Column: Breakdown of Central Connecticut-IU

WHO Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) Blue Devils (4-3)
WHEN 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE Assembly Hall
HOW Big Ten Network or 99.1 WIUX

Head coach
Howie Dickenman
253-227 (17th season at CCSU)
 
This season’s leading scorer 
After ranking as CCSU’s second-leading scorer as a freshman in 2011-12, sophomore guard Kyle Vinales leads the Blue Devils’ offense. Vinales, a 6-foot-1 Detroit native, is averaging 25.9 points per game this season.

This guard has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor and has made 41.7 percent of his 3-point attempts this season (20-of-48). While leading the team in both PPG and assists with 3.7 assists per game, Vinales is the undisputed floor general for the Blue Devils – partially because he never comes off the floor.

In all seven games this season, Vinales has played at least 40 minutes. His high was 45 minutes in an 83-82 overtime victory against the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Watch to see if IU’s pace of play and athleticism wears down Vinales to the point where he will take his first breather of the season.
 
This season’s leading rebounder
With Vinales providing most of the offense and dishing-out assists, junior guard Matt Hunter leads the team in rebounding with 7.7 rebounds per game while also averaging 17.0 PPG.

The 6-foot-5 Detroit native dominates the glass for a CCSU team that currently ranks 296th out of 345 Divison I teams in team rebounding  by averaging only 31.7 RPG.

To say that CCSU will have a tough time on the boards against IU is an understatement. Only two players on CCSU’s roster reach the height of 6-foot-7 – freshmen Erik Raleigh (6-foot-8) and Brandon Peel (6-foot-7) – and those players are only averaging 1.0 minute per game and 10.3 minutes per game, respectively.

With the size advantage, we should expect to see the Hoosiers active on the glass early and often in what could be the biggest mismatch of the game.
 
Matchup to watch
I’m keeping my eyes on the potential matchups at the point guard position. I expect to see Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and Jordan Hulls guarding CCSU’s best player, Vinales, throughout the night.

While Vinales may be an inch or two taller than both of IU’s point guards, Ferrell and Hulls have been asked to guard bigger guards before and will certainly be asked to do it more during the rest of the season.

As the team’s dominant scorer, Vinales will provide a good test for both Ferrell and Hulls, but don’t be surprised if you see IU Coach Tom Crean switch bigger defenders like Remy Abell, Will Sheehey or Victor Oladipo onto Vinales.

If the Hoosiers can limit his points, it will be a long night for the rest of the Blue Devils’ offense.
 
My Take
Although you could point to the disparity between the teams’ athleticism and depth as reasons why the Hoosiers will win, I believe IU’s size advantage is going to be the number one factor that decides this game.

Entering Saturday night’s tilt, the Hoosiers are averaging 41.9 RPG, which is 22nd in the nation.

Between Cody Zeller with 7.6 RPG and Christian Watford with 7.5, these two big men could pretty much handle the glass by themselves against CCSU.

Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, they will have to deal with an IU team that will out-size them, out-jump them and out-hustle them in the effort to gobble up every rebound.

After a few lackluster performances, I expect Christian Watford to bounce back in a big way against CCSU.

Considering he is taller than every player on CCSU’s roster, Watford must drive to the basket aggressively from the beginning of the game until the final buzzer.

When he is active offensively for the Hoosiers, it usually starts with him hitting a few baskets from close range or in the paint.

Seeing the ball go through the net early will give the senior more confidence to shoot from behind the arc, where he has shot only 2-of-9 in IU’s three games since returning from Brooklyn.

With a week to prepare for CCSU, we might see the Hoosiers’ best performance of the season or we might see another one of the slow starts that has plagued IU against inferior opponents all season.

Regardless, the No. 1 Hoosiers are simply too big, too strong, too fast and too good for the Blue Devils – and that’s without even adding in the about 17,000 that will fill Assembly Hall to make it the most hostile environment CCSU has played in all season.

If you are wondering, CCSU’s total enrollment is only 12,091 students.
 
Prediction
Last Saturday, I predicted that the Hoosiers would score more than 100 points to beat Coppin State.

IU fell short of the triple-digit plateau, which meant my score prediction was wrong, and more importantly, there was no free Qdoba for fans in attendance.

Nevertheless, Saturday will be redemption for my Qdoba predictions as IU will roll easily in this one. Hoosiers win 102-60.

­— mdnorman@indiana.edu