Indiana University Athletics
Sunday, November 27
Bloomington, Ind.
4:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Mississippi Valley State
PREVIEW: Indiana Classic Concludes With Matchup Against MVSU
11/25/2016 8:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OPENING TIP
• Indiana University begins its 117th season and the defending Big Ten Champions are ranked 3rd in the Associated Press Poll and 5th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. IU was ranked 9th in the final rankings a season ago - the 2nd in 4 years the Hoosiers finished the year ranked in the top 10.
UP NEXT
• The Hoosiers will host #5/6 North Carolina on Wednesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
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 123-54 and leads the Big Ten with 24 regular season wins over ranked opponents during that time. IU is nationally ranked for the sixth straight season. Eight players in his first six 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) and Troy Williams (1,115) also have scored 1,000 points or more. From the Class of 2014, James Blackmon, Jr., is the next closest Hoosier to approach the mark. He has scored 806 points. 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
• This will be the third meeting in a series which began in 2010. IU took the first two contests in Assembly Hall, 71-54, in 2010 and 116-65, in 2014.
IU INSIGHT
• IU did not lose consecutive games during the 2015-16 season.
• IU shot 60.9 percent from the field against Liberty marking the 15th time the Hoosiers have shot 60.0 percent or better from the field in a game in the Tom Crean Era.
• IU held Liberty to 29.7 percent shooting marking the 8th time in the Crean ERA an opponent has shot under 30.0 percet.
• Later this season, the Hoosiers will take on No. 6 North Carolina at home in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Hoosiers will face Butler, ranked No. 19 by Kenpom, in the 6th Annual Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis on December 17. IU and No. 12 Louisville will start at three-year series with a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on New Years Eve.
• Since 2011, the Hoosiers have averaged 24 wins per season compared to 20 averaged at IU from 1995-2008.
• Since 2011-12, IU has had the most potent offense in the Big Ten, leading in points scored (78.0), field goal percentage (47.9), and 3-point field goal percentage (40.2). The Hoosiers lead all major conference schools in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage during that same time frame.
• The 2015-16 Hoosiers were just one of three teams in the last 20 years in college basketball to average more than 80 points, shoot better than 50 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. The others are the 2001-02 Kansas Jayhawks and the 2000-01 Stanford Cardinal.
DID YOU KNOW
• The Delta Devils will play their first 14 games on the road. IU will be the third Big Ten team they have faced in the first seven games. They lost at Northwestern and at Michigan State.
• IU is one of five nationally ranked teams on MVSU's schedule. They have played West Virginia and Michigan State and will still travel to Gonzaga and Iowa State.
• The Hoosiers are 2-1 in the Indiana Classic after falling in overtime at Fort Wayne, 71-68.
• IU is in a stretch where they will play four games in the next seven days.
• The Hoosiers have the highest ranked win in the conference having defeated #2/3 Kansas in the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu.
• Junior guard Josh Newkirk leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, going 7-for-8 on 3-point field goal attempts.
• Five former Crean-coached Hoosiers are on active NBA rosters 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 just signed a 4-year, $84 million extension and Zeller got 4-years and $56 million.
• Junior James Blackmon, Jr. and sophomore center Thomas Bryant are among 50 candidates for the 2017 Naismith Award and John Wooden Award.
• During the last two years, the Hoosiers have averaged 9.7 3-point field goals per game, the most of any major college program. Villanova is second at 8.9.
• The Hoosiers are second in the Big Ten in scoring at 89.5 points per game and 3-point field goal percentage defense at 27.5 percent.
• IU is second in the Big Ten making 10.5 3-pointers per game and in steals at 6.5 per game. The Hoosiers lead the league in defensive rebounds at 33.8 per game.
• Since 2011-12, IU has a Big Ten best 88.3 winning percentage (83-11) on its home floor.
• Blackmon, Jr., leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goals per game (3.8) and is second in scoring (20.5).
• IU scored 100 points or more in back-to-back games for the first time since 2005 and for the first time in the first two games of the season since the 1992-93 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.
• Bryant was named Preseason All-American by Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook (first team) and NBCSports.com (second team). He also was named Preseason All-Big Ten and is on the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Watch List (Top Center). He had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas. He had 18 points and 12 rebounds against Fort Wayne, his fourth career double-double.
• Blackmon Jr. is tied for the highest career average (16.1) 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 was named Preseason All-Big Ten and is on the Jerry West Award watch list.
Top 5 Career Scorers In Tom Crean Era
James Blackmon, Jr. 16.1
Cody Zeller 16.1
Yogi Ferrell 14.5
Christian Watford 13.1
Thomas Bryant 11.9
• Blackmon Jr. tied his career-high with nine rebounds against Liberty. He also had his third straight 20-point effort becoming the third player in the last 10 years to accomplish that feat (Yogi Ferrell and Eric Gordon).
