Indiana (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) is set for a matchup against Kansas State (5-1, 0-0 Big 12) on Tuesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Hoosiers are coming off of two consecutive sluggish
performances against mid-major competition after opening the season on an offense tear, never scoring less than 90 points in their first three games. Indiana will need its offense from those first three games to keep up with Kansas State.
Here’s three things to know ahead of the game against the Wildcats:
Last time out: Indiana 73, Lindenwood 53
Indiana had its second consecutive sleepy performance in last week’s win over Lindenwood. You’ll take a 20-point margin of victory just about any time, but the Hoosiers left some meat on the bone here and didn’t cover the spread against a team that it really should’ve handled earlier in the game and by more.
The Hoosiers struggled offensively, shooting just 38% from the field and 32% from long range, with Lamar Wilkerson going 1-7 from deep. Indiana needs him to break out of that slump against Kansas State, or things could get pretty difficult.
Key stat: Kansas State’s eFG%
As for Kansas State? Points come easy for the Wildcats. Indiana has a slightly more efficient offense up to this point but Kansas State boasts an eFG% of 61, which ranks in as 12th nationally. The Wildcats are shooting 43.3% from long range and 58.2% inside the arc.
Most of the Wildcats shots come from beyond the 3-point line or in the painted area, they aren’t a rim or three or nothing type of team. There’s a handful of midrange shots sprinkled in there, but not enough to make you wince looking at a shot chart.
Kansas State came up just short against the Nebraska after putting 98 points on Mississippi State and 99 on California. Indiana’s defense has been stout this season, but the ‘Cats will challenge it in a way that no other team has proven capable of doing up to this point.
Player to know: Junior G P.J. Haggerty
Nobody in men’s college basketball is scoring like P.J. Haggerty, a transfer from Memphis, this season. He’s averaging 28 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists while shooting 40.9% from deep and 56% from the field overall in 34 minutes per game.
He has a sky-high usage rate of 34.1%. If Indiana is going to slow down this Kansas State offense, it’s going to start with Haggerty.
