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Indiana basketball defeated Wyoming on Tuesday night 66-58 to advance to the Round of 64 for a matchup with St. Mary's on Thursday night.
The Gaels finished the regular season 25-7 and were second in both the regular season of the WCC and conference tournament runner-ups, both to Gonzaga.
Here are some of the main takeaways about the Gaels entering Tuesday's matchup.
Pace of play: Indiana has seen slow paced offenses this season, but none will be like St. Mary's who ranks 338th in the country in tempo -- at just 63.5 possessions per game. In 12 different games this season, the Gaels have attempted less than 55 shots and overall, they take 19.1 seconds each possession on offense -- ranking 327th nationally. They will have a very methodical approach offensively and use structured sets almost every possession.
Lack of free throw shooting: The Gaels enter Thursday's matchup with very little reliance at the free throw line. They post just a 23.2 free throw rate which ranks 341st in the nation -- for reference, Indiana comes in with a 33.5 rate which is one of the better in the country. St. Mary's has had just nine games this season with more than 15 attempts from the foul line -- Indiana has just 10 games below 15 on the season. 14.5 percent of the team's points come from the foul line which ranks 334th nationally.
Get old and stay old together: St. Mary's has had the same roster in tact for the past few years and have grown old together to form some terrific chemistry. This season, they brought back 100% of the total minutues played from a season ago, and in turn 100% of the teams total points. They have at least one starter from each of the last three seasons back -- including all five starters who started at least half of their games two years ago. Four of the top six scorers are seniors and all six are at least juniors.
Defensive juggernaut: St. Mary's has one of the top defenses in the entire country and holds the No. 9 defensive rating in the nation. It holds opponents to just 42.6 percent overall from the field and keeps it to 2s, giving up just 5.3 made 3s per game. Its defense held opponents to below 40 percent shooting in 16 games this season and below 60 points in 18 games -- including Gonzaga, averaging 87.8 ppg, to just 57 points.
Short bench: While they only play one player over 30 minutes per game, the Gaels don't get super deep in their bench for more than a few minutes here or there. Just seven players play double figure minutes and only eight have appeared in every game. They get just 23.2 percent of minutes per game from the bench, lower than the 30.7 percent average for D-1.
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