•Junior guard Robert Johnson is the most experienced Hoosier, having started 59 career games. Coming off of ankle surgery, he is averaging 13.8 points and is tied for the team lead with 12 assists. He is averaging 15.0 points in the last three games. He had 16 points at Fort Wayne last week and has shot a team-best 63.6% from the field, which is 8th in the B1G.
• Senior forward Collin Hartman will begin rehab for his knee immediately. He played three games in the NCAA Tournament with a fractured wrist and averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 rebounds.
• Sophomore forward OG Anunoby is a preseason All-American and elite defender who is coming off his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 boards vs. Liberty. He had a career-high 15 points against UMass Lowell on Nov. 16. He is on the Julius Erving Award List. He leads the team with 5 blocked shots and 4 steals. Junior guard Josh Newkirk has fit right in with the Hoosier attack, averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 assists. He had a career-high five rebounds against Liberty. Sophomore forward Juwan Morgan came on in the last nine games of the 2015-16 season despite shoulder issues. He has been an everyman for the Hoosiers, averaging 6.0 points and a team-high 7.3 boards per game. Sophomore walk-on Zach McRoberts played 15 key minutes and had a +15 contribution. Junior Freddie McSwain, Jr. is a Georgia native who comes to IU after averaging 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds at Neosho County Community College. He had his first basket against UMass Lowell and averages 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals. Freshman De'Ron Davis is 7-for-10 from the floor and is averaging 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. He also hit two key free throws in the final minute in the win over Kansas. Freshman Curtis Jones is a Virginia native and a Boo Williams AAU product. He played with Thomas Bryant and Miles Bridges at Huntington Prep. He had seven of his 15 points in overtime in beating Kansas. Freshman guard Devonte Green is another big-bodied guard who had 6 points and a career-high 4 steals against UMass Lowell. Freshman Grant Gelon came off the bench had scored 5 points against Liberty. He hit his first three-pointer. Junior Tim Priller had a career-high three points against Liberty.
Most Wins Vs. AP Top 3 Teams, Since 2011-12
Duke 6
Indiana 5
Kansas 5
Wisconsin 5
• Indiana University begins its 117th season and the defending Big Ten Champions are ranked 3rd in the Associated Press Poll and 5th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. IU was ranked 9th in the final rankings a season ago - the 2nd in 4 years the Hoosiers finished the year ranked in the top 10.
UP NEXT
• The Hoosiers will host #5/6 North Carolina on Wednesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
| #3/5 Indiana vs. Mississippi Valley State (Indiana Classic) | |
| Date | Sunday, Nov. 27 |
| Location | Bloomington, Indiana |
| Venue | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) |
| Tipoff | 4:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN3 (Jordan Bernfield & Homer Drew) |
| Radio | IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, Joe Smith) |
| Live Stats | IUHoosiers.com |
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 123-54 and leads the Big Ten with 24 regular season wins over ranked opponents during that time. IU is nationally ranked for the sixth straight season. Eight players in his first six 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) and Troy Williams (1,115) also have scored 1,000 points or more. From the Class of 2014, James Blackmon, Jr., is the next closest Hoosier to approach the mark. He has scored 806 points. 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
• This will be the third meeting in a series which began in 2010. IU took the first two contests in Assembly Hall, 71-54, in 2010 and 116-65, in 2014.
IU INSIGHT
• IU did not lose consecutive games during the 2015-16 season.
• IU shot 60.9 percent from the field against Liberty marking the 15th time the Hoosiers have shot 60.0 percent or better from the field in a game in the Tom Crean Era.
• IU held Liberty to 29.7 percent shooting marking the 8th time in the Crean ERA an opponent has shot under 30.0 percet.
• Later this season, the Hoosiers will take on No. 6 North Carolina at home in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Hoosiers will face Butler, ranked No. 19 by Kenpom, in the 6th Annual Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis on December 17. IU and No. 12 Louisville will start at three-year series with a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on New Years Eve.
• Since 2011, the Hoosiers have averaged 24 wins per season compared to 20 averaged at IU from 1995-2008.
• Since 2011-12, IU has had the most potent offense in the Big Ten, leading in points scored (78.0), field goal percentage (47.9), and 3-point field goal percentage (40.2). The Hoosiers lead all major conference schools in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage during that same time frame.
• The 2015-16 Hoosiers were just one of three teams in the last 20 years in college basketball to average more than 80 points, shoot better than 50 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. The others are the 2001-02 Kansas Jayhawks and the 2000-01 Stanford Cardinal.
