Column: Expect Hoosiers to run over Oakland's porous defense

Take The Over
That would be my best advice on today’s game featuring IU (7-2) and Oakland (2-7).

A combination of Oakland’s star offensive player, Travis Bader, and the Grizzlies’ porous defense is sure to make this contest, broadcast on ESPN2, a high-scoring affair.

Scouting the Golden Grizzlies
Of nine Horizon League teams, Oakland was picked to finish fourth in the
preseason.

Oakland comes in at 2-7 on the year.

The team started 0-7 thanks to a tough schedule including North Carolina, UCLA and Gonzaga.

But the Grizzlies did not only lose to powerhouses.

They have also lost to Louisiana-Lafayette, St. Francis Brooklyn and Western Michigan.

Oakland’s defensive struggles showed against Western Michigan. Oakland gave up 99 points in the loss.

In Western Michigan’s most recent game, the team only scored 35 points against Northwestern.

Expect to see the Hoosier offense, which has scored at least 73 points in each of their seven wins, to look like the Oklahoma City Thunder in this game.

Grizzly to watch
Guard Travis Bader is a fifth-year senior and a lights-out shooter. The 6-foot-5-inch Michigan native is a career 40 percent 3-point shooter. He wears No. 3, which seems fitting.

Last season, Bader was a finalist for the Lou Henson Award, an honor bestowed upon the best mid-major college basketball player.

He was also a mid-major All-American and led the nation with 4.2 successful 3-pointers a game. He’s averaging 4.4 this season.

Bader is averaging 21.1 points per game. Only two other Grizzlies average double figures, so expect to see the Oakland offense center around Bader.

Oh, and IU should avoid putting Bader on the line where he is at a gaudy 95 percent this year.

I think sticking 6-foot-8-inch sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell on Bader would be most effective.

His incredible length and athleticism could disrupt the natural shooter and get Bader out of his rhythm.

Bader is proficient behind the arc and doesn’t really have an interest in shooting inside the 3-point line.

He has a higher 3-point percentage (40.8) than field-goal percentage (39.9) this season.

An astonishing 68.5 percent of his attempted shots this year have been threes.
For comparison, 69.5 percent of former IU guard Jordan Hulls’ shots last year were threes.

So Bader shoots 3-pointers at roughly the same rate Hulls did last year, and he’s more than 6 feet tall.

Long story short, Bader is good at shooting. Expect to see him do that a lot.
Also, Bader’s Twitter handle is @DarthBader3, which is pretty awesome.

Prediction
Bader will do his best Jimmer Fredette impression, shooting some threes that make you scratch your head and wonder how they went in.

But it won’t be enough.

Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, freshman forward Noah Vonleh and other starters will not play a lot in the second half.

Oakland’s defense, giving up 75 points a game and allowing a 48 percent opponent field-goal percentage, won’t be able to stop IU, who has scored 100 points three times this season.

IU won’t get to 100, as they’ll call off the dogs early in anticipation for Saturday’s matchup against Notre Dame, but the Hoosiers will get the win.

Final score – IU 85, Oakland 67.

­— ehoopfer@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.