-point field goals made per game (2.8) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (46.3). He had a season-high 33 points against Alcorn State earlier this year.

• Senior Nick Zeisloft is 5th in the Big Ten shooting 48.3% from three-point range. Last year, he had 19 points against the Badgers hitting seven of 12 from the field and five of nine from three-point range.

• Junior Collin Hartman made his 18th career start and sixth this season at Nebraska. He tied a season-high with nine points and made all three of his long distance attempts at Rutgers. He is averaging 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 58.8% from the field and 60.0% from long distance in the last five games.

• Freshman OG Anunoby is averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in his first two Big Ten games. He is coming off a career-high 11-point effort at Nebraska and also added three rebounds and two steals. In his first Big Ten game at Rutgers he had eight points, seven rebounds and two steals to help the Hoosiers. He also has made all three of his three-point shots.

• Freshman Juwan Morgan hit two big free throws, grabbed two boards and had an assist and a turnover at Nebraska. At Rutgers, he had two points and three rebounds in six minutes off the bench against Rutgers. Prior to the break, he had two points, two rebounds, a block and a steal against Kennesaw State.

• Junior walk-on Ryan Burton played 10 minutes against Rutgers and scored a career-high six points when he drained both of his long distance attempts.

• For the third time under Tom Crean, the Hoosiers have put together a seven-game winning streak. IU won 12 to start the 2011-12 season and nine to begin the 2012-13 campaign.

Tom Crean Previews Tuesday's Matchup With Wisconsin and Honoring 1976 Undefeated Team:

On Wisconsin's 7-man rotation and bringing fatigue to the game:
"I don't know that I would agree with a 7-man rotation. They have got numerous guys that can play. They are playing some young guys, and they have got different people that can do different things at different times. Obviously we want to bring fatigue to the game, but that is a lot easier said than done. That means that we have to be executing, getting stops, and getting our break going. That falls on us. If Wisconsin is putting someone on the floor they can play. They always could and they always have. I am pretty certain it is going to stay the same with Greg [Gard]. To me, we have got to do a great job of understanding their personnel, understanding what they want out of their offense, and understanding what is there defensively. They do a really good job of protecting the lane."

On the change in how Wisconsin has played since Greg Gard took over for Bo Ryan:
"I have not seen much change at all. But that is not really what you would expect. I am sure Greg will put his stamp and his wrinkles in. They are good… they are a very good team. They are Wisconsin. They have got some guys that have done it at a high level for a long time like Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig. Vitto Brown is shooting the ball at an incredible rate and his improvement is tremendous. Ethan Happ is playing at a high level, Zak Showalter is playing at a high level, and they are bring guys off the bench that are young that are doing really good things. They are tested. They have had some tough games. They have had some big games, some tough losses, and some big wins. They are very committed to how they play. I think Greg is doing an excellent job with them."

On continuing to shoot well against any defense:
"We don't talk about that much, we want to make sure our spacing is strong, that we are committed to it, that we are finishing our cuts, we are playing through the paint whether that is through the drive or the post up, especially what we can get with Thomas [Bryant] and Max [Bielfeldt], we want to make sure that we are reversing the ball, and that is the most important stuff. If you are ready to shoot, knock it down. If you hold the ball, dribble the ball without driving it, if you stay on one side of the floor, if you over penetrate and people are able to collapse and create turnovers, than that is obviously very bad. It is really more about staying very fundamentally sound with making the next pass, staying committed to the spacing, getting the ball reversed, and good things happen when the ball can touch the paint. If we can stick with that then we will live with the results of the shot."

On the interaction the '76 team will have with the current team:
"I think that the way it is scheduled right now they will be at practice tomorrow. We had Todd Jadlow at practice today, which was cool, I don't think he had been back in a couple of decades. It was great for me to meet him, let alone the players. I think they will be here for practice, I know that they have a press conference tomorrow around 5:30, and I hope that they take advantage of the opportunity to come into the locker room. I think there will be some time to interact. The best thing that we can do is honor them by playing extremely hard and competitive, playing extremely unselfish, and playing both ends of the floor at a high level. That is the most important thing."

On when the '76 team became impactful for him:
"That team was a big part of my love for Indiana. I remember that game vividly. I don't remember the team as much as I remember the championship game. I have said this story before you [Mike Miller] were on the beat, but we were in school back in Michigan and our teacher had said to go home and watch the Michigan Wolverines tonight, they are playing for a national championship. I am at home, I get to stay up a little later, and I am watching the game sitting on our green shag carpet, and it is like wow. It just caught me watching this team play. I didn't know anything about basketball, but I was captured by the candy stripes. Kent Benson and Scott May became my favorites. As you learn over a period of time that Quinn Buckner and Bobby Wilkerson were two of the best defensive guards that have ever played, and you see what Tom Abernathy does, and then you get into coaching and know what Jim Crews did. That was really my first huge memory of basketball outside of Central Michigan University. I will never forget it. The next year, in '77, is when Marquette won. I have always felt that since the beginning of time when I got the job here that I got a chance to coach at the two places outside of Central that absolutely got me caught up in a love for basketball. That national championship game was a big part of that."

On the challenge of going undefeated in college basketball today:
"I don't know [if it is possible]. All I know is there is no way to put it in context because I was not here to see what they had to undertake for that every day. Tom Abernathy said something the first year that has always stuck with me. Tom is with us a lot. He is in the locker room a lot with us before games when he comes. But one of the first times he was ever here he spoke to the team. I asked him what it was about that team that made it successful. He said it was simple, we always listened to our coach. I am sure it was not that simple, but when you look back on it and hear what he said. They always listened to their coach, and they took care of each other. I am sure they had issues just like everyone else did, but they handled it. I think over a period of time Bob Hammel has done such a great job with some of those passbooks of talking about that. Then you see oral histories that have been done over a period of time and it all comes together. They all believed in what they were doing, and no problem was ever big enough to disrupt the team. They listened to their coach to understand how to win those games. They must have had an incredible belief in one another over a period of time that was forged through successes and adversity. I do not know if it will ever be done again. Whether it is or it is not is irrelevant because for 40 years it hasn't been, and it has stood the test of time and that is a lifetime. That is pretty impressive."

On what it would mean for Bob Knight to come back:
"I really hope that at some point he does. I really do. I know that if he does decide to come back, whatever day that is, he will see how revered he absolutely is by everybody that is a part of this program, past, present, and the fans. That is the best answer that I can give. If it ever happens it would be an incredible honor for everybody that is a part of Indiana. I truly believe he would see absolutely how revered what he did here is by the way that people still feel about him. That is the most important thing that I can say about that."