DID YOU KNOW
• The Delta Devils will play their first 14 games on the road. IU will be the third Big Ten team they have faced in the first seven games. They lost at Northwestern and at Michigan State.
• IU is one of five nationally ranked teams on MVSU's schedule. They have played West Virginia and Michigan State and will still travel to Gonzaga and Iowa State.
• The Hoosiers are 2-1 in the Indiana Classic after falling in overtime at Fort Wayne, 71-68.
• IU is in a stretch where they will play four games in the next seven days.
• The Hoosiers have the highest ranked win in the conference having defeated #2/3 Kansas in the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu.
• Junior guard Josh Newkirk leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage, going 7-for-8 on 3-point field goal attempts.
• Five former Crean-coached Hoosiers are on active NBA rosters 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 just signed a 4-year, $84 million extension and Zeller got 4-years and $56 million.
• Junior James Blackmon, Jr. and sophomore center Thomas Bryant are among 50 candidates for the 2017 Naismith Award and John Wooden Award.
• During the last two years, the Hoosiers have averaged 9.7 3-point field goals per game, the most of any major college program. Villanova is second at 8.9.
• The Hoosiers are second in the Big Ten in scoring at 89.5 points per game and 3-point field goal percentage defense at 27.5 percent.
• IU is second in the Big Ten making 10.5 3-pointers per game and in steals at 6.5 per game. The Hoosiers lead the league in defensive rebounds at 33.8 per game.
• Since 2011-12, IU has a Big Ten best 88.3 winning percentage (83-11) on its home floor.
• Blackmon, Jr., leads the Big Ten in 3-point field goals per game (3.8) and is second in scoring (20.5).
• IU scored 100 points or more in back-to-back games for the first time since 2005 and for the first time in the first two games of the season since the 1992-93 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.
• Bryant was named Preseason All-American by Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook (first team) and NBCSports.com (second team). He also was named Preseason All-Big Ten and is on the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Watch List (Top Center). He had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas. He had 18 points and 12 rebounds against Fort Wayne, his fourth career double-double.
• Blackmon Jr. is tied for the highest career average (16.1) 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 was named Preseason All-Big Ten and is on the Jerry West Award watch list.
Top 5 Career Scorers In Tom Crean Era
James Blackmon, Jr. 16.1
Cody Zeller 16.1
Yogi Ferrell 14.5
Christian Watford 13.1
Thomas Bryant 11.9
• Blackmon Jr. tied his career-high with nine rebounds against Liberty. He also had his third straight 20-point effort becoming the third player in the last 10 years to accomplish that feat (Yogi Ferrell and Eric Gordon).
•Junior guard Robert Johnson is the most experienced Hoosier, having started 59 career games. Coming off of ankle surgery, he is averaging 13.8 points and is tied for the team lead with 12 assists. He is averaging 15.0 points in the last three games. He had 16 points at Fort Wayne last week and has shot a team-best 63.6% from the field, which is 8th in the B1G.
• Senior forward Collin Hartman will begin rehab for his knee immediately. He played three games in the NCAA Tournament with a fractured wrist and averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 rebounds.
• Sophomore forward OG Anunoby is a preseason All-American and elite defender who is coming off his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 boards vs. Liberty. He had a career-high 15 points against UMass Lowell on Nov. 16. He is on the Julius Erving Award List. He leads the team with 5 blocked shots and 4 steals. Junior guard Josh Newkirk has fit right in with the Hoosier attack, averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 assists. He had a career-high five rebounds against Liberty. Sophomore forward Juwan Morgan came on in the last nine games of the 2015-16 season despite shoulder issues. He has been an everyman for the Hoosiers, averaging 6.0 points and a team-high 7.3 boards per game. Sophomore walk-on Zach McRoberts played 15 key minutes and had a +15 contribution. Junior Freddie McSwain, Jr. is a Georgia native who comes to IU after averaging 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds at Neosho County Community College. He had his first basket against UMass Lowell and averages 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals. Freshman De'Ron Davis is 7-for-10 from the floor and is averaging 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. He also hit two key free throws in the final minute in the win over Kansas. Freshman Curtis Jones is a Virginia native and a Boo Williams AAU product. He played with Thomas Bryant and Miles Bridges at Huntington Prep. He had seven of his 15 points in overtime in beating Kansas. Freshman guard Devonte Green is another big-bodied guard who had 6 points and a career-high 4 steals against UMass Lowell. Freshman Grant Gelon came off the bench had scored 5 points against Liberty. He hit his first three-pointer. Junior Tim Priller had a career-high three points against Liberty.
Most Wins Vs. AP Top 3 Teams, Since 2011-12
Duke 6
Indiana 5
Kansas 5
Wisconsin 5
Players Mentioned
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