Nationwide, early season nonconference games skew boring.
They’re a chance for small schools to make a quick buck and prominent Power Five programs get game experience against anyone but themselves.
IU was no exception to this trend in its first two games of 2018. Contests against Chicago State and Montana State were anything but exciting. The Hoosiers won both games by an average of 44.5 points and never showed the slightest glimpse of letting up.
But with the No. 24 Marquette Golden Eagles coming to Bloomington Wednesday night as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, IU finally has a measuring stick matchup ahead of them.
IU Coach Archie Miller has made a point to schedule more difficult opponents in the nonconference portion than his predecessor Tom Crean. With games against Marquette, Arkansas, Duke, Butler and Louisville all taking place before the new year, Miller certainly wasn’t kidding.
As for Wednesday, IU’s talented, youthful bunch will have their first taste of big game atmosphere at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
“You've got some young guys in there for the first time with that high major feeling with 17,000 people in there,” Miller said. “And those guys are going to have to be — third game in their college career, they're going to have to be more ready than we've ever asked somebody to be ready for.”
When discussing Marquette, the first, second and third topics of conversation must start and end with Markus Howard. Coming off a season in which he averaged 20.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, the 5-foot-11-inch guard will give IU all it can handle.
Howard is gifted with a shooting range that quite literally extends to half court. Further, his playmaking ability off the bounce is underrated and simply based on the attention he draws, opens space for his running mates.
In games against University of Maryland-Baltimore County and Bethune-Cookman University, Howard’s volume scoring persisted, averaging 26 points per game.
“It's always a team approach, but individually when you're matched up on him, that's a tough deal,” Miller said of guarding Howard. “You're going to have to be willing to understand he's going to make some tough ones. He's got a live dribble. He's got the ultimate green light. He's not going to stop attacking.”
Alongside Howard is an upperclassmen-laden group of juniors Sacar Anim, Sam Hauser, Matt Heldt and graduate transfer Joseph Chartouny. Of that group, Hauser and Chartouny present the most difficult matchups.
Hauser is a 6-foot-8-inch forward who can shoot the lights out. In 2018, the wiry winger shot 48.7 percent from deep on 195 attempts. Chartouny is less prolific offensively — he averaged 12.4 points per game at Fordham last season — but his experience at guard gives head coach Steve Wojciechowski a veteran to execute his system.
Also of note for the Golden Eagles are newcomers Ed Morrow Jr., Brendan Bailey and Joey Hauser. Morrow Jr. is a Nebraska transfer who will provide production off the bench.
Bailey and Hauser both present intriguing upside in complementary roles. Bailey is a former top-100 recruit who returns to Marquette following a two-year Mormon mission, while Joey Hauser, the younger brother of Sam, suffered an ankle injury his senior year of high school before enrolling early and redshirting in the spring of 2018.
“You've got to be really good at what you do,” Miller said of how to defend the lively Marquette offense. “And it starts and stops really in transition defense and having floor balance and not giving up those easy threes, the advance-pass-up-the-floor threes or the trailer threes.”
Big picture, this game will tell onlookers plenty about where the Hoosiers stand in the early going. Marquette was picked to finish second in the Big East behind reigning National Champions Villanova.
Further, if Miller’s crew is able to maintain the staunch defensive efforts they’ve had in the first two games of 2018, it bodes well for their Big Ten championship aspirations.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
