BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's final marquee non-conference opportunity and opponent arrives in the form of No. 2 Kansas – a contest of two perennially historic programs – on Saturday afternoon.
The Hoosiers (7-2, 2-0) are looking to wash out the taste of a 28-point loss suffered at the hands of Auburn in Atlanta last weekend. Perhaps the worst single-game result Indiana's suffered under Mike Woodson, the Hoosiers understand the balance of needing to take the loss in stride to bounce back and use it as motivation.
"I think everybody can feel that we need to get better," freshman guard Gabe Cupps said in the immediate aftermath of the loss.
Now off a week's worth of practice, the chance to do so comes against the high-ranked Jayhawks (9-1), who are continuing the winning ways under Bill Self. With just one blemish on Kansas' record this season in Maui against Marquette, the Jayhawks are rolling as the Big 12 slate draws nearer.
Before Indiana and Kansas tip it up at 12:30 on CBS, take an early look at the contest set to take place in what should be a raucous environment on Saturday afternoon.
Opponent Profile
Head Coach: Bill Self
31st season, 21st at Kansas
Career Record: 781-238, 574-133 with Kansas
Just the eighth head coach to ever hold the position of head of the Jayhawks program, Self, a Naismith Hall of Famer has established his Kansas team to be the gold standard of the Big 12 – a conference that's become one of America's best over the recent years.
Under Self, the success speaks for itself. Two national titles, 13-straight regular season Big 12 titles and 16 overall, and eight league tournament championships. Three final fours, eight Elite Eights, the accolades go on and on. He's an eight-time coach of the year in the conference, and his teams have never finished below third in the conference.
There may not be a better recruiter in the sport or a more powerful program when it comes to developing talent. 13 NBA Draft lottery selections, eight league players of the year, 80 all-conference performers. How deep you want to go in his resume depends on how much time you have, but the point is he's one of the best, most decorated coaches the sport has ever seen. And he's just 60 years old.
Self started at Kansas as a GA fresh out of college, then landed at Oklahoma State as an assistant for several years. Head coaching stops included Oral Roberts, Tulsa, and Illinois. He's been in Lawrence since 2003.
This Year
KenPom Rating: 11th
EvanMiya: 12th
Bart Torvik: 6th
A quick glance at the analytics surrounding Kansas this year makes it easy to understand why the Jayhawks are rising to the top of the sport once again as a top-30 offense is paired with a top-10 defense. If that sounds familiar, it's because the Hoosiers just faced a team in Auburn that ran them off the floor with a top-20 offense and defense.
However, the Jayhawks won't look to run with the same pace the Tigers do unless they're given the opportunity to do so. If Kansas's defense is able to stifle the Hoosiers the way it has against other opponents this season, then the Jayhawks may be able to take advantage of running out on empty Indiana possessions. When Auburn was able to apply pressure, the Tigers were making baskets and having time to set up their press against Indiana. Once things snowballed, the contest got out of control and the Hoosiers never punched back. Indiana can't afford to fall behind in a similar fashion it did in Atlanta.
In attempting to do so, the task will be tall. Kansas assists on more of their field goals than any other team in the country – 73% of made baskets come off of an assist. The offensive shot selection and shot making is among the best marks in the country – an effective field goal percentage of 58%, 11th best in the country; 56.9% from two and 40.3% from three, respectively. The point distribution doesn't necessarily suggest the Jayhawks take a ton of threes, but they do make the attempts they take at a higher-than-average clip.
Defensively, not to dissimilar to the offensive numbers, the KenPom page is full of green sections. Teams don't shoot effectively enough to beat the Jayhawks because the defense doesn't allow opponents to do so.
– The impact transfer and obvious man to key in on is senior Hunter Dickinson, the former Michigan Wolverine who was among biggest contributors to change teams in 2023. A three-time All-Big Ten selection, Dickinson is unsurprisingly making a splash in his first season in Lawrence. Averaging a double-double with 19.4 points and 12.6 rebounds an outing, he's a terrific rebounder, shot-blocker and effective shot-maker – from both two and three. He takes just shy of 27% of the shots when he's on the floor, and his offensive rating of 123.1 is the best of any impact player on the Jayhawks' roster.
Indiana's seen plenty of him, and there isn't anything about his game that will surprise the Hoosiers. But he's still amongst the most talented players in the country.
- Senior Kevin McCullar Jr. is yet another major contributor with tons of experience and success with the Jayhawks. A former Texas Tech transfer, he's averaging 19.0 points and 7.1 rebounds a night, and he's a lot to handle on the wing for any opponent. The All-Big 12 Third Team selection and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist had an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double against Indiana in the first leg of this series last season.
- KJ Adams Jr., a junior from Austin, Tx., was the Big 12's Most Improved Player and earned an all-conference honorable mention in 2023. Adams is the third and final double-digit per-game scorer for the Jayhawks, scoring 12.9 points a night. He holds the team's highest field goal percentage (68%) of qualified Jayhawks and has the highest effective field goal percentage on the Kansas roster.
