Breakdown of IWU-IU

Head coach
Greg Tonagel (8th season 178-62 record at Indian Wesleyan Now-junior guard Jordan Weidner and now-senior forward Patrick Hopkins both averaged 14.8 points

Last season’s leading rebounder
Hopkins (8.7 in 2011-12)

Last win
IWU opened 2012-13 with a 91-74 win against NAIA No. 14 St. Xavier (Ill.)

How last year ended
The Wildcats won their fourth consecutive Mid-Central College Conference regular season championship. Lost in first round of NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship.

What they do well
During their first win of the season, 9-of-19 threes (.474)

What needs work
Size. Obviously, this is something that you either have or don’t have, but compared to the Hoosiers, the Wildcats don’t have it. Only five of the 15 players on the roster are taller than 6-foot-7 , and only two of those players (freshman center Aaron Murray and sophomore forward Tyler Greathouse) even reach 6-foot-9.

My take
This game is an exhibition and will be treated as another opportunity for each player to make an impression on the coaching staff. In games like this, coaches tend to notice the little things more than a posterizing dunk or someone knocking down wide-open 3-pointers. IU Coach Tom Crean and his staff will watch for things like deflections on defense, charges taken or if guys are going 100 percent each moment they are on the floor.

For the first time this season, IU won’t be playing against itself, which must be a relief, considering both the “A” and “B” teams of the Hoosiers are probably enough to fill out two Big Ten starting lineups. I expect IU’s starting lineup to come out with a bang in front of a packed Assembly Hall eager for basketball.

I’m sure Aaron Martin — fresh off hitting 7-of-9 3-pointers in the Wildcats’ opener — will hit a few shots if IU’s defense gets lazy or out of position, but the thing the Hoosiers have worked on most this year is strength and defensive quickness, so this could get ugly quickly if senior guard Jordan Hulls or senior forward Christian Watford decide to torch the nets early.

For IWU, this is an opportunity to compete against a Division I opponent, who happens to be an in-state foe and the No. 1 team in the nation. If you want evidence that this is a big game for IWU, just know that their allotted tickets for this game were sold out by Sept. 7.

Prediction
NCAA Division 1 No. 1 Indiana beats up on NAIA DII  No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan, 90-49.

­— mdnorman@indiana.edu