Indiana

2024-25 Indiana non-conference opponent preview: Sam Houston State

Published

4 months ago

July 31, 2024

2024-25 Indiana non-conference opponent preview: Sam Houston State

Indiana’s 2024-25 non-conference schedule was finalized on July 9 and Inside the Hall will have a team-by-team look at each opponent. Today: Sam Houston State.

Indiana’s eighth non-conference game – and first contest after the Battle 4 Atlantis – should provide a formidable test.

Sam Houston State, which finished last season 142nd in the KenPom ratings and 128th in Bart Torvik, has NCAA tournament aspirations entering the 2024-25 campaign.

The Bearkats were listed as a No. 12 seed in a CBS Sports bracketology in early July and are currently projected as the 114th-best team nationally for next season by Torvik.

Sam Houston State finished last season with the 126th-best defense nationally, according to Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency numbers. In his current projections for the 2024-25 season, Torvik has the Bearkats 130th offensively nationally next season and 111th defensively.

Chris Mudge enters his second at the helm in Huntsville, Texas, after finishing with a 21-12 last season and winning the regular season Conference USA title. The 40-year-old was a student manager under Rick Barnes at Texas and has been at Sam Houston State since 2010 as an assistant (2020-2021) and the associate head coach for two seasons before taking over as head coach.

Mudge again has a roster capable of competing for the conference title as he returns four of the top five scorers from last season. The most notable contributor the Bearkats lost was second-leading scorer Davon Barnes, who left for Ole Miss via the transfer portal.

Leading scorer Lamar Wilkerson is back after exploring his options in the transfer portal. The 6-foot-4 senior guard averaged 13.8 points and shot 34.7 percent on 3s and 83.1 percent from the line last season.

Damon Nicholas Jr., another 6-foot-4 senior guard, returns after leading the Bearkats in steals and averaging 8.1 points a season ago. Nichols Jr. started 28 of the team’s 33 games and averaged 1.4 steals, shooting 36.8 percent on 3s.

Brennen Burns, a Division II transfer, should be in the mix for the starting point guard spot. The 5-foot-10 guard arrives from SE Oklahoma State, where he averaged 17 points, 6.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 33 minutes per game. Burns shot 39.6 percent from distance.

Up front, 6-foot-8 senior Cameron Huefner is back and should have the first shot at starting at the four. Last season, Huefner averaged 7.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game and started seven games.

Sam Houston State added a big man from the transfer portal in Kalifa Sakho, who arrives from Utah State. The 6-foot-11 senior averaged 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game last season for the Aggies.

Guard Marcus Boykin, a 6-foot-1 senior, started 11 games last season and shot 37.8 percent on 3s while averaging 7.3 points in 18.4 minutes per game. Josiah Hammons, a 6-foot-2 guard transfer from Incarnate Word, should also figure heavily into the guard rotation. Hammons averaged 12.5 points and shot 35.5 percent on 3s a season ago.

Dorian Finister, a 6-foot-5 wing, brings experience from the high-major level. Finister averaged nearly 13 minutes last season at Kansas State and averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds for the Wildcats. Kian Scroggins, a 6-foot-7 senior, is also back for the Bearkats. Scroggins started five times last season and averaged six points and led Sam Houston State in rebounds at 5.9 per game.

Given the strong mix of returnees and transfer portal additions, Mudge has the personnel to regularly go eight or nine deep with this roster. Eight of the top nine in the projected roster are seniors, which should make the Bearkats one of the most experienced mid-major teams in the country.

While the name Sam Houston State doesn’t stand out on paper, the Bearkats are the type of non-conference opponent who is more than capable of playing spoiler. Of Indiana’s eight confirmed non-conference games, Sam Houston State is the second highest ranked in the Torvik projections behind South Carolina.

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Indiana

How to Watch: Louisville Cardinals vs. Indiana Hoosiers

Published

3 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

How to Watch: Louisville Cardinals vs. Indiana Hoosiers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a four-game home stand to open up the 2024-25 season, the Louisville men’s basketball program is heading back to The Bahamas to participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis, and will kick off the event against regional rival Indiana.

The Pat Kelsey era of the Cardinals is off to solid start, although they have played imperfect basketball during their 3-1 start to the season. They’re averaging 81.0 points per game and have a 18.3 scoring margin, but have shot just 29.4 percent from deep on the year, and lost by 22 to Tennessee in their lone game vs. a power conference team.

As for the Hoosiers, they’re off to an undefeated start in year four under head coach Mike Woodson. All of their games have been won by at least double figures, including an 87-71 victory over South Carolina. Mackenzie Mgbako is leading the charge for IU with 18.8 points per game.

This will be the 22nd all-time regular season meeting between Louisville and Indiana, with the Hoosiers owning a 12-9 advantage. IU has won the last two matchups against UofL, including a 74-66 decision back on Nov. 20, 2023 in their last matchup in the Empire Classic.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Jamie Rhodes – Imagn Images)

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Indiana

New Orleans takes on Indiana, seeks to end 4-game slide

Published

11 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

New Orleans takes on Indiana, seeks to end 4-game slide

Associated Press

New Orleans Pelicans (4-13, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (7-10, ninth in the Eastern Conference)

Indianapolis; Monday, 7 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Pacers -5.5; over/under is 228

BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans heads into the matchup against Indiana as losers of four straight games.

The Pacers are 5-2 in home games. Indiana ranks fifth in the league with 17.0 fast break points per game led by Bennedict Mathurin averaging 4.5.

The Pelicans have gone 1-7 away from home. New Orleans averages 14.2 turnovers per game and is 3-4 when turning the ball over less than opponents.

The Pacers are shooting 48.7% from the field this season, 0.2 percentage points higher than the 48.5% the Pelicans allow to opponents. The Pacers average 103.8 points per game, 14.3 fewer points than the 118.1 the Pacers allow to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Pascal Siakam is averaging 20.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Pacers.

Brandon Ingram is scoring 22.9 points per game and averaging 5.8 rebounds for the Pelicans.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pacers: 4-6, averaging 111.7 points, 38.9 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 9.0 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.5 points per game.

Pelicans: 1-9, averaging 100.2 points, 42.7 rebounds, 23.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.7 points.

INJURIES: Pacers: Aaron Nesmith: out (ankle), Andrew Nembhard: out (knee), Isaiah Jackson: out for season (calf), James Wiseman: out for season (calf), Ben Sheppard: out (oblique).

Pelicans: Zion Williamson: out (hamstring), Yves Missi: day to day (shoulder), CJ McCollum: day to day (thigh), Herbert Jones: out (shoulder ), Dejounte Murray: day to day (hand), Jose Alvarado: out (hamstring).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Indiana

Wizards Drop 11th Straight in Loss vs. Pacers

Published

19 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Wizards Drop 11th Straight in Loss vs. Pacers

The Washington Wizards are still in the loss column after falling to the Indiana Pacers 115-103 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday evening.

The Wizards remained competitive throughout the game, especially after the first half when they led by two points going into halftime.

However, the Pacers pulled ahead in the second half and were able to cruise to a double-digit victory.

The Pacers had seven players scoring in double figures, including a team-high 22 points from Pascal Siakam. Myles Turner had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Wizards were sorely missing their leading scorer in Jordan Poole, who was ruled out prior to the game with a hip injury. That put Kyshawn George into the starting lineup, where he scored 15 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.

All five starters scored in double figures with Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr scoring 17 points apiece for the team-high.

With 11 consecutive losses, the Wizards remain at the bottom of the NBA standings, but there are some positives that the team will walk away with.

The Wizards will look to snap their losing streak back at home on Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.

Make sure you bookmark Washington Wizards on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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