- The starting backcourt of senior Dajuan Harris Jr. and freshman Elmarko Jackson rounds out the first five that sees the floor for the Jayhawks. Harris was the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, and he's the leading facilitator on the Jayhawk roster by far with 70 assists so far this season. Both Harris Jr. and Jackson average about six points a game and struggle to score with efficiency, But as Jackson emerges into his own and adjusts to the college game while Harris makes his mark on the defensive end of the floor, the Kansas guards are still capable of assisting a winning team.
Kansas runs its starters more than a lot of programs do, as the bench's share of minutes only equates out to 21.5% – 343rd in the country. But, freshmen Jamari McDonald and Johnny Furphy, as well as senior transfers Nick Timberlake – who many Indiana fans may remember as a sought-after target in the portal in the spring – and Parker Braun all have the capability to make sizable impacts on an outcome. If Indiana allows them to, they will.
Storylines to monitor...
Another battle of the bigs...
Secret's out on Indiana this year – everything the Hoosiers want to do goes through the frontcourt tandem of Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware. Everyone IU has faced has understood that, but only two teams have been able to actually do something about it. Not coincidentally, those two games – versus Auburn and UConn – have accounted for Indiana's two losses thus far. That's not to say the Hoosiers are without flaws otherwise, but IU's engine is rooted in its bigs.
Adams and Dickinson will present another valiant challenge for the Hoosiers' pairing down low. They're skilled and sizable, with Dickinson being among the best in the country regardless of position. If they're able to stall out Indiana's desire to be effective down low, then Indiana would be forced to pivot attention and efforts elsewhere. That's a process that hasn't come with much success so far this season, a recipe that's not resulted in winning to this point. It's unlikely that formula would differ against the vaunted second-ranked Jayhawks.
Guard play... again.
For as much avoidance is being put in to not sound like a broken record ahead of each contest, the Hoosiers' backcourt play has been lackluster at the quarter point of the seaosn – especially short in production from returning veterans.
Part of that isn't Indiana's fault. An injury bug has stung Xavier Johnson's lower leg area again this season, though opposite of the broken foot from last year in this campaign. Indiana's been without him since the second half of the Harvard contest to finish the month of November.
It's a tall task to find a fill-in for a sixth-year senior who's the conductor of Indiana's offense and lead defensive guard at the point of attack. He's got the quickness to compete with the higher caliber guards opponents tote, but nagging lower body injuries eat at that same trait and have kept him off the floor for a couple of weeks now. While Mike Woodson didn't give away specifics on whether Johnson would play or not Saturday versus Kansas, the general public hasn't seen him out of a boot since the weekend in Indianapolis.
How Indiana goes about filling those shoes is still a work in progress. Gabe Cupps has been the slot-in starter as of late, but CJ Gunn's length and athleticism advantage might be of more use in a matchup against the likes of Kansas. The Jayhawks' backcourt isn't the on-paper strength of the nation's No. 2 team, but to call it a slouch would be dishonest and not accurate. Indiana needs more from it's backcourt, and fast.
Will fans stay in it?
Indiana's got a couple games a year it markets as the big ones. This matchup is the first of this season's opportunities at home to do just that. A midday tip against a nationally ranked opponent of high caliber and status in the sport. Inside one of the sport's heralded cathedrals? The environment for these types of contests generally speaks, or shouts, for itself.
IU's striping out Assembly Hall for the contest. Remains to be seen how well it goes. But, regardless, big game SSAH gets to make its more-than-welcomed return this season for the first time.
The Hoosiers have played in strong environments so far this season. Notably, they've had equal fan support in geographically challenging locations against opposition so far this season. 50-50 splits with powerhouse UConn in New York and SEC stalwart Auburn in the heart of Georgia is nothing short of impressive. Getting to play on your home floor? Indiana could basically start the game with an extra two or three possessions' worth of points given by the home audience.
However, Indiana must give what will surely be a raucous crowd a reason to be entertained throughout the entirety of the contest. Indiana cannot be timid and must respond to punches thrown by the Jayhawk attack. IU punched first in Atlanta, but caved and was pummeled to the tune of a 28 point deficit. The punches didn't fly until later in the UConn contest, but the 20-point final scoreline isn't as reflective of the beating the Hoosiers suffered that the lasting tally suggests.
Indiana's gotten back to a point where games like these matter and have value to the preseason. The Hoosiers are a woeful 0-2 in the first two chances of asking against this caliber of opponent this year, but this is the first game played on a home floor. IU has the luxury. They must find a way to capitalize on it.
Quick Hitters
Who?: Indiana (7-2, 2-0 in Big Ten play) vs. No. 2 Kansas (9-1, 0-0 in B12 play)
Series History: Indiana leads, 8-7. (Last Meeting: KU 84, IU 62 on 12/17/22 in Lawrence)
When?: Saturday, December 16, 12:30 p.m. ET
Where?: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: CBS: Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Jim Spanarkel (color)
Radio: IU Radio Network, Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (analyst), John Herrick
Vegas: Kansas -7.5, o/u 147.5
KenPom: Kansas 77-71, 71% chance of a Jayhawk victory
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