How to Watch No. 12 Indiana Basketball Against Xavier
CINCINNATI, Ohio – No. 12 Indiana hits the road for the first major challenge of the 2022-23 season.
On Friday in Cincinnati, Ohio, Indiana battles the Xavier Musketeers, a team picked to finish second in the Big East by the league's coaches. Following dominant wins over Morehead State and Bethune-Cookman, this matchup is the first step in revealing whether the Hoosiers are ready to fulfill Big Ten title expectations.
"When you go into these arenas, those guys, they feel good about themselves, too. They're at home now, and you got to make them uncomfortable," Woodson said. "I'm kind of anxious to see where we are going into tomorrow night's game because we're going to have to be a good road team in order to get where we need to go."
- *** 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 Indiana Hoosiers vs. Xavier Musketeers
- Who: No. 12 Indiana Hoosiers (2-0) at Xavier Musketeers (3-0)
- What: Gavitt Tipoff Games
- When: 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 18
- Where: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Jimmy Jackson (analyst)
- Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
- Radio: IU Radio Network
- Radio Announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (pregame, halftime, postgame)
- Point spread: Indiana is a 3.5-point favorite over Xavier, and the over/under is 143.5 points on Friday morning, according to the Fanduel gambling website. Here's the story on the opening line. CLICK HERE
- AP poll: Indiana is No. 12 in the AP poll, the highest ranking of any Big Ten team. Xavier received 44 votes in the AP poll, the sixth-highest amount out of unranked teams.
- KenPom rankings: Indiana is No. 10 overall, with the No. 8 adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 15 adjusted offensive efficiency. Xavier is No. 39 overall, with the No. 58 adjusted defensive efficiency and the No. 27 adjusted offensive efficiency.
- Season projections: As of Thursday afternoon, 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-3000 to win the National Championship. Xavier was picked to finish second in the Big East preseason coaches' poll, and FanDuel gives the Musketeers plus-550 odds to win the conference, behind Creighton, Villanova and UConn.
- Leading scorers: Indiana returns a trio of double-digit scorers from the 2021-22 season, led by Trayce Jackson-Davis with 18.3, Xavier Johnson with 12.1 and Race Thompson with 11.1. