Many college students were at home enjoying a savory plate of turkey and gravy for Thanksgiving, but the holiday week was bittersweet for Indiana men’s basketball.
The Hoosiers had high expectations prior to the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis, entering the three-day event ranked No. 14 in the country. Behind then-No. 3 Gonzaga University and then-No. 22 University of Arizona, Indiana held the third-highest odds to finish first in the eight-team pool.
Despite a decisive 89-73 win over Providence College finale on Nov. 29, two losses by a combined 34 points against the University of Louisville and Gonzaga dropped the Cream and Crimson out of the AP Top 25 on Monday. Monday also marked the release of the NCAA’s NET rankings, a data-driven algorithm used to rank all 364 Division I men’s basketball teams.
Indiana struggled in the Bahamas and payed the price as a result, ranking 71st in the NET.
While both of the Hoosiers' defeats were to Quad 1 opponents, a lackluster nonconference slate so far means that all five of their wins so far are against teams in Quads 3 and 4. Their best NET win was their most recent victory over the 104th-ranked Friars.
Head coach Mike Woodson’s team won’t be able to boost their stock much more in its next matchup as it hosts Sam Houston State University on Tuesday. The Bearkats hold a 4-4 record in head coach Chris Mudge’s second year in charge of the program.
Senior guard Lamar Wilkerson leads the team with 19.6 points per game while shooting 45.3% from beyond the arc, a play style representative of Sam Houston’s offense. While only attempting a moderate 22.6 3-pointers per game, the Bearkats are 15th in the nation with a 40.3% clip from 3-point range.
Offensive production from the perimeter was absent for Indiana in its losses, shooting a combined 11 for 38 from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Myles Rice shot a combined 3 for 17 from the field in those games.
“Myles might be a little gun-shy right now,” Woodson said, following Rice’s 1 –for 8 performance against Providence. “I can fix that and get him back going.”
Last season’s Pac-12 Freshman of the Year will have an opportunity to do so when the Hoosiers welcome Sam Houston State to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
