Know Your Opponent: Tennessee Tech
The 2020-21 college basketball season is set to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 25 and Indiana will welcome Tennessee Tech to Assembly Hall for its season opener.
Indiana did receive a bit of a scare on Monday night as Tennessee Tech head coach John Pelphrey tested positive for COVID-19 and did not make the trip for the Golden Eagles. Because of that, TTU assistant Marcus King will manage the head coaching duties when they arrive at Assembly Hall on Wednesday.
The Golden Eagles enter the 2020-21 season after a 9-22 campaign a season ago and a ninth place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). It will be a relatively new look roster as it welcomes in nine new players to the program.
Returning for Tennessee Tech is Junior Clay. The junior guard returns as a two-time All-OVC selection and has averaged 13.9 points per game for his career. Against five power-five opponents in his career, Clay is averaging 10.0 points and shooting 34 percent from the field. However, it is not expected that Clay will play in tonight's matchup due to COVID protocols.
Keishawn Davidson returns after a very good freshman season as he was second on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg). Davidson is best known for his ability to distribute the ball, with 11 games last season of six or more assists. Altogether, Davidson dished out 131 assists last season, second most ever in a freshman season at TTU.
Finally, Amadou Sylla is another key member of the Golden Eagles who averaged 5.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game a season ago. His ability to rebound the ball could give IU fits at times as his offensive rebounding rate (13.1%) and total rebounding rate (17.7%) would have ranked first on Indiana's roster last year.
Tennessee Tech Projected Starters:
PG - Keishawn Davidson (So; 6-2; 175)
2019-20 Stats: 9.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.4 apg
SG - Maverick Smith (Sr; 6-5; 190)
2019-20 Stats: 0.8 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 0.3 apg
SF - Kenny White Jr (Fr; 6-7; 200)
2019-20 Stats: DNP
PF - Shandon Goldman (Gr; 6-10; 225)
2019-20 Stats (Northern Iowa): 3.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg
C - Marcus Hopkins (Jr; 7-0; 230)
2019-20 Stats (Daytona State College): 2.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.6 bpg
Things To Watch For Indiana:
Archie Miller talked about how this year, more than any other, would show some difficulties in figuring out rotations because of the lack of true scrimmage and exhibition time. Because of that, look for IU to use many different rotations, lineups and put some players in different positions on the floor than what they may be used to playing.
For some of the returning players, Jerome Hunter, Armaan Franklin and Race Thompson all appear to be in store for big years, so seeing how all three respond to larger and more expansive roles will be interesting. Hunter's shooting is critical and being more consistent starting out of the gate has been a point of emphasis from Archie Miller.
In terms of the rest of the IU roster, seeing a more consistent backcourt is something that will be crucial for IU to have a successful season. Upperclassmen like Al Durham and Rob Phinisee received a lot of high praise from Archie Miller on Tuesday in terms of their shooting, decision making and overall confidence heading into the season. IU did a very poor job a season ago at holding on to the ball, a big reason for some of the offensive struggles.
Game Information:
Who: Tennessee Tech (0-0) at Indiana (0-0)
When: Wednesday, Nov. 25 @ 8 pm ET
Where: Bloomington, IN
TV: BTN (Brandon Gaudin and Robbie Hummel)
Radio: IU Radio Network with Don Fischer and Errek Suhr
Game notes: Tennessee Tech / Indiana
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QUICK HITTERS
• Indiana gets its 2020-21 season underway before traveling to Asheville, NC for the Maui Invitational (Nov. 30 - Dec. 2).
• The Hoosiers own the head-to-head matchup 4-0 all-time. The last matchup was in 2017. Indiana won that game, 87-59. Al Durham was the lone member of the roster in that game, as he finished with two points in 19 minutes.
• Indiana returns seven of its top nine scorers, while Tennessee Tech brings in nine new faces.
• Tennessee Tech has not defeated a power-five program since 2007-08 (Oregon State) and Big Ten opponent since 2006-07 (Northwestern).
• The Golden Eagles are projected to finish ninth in the OVC in 2020-21.
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