Indiana welcomes No. 9 Penn State into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the second half of a home-and-home at noon ET.
Piecing together an eight-game win streak in the Big Ten in the Big Ten is impressive regardless of who the opponents are, but as far as an eight-game schedule goes during Penn State’s recent streak, the Nittany Lions had a favorable road. Starting with a win over a spiraling Ohio State team and spring-boarding off a win against an Isaiah Livers-less Michigan team and Indiana out-struggling them on offense, the Nittany Lions’ best wins during the streak finished with wins at home against Michigan State and on the road at Purdue.
For the program, though, reaching 20 wins before Feb. 23 is a dream. Penn State has three 20-win seasons in the 21st Century.
That eight-game win streak came to an end Feb. 18, when the Nittany Lions fell to Illinois, and involved in that streak was a win over Indiana that was one of the ugliest games of the Hoosiers’ season. Indiana shot its second-worst effective field goal percentage of the season, scored a total of 49 points and turned the ball over a season-high 18 times. Indiana got into early foul trouble in the frontcourt and was missing Race Thompson and Jerome Hunter as well.
But Penn State didn’t appear to be in much better shape and left the door open for Indiana until midway through the second half. Lamar Stevens scored 17 points, and Curtis Jones added 12 points, but the rest of the team struggled to get much of anything going offensively. Indiana just couldn’t capitalize, as it added another loss on top of a Maryland collapse in Bloomington that took the wind out of the sails of any positive momentum the Hoosiers had in January.
The Hoosiers are just now coming out of the rut that surrounded that loss in Happy Valley.
What It Means
This rematch in Bloomington means much more than just getting revenge for a game that should have been won. Both teams are better than they were Jan. 29, as more facets are being discovered for each team.
Penn State has climbed its way to No. 9 in the country and is knocking on the door of Big Ten-leading Maryland. Besides being a win over a top-10 opponent, Indiana would add another quad one win to its resume if it comes away with a victory Sunday.
A total of 15 teams have more than five quad one wins (as of Friday evening), and 12, including Indiana, have exactly five. Adding a sixth to its resume would push the Hoosiers to company only three other Big Ten teams are included in and would certainly provide leverage if Indiana is involved in any either-or conversations with the selection committee.
In terms of basketball, it’s a chance for Indiana to build some positive momentum before going on the road to Purdue and Illinois. The Hoosiers haven’t done much with positive momentum this season, but providing itself another opportunity could be a channel to playing its best basketball at the best time of the year.
Can Trayce Jackson-Davis build on Minnesota?
After Archie Miller urged his freshman forward to bring more to his game on the road following a lackluster showing at Michigan, Jackson-Davis responded with his most dominant game of the season – career-bests in points (27) and rebounds (16). He hadn’t been terrible, but he was averaging nine points and six rebounds per game on the road, which, as Indiana’s best player, wasn’t going to get the job done.
Jackson-Davis had 14 points and seven rebounds against Penn State in the first game but was Indiana’s only consistent post presence for most of the game, as Justin Smith frequently needed to step into the four spot due to foul trouble.
With players like Lamar Stevens, John Harrar and Mike Watkins inside, Indiana will need something extra from Jackson-Davis. Whether he can build off of a performance like the one he had in Minneapolis will be a major point of emphasis Sunday.
Race Thompson's continued success
Race Thompson has put together career games in two of Indiana’s last three games. He had nine points and 10 rebounds with a +21 at Minnesota during a career-best 25 minutes. As Thompson gets a larger volume of minutes, these are the performances he is beginning to provide at the four.
The discussion surrounding his best games has been how Indiana should handle him and Joey Brunk, who has not necessarily been included in what Indiana has tried to do in the last few games. Putting Thompson on the floor adds flexibility and athleticism but pushes Jackson-Davis to the five.
A good showing from Thompson against Penn State would be welcomed, since he and Jerome Hunter were both unavailable in the last game, but it would also warrant additional playing time, potentially regular minutes that exceed what he’s been given at this point in the season.
Why does Curtis Jones' production matter?
Former Indiana guard Curtis Jones posted a 12-point game and was instrumental in Penn State’s win over the Hoosiers on Jan. 29, but Jones won’t beat Indiana on his own. The game Sunday will be won in the paint.
Jones isn’t posting 10-plus-point games every day, though, as many Indiana fans are concerned about as Indiana’s backcourt struggles through the 2019-20 season. He has scored 20 points since Indiana last played Penn State.
That anxiety regarding Jones’ output speaks volumes for the collective performance of Indiana’s guards this year. The inconsistency in the backcourt has infiltrated much of what Indiana has hoped to accomplish, including contributing to big games from guards like Michigan’s Zavier Simpson, Ohio State’s CJ Walker and even Minnesota’s Marcus Carr.
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