How to Watch Indiana Basketball Against Bethune-Cookman
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana and Bethune-Cookman match up for the first time in program history on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Indiana is coming off an 88-53 win over Morehead State in the season opener on Monday. After a bit of a slow start, the Hoosiers locked in on the defensive end and overpowered Morehead State in the paint.
Coach Mike Woodson said the bench gave Indiana a "major life" on Monday, seen through 15 points from freshman Malik Reneau, 10 points from Jordan Geronimo and a nine-point game from Tamar Bates.
"When you're building a team, that's what you're going to need because sometimes the first unit ain't going to be there," Woodson said. "So you've got to have a backup plan. I thought our second unit was pretty damn good the other night."
- *** LIVE BLOG: And once the game starts, follow all the action on our live blog from HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew. To read that story, CLICK HERE.
How to watch Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs. Indiana Hoosiers
- Who: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (0-1) at Indiana Hoosiers (1-0)
- When: 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 10
- Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Announcers: Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst),
- Stream: Watch fuboTV
- Radio: IU Radio Network
- Radio Announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (pregame, halftime, postgame)
- Point spread: Indiana is a 32-point favorite over Bethune-Cookman, according to the SI Sportsbook.
- AP poll: Indiana is No. 13 in the AP poll, the highest ranking of any Big Ten team.
- KenPom rankings: Indiana is No. 9 overall, with the No. 7 adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 23 adjusted offensive efficiency. Bethune-Cookman is No. 309 overall, with the No. 304 adjusted defensive efficiency and the No. 303 adjusted offensive efficiency.
- Season projections: As of Thursday morning, Indiana is the betting favorite to win the Big Ten regular season title at plus-290 odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Hoosiers are plus-900 to reach the Final Four and plus-4000 to win the National Championship.
- Leading scorers: Indiana returns a trio of double-digit scorers from 2021-22, led by Trayce Jackson-Davis with 18.3, Xavier Johnson with 12.1 and Race Thompson with 11.1. In the season opener against Morehead State, Jackson-Davis and freshman forward Malik Reneau led the Hoosiers with 15 points each. In 2021-22, Joe French (15.8 ppg), Kevin Davis (14.0 ppg) and Marcus Garrett (13.6 ppg) led Bethune-Cookman in scoring, and all three guards return for the 2022-23 season. In the Wildcats' opener against Iowa, guard Zion Harmon led the way with 15 points off the bench, followed by Garrett with 13 and center Dylan Robertson with 11.
- Last season's records: Indiana went 21-14 overall and 9-11 in Big Ten play in 2021-22. The Hoosiers reached the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 2016, defeating Wyoming in the First Four and losing to Saint Mary's in the Round of 64. Bethune-Cookman went 9-21 overall and 7-11 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play for a 10th-place finish.
- Series history: This is the first matchup between Indiana and Bethune-Cookman.
Meet the coaches
- Reggie Theus, Bethune-Cookman: Reggie Theus is in his second year as head basketball coach and athletic director at Bethune-Cookman. As an assistant coach, Theus helped Louisville reach the 2005 Final Four. He then spent three years as the head coach at New Mexico State before being hired as head coach by the Sacramento Kings. Theus was an assistant under Kurt Rambis with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2009-11, and was the head coach at Cal State Northridge from 2013-18. Theus played under coach Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV from 1976-78, where he reached the Final Four and scored 1,177 career points. He became the ninth overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and was the runner-up for the 1979 Rookie of the Year Award. Theus was an NBA All-Star for the Bulls in 1981 and 1983, and later played for Kansas City and Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets.
- Mike Woodson, Indiana: Woodson has NBA head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. Dating back to 1996, Woodson has also been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. Woodson played at Indiana University from 1976-80, and was named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player as a senior under coach Bob Knight. He was the 12th overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, and played for various teams from 1980-91, averaging 14 points over 786 games. Woodson and Theus were teammates for 195 games on the Kings.
Indiana Hoosiers forward Miller Kopp (12) high-fives Indiana Hoosiers guard Tamar Bates (53) after making a three-pointer during the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Three things to watch from Indiana
1. Trayce Jackson-Davis' thumb injury
Trayce Jackson-Davis wore a wrap around his right thumb during Indiana's second exhibition game against Saint Francis, as well as the regular season opener against Morehead State. He was held out of the first exhibition matchup against Marian, and coach Mike Woodson said Jackson-Davis has a "severe sprain in the thumb area."
"[Indiana athletic trainer] Tim Garl padded it just to give him some relief, and it seems to be working for him," Woodson said on Wednesday. "He had taken a couple days away, too, just to get it calmed down, and we've just got to hope that it's not something that's going to nag him the rest of the season. We're looking at it cautiously because we've got a long season ahead of us, and he's a big part of what we do."
The injury hasn't affected Jackson-Davis' on-court production in any obvious ways, as he scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Morehead State and led Indiana with 19 points and nine rebounds against Saint Francis. Jackson-Davis is a lefty, so the injury is on his non-dominant hand, but it's a situation worth monitoring moving forward.
2. Grab it and go
Woodson wants to play fast, but he knows any team has to have the right pieces and be in peak condition to do so.
"Last year we just didn't have a lot of guys that could handle the ball and make basketball plays and do things off the bounce individually," Woodson said. "That's no knock to anybody that we had last season, it's just we didn't have that makeup of the team."
But this year, the addition of freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, coupled with growth from Trey Galloway, Tamar Bates and Jordan Geronimo Woodson thinks the Hoosiers are better suited to push the pace. Point guard Xavier Johnson proved he could do this last year, and even freshman forward Malik Reneau took it coast to coast against Morehead State.
For an Indiana offense that ranked 95th in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency in 2021-22, running transition could be a path to more offensive success.
3. Free throw shooting
The Hoosiers shot 70 percent from the line as a team last year, which ranked 237th in the nation, and the struggles have continued early in the 2022-23 season.
Indiana made 12-of-21, or 57.1 percent, of its free throw attempts in the regular season opener against Morehead State. Trayce Jackson-Davis went 3-for-5 from the line, followed 3-for-6 from Malik Reneau, 2-for-2 from Trey Galloway and Miller Kopp, 1-for-4 from Jalen Hood-Schifino and 1-for-2 from Kaleb Banks.
"Free throws are important. They're free," Woodson said. "I've just got to get these guys to understand and relax and make them. If I had a magic pill to give them, I would, on free throws, but I just don't. It's something that can bite you in the butt if we're not careful, man. That's one of the first things I said before I broke huddle was our free throws. I mean, it's unacceptable. Somehow we've got to figure it out."
Related stories on Indiana basketball:
- HOOD-SCHIFINO ADDS NEW DIMENSION TO INDIANA: The pressure was on Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson to perform at a high level on a nightly basis last season, but the addition of five-star freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino adds another layer to the Indiana offense this time around. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS CRUISE PAST EAGLES Trayce Jackson-Davis and Malik Reneau each had 15 points and Jordan Geromino led Indiana's bench on several long runs in the Hoosiers' 88-53 victory over Morehead State on Monday in their season opener. CLICK HERE
- MOREHEAD STATE'S EXPERIENCE: Morehead State point guard Mark Freeman got off to a strong start, scoring 14 points in 11 minutes, but the Eagles struggled after he went down with an injury in an 88-53 loss to No. 13 Indiana. CLICK HERE
