Indiana basketball is set to host Marian on Friday night inside of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for an exhibition matchup, the Hoosiers' second and final exhibition contest before Indiana begins the regular season next week.
Indiana defeated Tennessee 66-62 last Sunday in a charity exhibition contest inside of Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Marian enters the exhibition contest having not yet played this season.
Before the Friday night affair, preview Indiana's matchup with Marian.
OPPONENT PROFILE
Head Coach: Pat Knight
Career Record: 80-127 (.386) eighth season overall, 0-0 in first year at Marian
The son of legendary Indiana basketball head coach Bob Knight, Pat enters his first season at the helm of Marian this season. Knight was hired earlier this offseason by former Indiana basketball standout and Marian Athletic Director Steve Downing.
The Knights went 23-8 overall last season and 12-6 in Crossroads League play. Marian was fantastic at home a season ago, going 14-2 at home in Indianapolis. Meanwhile, the Knights struggled away from home, going 7-5 a season ago.
STORYLINES TO MONITOR
Can Oumar Ballo demonstrate his dominance...
Coming into the season, the expectations are rather high for Arizona transfer big man Oumar Ballo. Ballo has been dominant around the basket throughout his entire career, something Indiana fans are no doubt aware of after what he and the Wildcats did to the Hoosiers in Las Vegas two years ago.
In Indiana's exhibition win Tennessee, Ballo managed just six points on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor. He added 11 rebounds, but struggled to get it going on the offensive side of the floor in Knoxville.
There's still no need to be worried about Ballo, he's going to give Indiana a double-double on most nights of the year. In an exhibition game against Marian, Ballo should dominate on the interior, showcasing what is likely to come the rest of the season.
Can Indiana shoot the ball well from distance...
Indiana's exhibition win over Tennessee last weekend wasn't a pretty win, however the Hoosiers managed to find a way to pull out the win. One of the biggest struggles for Indiana in the contest was the team's shooting from behind the 3-point line.
The Hoosiers shot 4-of-19 from distance in the exhibition win. All four of those makes came in the second half of the contest. Most of the looks Indiana was getting were good looks from downtown, the shots simply weren't falling.
A large portion of Indiana's success this season and how far the Hoosiers can go in the postseason will likely rest on their ability to take and make shots from downtown at a high enough clip. Indiana ranked inside the bottom 10 teams in the country last year in terms of 3-point volume. This season, the Hoosiers are looking to not only take more threes, but make more of them as well.
Indiana needs to stay healthy...
It seems simple and obvious, but the most important thing for Indiana in this exhibition is to come out of it healthy. The Hoosiers open the regular season on Nov. 6 at home versus SIU Edwardsville.
No matter what happens in the exhibition contest on Friday night, the most important thing for the Hoosiers is to remain healthy.
QUICK HITTERS
Who: No. 17 Indiana (0-0) vs. Marian (0-0)
Series History: Indiana leads 3-0 (Last Meeting: 91-61 Indiana wins on Nov. 3, 2023 in Bloomington)
When: Friday, November 1, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: Big Ten Plus: Zion Brown (Play-By-Play), Keven Vera (Analyst), Audrey Marr (Sideline Reporter)
Radio: Don Fischer (Play-By-Play), Errek Suhr (Analyst), John Herrick
Vegas: There are no betting lines for this game
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