BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The days-long hiatus of Indiana athletics is over, and basketball is back in Assembly Hall this evening.
Indiana (9-3, 2-0) returns home for the non-conference slate's final matchup, as the Kennesaw State Owls (9-4, 0-0) invade Bloomington for an early Friday evening contest.
The Hoosiers haven't taken the floor in eight days, having cruised to a victory over North Alabama, 83-66. Indiana got a career night out of Malik Reneau in multiple facets and found its best three-point shooting night since Mike Woodson became the head coach of his alma mater. Once the calendar flips to January, the Hoosiers will re-enter the Big Ten conference slate – the first of 18 remaining games against league opponents coming Wednesday, January 3 at Nebraska. The Owls are the last "buy game" opportunity to alter and implement any lasting fixes and have some freedom to do so.
Kennesaw State enters Friday's contest on the brink of a re-entrance to conference play as well, having been defeated by UNC Asheville last time out – just two days before Christmas.
Before the Hoosiers and Owls tip off this evening, preview the new-look Owls – led by a first-year head coach – and the matchup set up this evening.
Opponent Profile
Head Coach: Antoine Pettway
Career Record: 9-4, same at KSU
First year as a head coach.
Pettway arrives in Kennesaw after a storied career as an assistant coach and player with the Alabama Crimson Tide, with a two-year stint as an assistant at Jacksonville State sandwiching the two stints.
Having earned the pedigree as a tremendous recruiter after multiple classes to prove it with the Tide, combined with the success they saw on the floor over recent seasons, led the Owls to seek out Pettway after Amir Abdur-Rahim took the helm of the South Florida program.
This Season
KenPom: 209th
Torvik: 218th
EvanMiya: 200th
NET ranking: 182nd
The Owls certainly have a calling card this season: pace and tempo.
No one plays with faster adjusted tempo in college basketball than Kennesaw State this season. With Division I average being 69.1 adj. tempo, the Owls run at an average of 77.2. Possessions are lasting just 13.7 seconds this season. Analytically, the numbers offensively are nothing more than average or below-average. But due to the sheer amount of possessions they get by playing at the speed they do, they make up for it to score 85.4 points a game.
The Owls return 40.4% of their minutes from a 26-9 team a season ago that made an NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the ASUN conference tourney. Kennesaw State was picked to finish fourth in league's coaches poll and second in the league's media poll, representing the third and final ASUN team the Hoosiers will square off against this season ahead of a potential postseason clash.
- Sophomore guard Simeon Cottle has emerged as the Owls' leading scorer this season, elevated this season after a freshman year spent in the backup point guard role with KSU. While just a 41% shooter from the field, his effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage numbers are much kinder to him – 50.8% and 55.6% respectively. Cottle is responsible for the highest percentage of shots when on the floor with the Owls (24.1%).
- Senior guard Terrell Burden, a unanimous preseason all-conference selection, is the most important player to the Owls' offense by usage percentage and plays the highest percentage of any Kennesaw State player. He's also the team's top facilitator – sporting an assist rate of 36.1 – and draws 7.0 fouls per 40 minutes. He's good for 13.5 points and 6.2 assists a night on average.
- Senior forward Demond Robinson averages 12.5 points a night himself, the final piece of the Cottle-Burden-Robinson trio that starts most contests for the Owls. Robinson's the tallest of the Owls that sees the floor with regularity, standing 6-foot-9, and is the top rebounder for KSU. As a whole, the Owls haul in 42.3 boards a night and Robinson is good for just over eight of them per contest, but Kennesaw State's rebounding margin is just 0.9 to the positive.
- Senior guard Quincy Ademokoya owns a team-best individual offensive rating, effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage. He's the best threat the Owls have from distance and scores 11.8 points a night. Not a routine starter – seven appearances in the Owls' first five of 13 chances – but a pure scoring threat that Indiana must be aware of.
- West Virginia transfer forward Jamel King is in his junior season this year with the Owls, and he's not wasting time in creating impact in year one at Kennesaw. The 6-foot-7 forward is scoring 9.8 points a night and has made seven starts this season.
Former Georgia and Alabama transfer guard Jusaun Holt has begun playing with the news of two-time transfers having the availability to play this year.
Freshmen RJ Johnson and Frankquon Sherman each average just under or right at 7.0 points a game.
Storylines to monitor...
Xavier Johnson's impending return reaches a potentially crucial stage...
Indiana's played half of its games this season without starting guard Xavier Johnson, the sixth-year senior who's dealt with foot injuries since leaving the contest at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse against Harvard.
IU's made due because its had to – having Gabe Cupps play a larger share of minutes in the starting role and having Trey Galloway shoulder the brunt of the offensive load from the backcourt. CJ Gunn has had a number of ups and downs this year, and as a whole, Indiana's wanted more from its backcourt – sparing a few contests.
But if Johnson, who was seen shooting around before the North Alabama game and has been absent of a boot, were to return to playing shape and be a worthy contributor right away, the contest versus Kennesaw State presents the last opportunity to do so in a potentially less contentious environment. The contest at Nebraska is a game of utmost importance for a Hoosier team that will need to reach a high quantity of wins in order to ensure a spot in the postseason due to the overall diminished quality of the conference.
A healthy, proficient Johnson raises the ceiling of Indiana this year. His return could be on the horizon.
Can Indiana keep up sharpshooting from North Alabama outing?
As a gift to Indiana supporters who had been clamoring for improvements in three point shooting this year, the Hoosiers' scoring output was historic from distance under head coach Mike Woodson. Indiana sunk 12 triples on 24 attempts and stretched the defense in a fashion unseen yet this season. Malik Reneau poured in four of his own makes, and the Hoosiers' percentage of attempts from outside relative to the total of shots taken was the most this season.
Whether Indiana can replicate a performance like that on a more consistent basis now becomes the question. IU's shooting woes have withheld the ceiling and potential from reaching the greater heights the team aspires to reach this season, but the addition of that element to the offense would greatly impact Indiana in multiple facets.
Quick Hitters
Who?: Indiana (9-3, 2-0 in Big Ten play) vs. Kennesaw State (9-4, 0-0 in ASUN play)
Series History: Indiana leads, 3-0. (Last Meeting: IU 69, MSU 55 on 12/23/22 in Bloomington)
When?: Friday, December 29, 6:00 p.m. ET
Where?: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: BTN+: Austin Render (play-by-play), Galen Clavio (color), Tricia Whitaker (sideline)
Radio: IU Radio Network, Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (analyst), John Herrick
Vegas: Indiana -11.5, o/u 161.5
KenPom: Indiana 88-75, 88% chance of an Indiana victory
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