Indiana basketball faces its first test from a power conference opponent on Saturday afternoon, when No. 16 Indiana welcomes South Carolina out of the SEC into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers (2-0 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten play) enter the afternoon contest with blowout wins in each of their first two games of the season, wins over SIUE and Eastern Illinois. The Gamecocks (2-1 overall, 0-0 in SEC play) make the trip to Bloomington winners of two straight games after they lost their season opener to North Florida.
Before Saturday afternoon's tipoff in Assembly Hall, preview the matchup between Indiana and South Carolina.
HEAD COACH PROFILE
Head Coach: Lamont Paris
Record: 126-102 in eighth year overall, 39-30 in third year at South Carolina
Lamont Paris is in his third season as the head coach at South Carolina. He's coming off a 2023-24 campaign in which he was named the 2024 SEC Coach of the Year. He was also one of four finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year last season.
Paris' coaching journey include five different stops as an assistant coach. He began at his coaching career on the staff at Wooster, his alma mater. He then made stops at DePauw, Indiana University Pennsylvania, Akron and Wisconsin.
As a member of the Wisconsin coaching staff, Paris made seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the national title game.
Paris got his head coaching start at Chattanooga, where he led the Moc's from 2017-22.
Throughout his head coaching career, Parish is 0-2 against Big Ten opponents. With South Carolina, he lost to Illinois in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. During his time at Chattanooga, Paris played one Big Ten team, losing to Michigan.
THIS SEASON
Three games into season, South Carolina is 2-1 on the year. The Gamecocks lost their season opener at home to North Florida -- who went on to beat Georgia Tech a week later -- 74-71 on Nov. 4.
South Carolina responded well after the game one loss, taking down South Carolina State and Towson by 22 points and 26 points respectively on its home court.
On the year, the Gamecocks are averaging 79.0 points per game. They're shooting 47.7% from the field as a team and 29.7% from 3-point territory. One of the biggest strengths of this South Carolina team is interior defense. As a group, the Gamecocks are averaging 5.0 blocks a game.
South Carolina plays at one of the slowest paces in the entire country. The Gamecocks rank 309th in the nation in terms of tempo this season.
The Gamecocks currently rank 60th in the nation KenPom. They rank as the 46th-best defensive team in the country, while coming in as the No. 92 offense.
KEY PLAYERS
- Forward Collin Murray-Boyles: Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles has led the charge so far this season for South Carolina. He leads the Gamecocks in scoring, averaging 21.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Murray-Boyles has shot 63.9% from the floor so far this year. The native of Columbia, South Carolina is also great on the defensive end of the floor. He's averaging 1.3 blocks a game to begin the season.
- Guard Jacobi Wright: Standing at 6-foot-2, senior guard Jacobi Wright figures to play an integral role for South Carolina this season after making 34 appearances (33 of which came off the bench) last season. After averaging 22.9 minutes per game a year ago, Wright is averaging 28.0 minutes a night this season. He's averaging 16.0 points and 3.7 assists per game. Wright is also probably the most lethal 3-point weapon the Gamecocks possess. He's off to a 46.7% start from downtown this season.
- Guard Jamari Thomas: An undersized guard, senior Jamarii Thomas is South Carolina's third-leading scorer to begin the season. A 5-foot-11 point guard, Thomas is averaging 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game this season. He's also averaging 2.0 steals a contest. The biggest struggle for Thomas to begin the season has been turnovers. The Greensboro, North Carolina native has turned the ball over 10 times through the first three games of the season. He's also yet to convert from distance this season, missing all four of his 3-point attempts on the year.
STORYLINES TO MONITOR
Can Mackenzie Mgbako continue his hot start to the season...
Sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako is averaging 24.5 points per game through the first two games of the season. His 49 total points through Indiana's first two games of the year is the most points scored by a Hoosier through two games since James Blackmon Jr. in the 2016-17 season. The former five-star recruit has also gone 6-of-9 (66.7%) from 3-point range this year. The biggest improvement for Mgbako this season has been in the rebounding department and on the defensive end of the floor. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 8.0 rebounds a game this season. Another good game from Mgbako would go a long way in improving the Hoosiers to 3-0.
Can the Hoosiers get more out of their starting backcourt...
Indiana head coach Mike Woodson fortified his backcourt this offseason with a pair of additions in Washington State transfer Myles Rice and Stanford transfer Kanaan Carylyle. Through the first two games of the season, Rice and Carlyle are combining to average 11.0 points per game on a combined 7-of-21 (33.3%) shooting from the field. Against power conference opponents, the Hoosiers are going to need production on the offensive side of the ball out of their starting backcourt.
Will Indiana play a strong 40 minutes of basketball...
In both of Indiana's first two games of the season, against SIUE and Eastern Illinois, the Hoosiers came out slow. In Indiana's season opener, SIUE had the game tied in the first half at 27 points apiece before Indiana closed the half on a 15-3 run. Against Eastern Illinois, Indiana went into the halftime locker trailing 37-36. The Hoosiers came out in the second half and dominated the Panthers, but for a second consecutive game, Indiana failed to put together a full 40 minute performance. Against an opponent like South Carolina, Indiana may not be able to afford another slow start.
QUICK HITTERS
Who: No. 16 Indiana (2-0) vs. South Carolina (2-1)
Series History: Indiana leads 2-1 (Last Meeting: 76-55 Indiana won on Nov. 8, 1998 in Indianapolis)
When: Nov. 16, 2024, 3:00 p.m. ET
Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: Peacock: Paul Burmeister (Play-by-Play), Robbie Hummel (Analyst)
Radio: IU Radio Network: Don Fischer (Play-by-Play), Errek Suhr (Analyst), John Herrick
Vegas: Indiana -7.5, over/under at 144.5, Indiana given a 70.4% chance to win
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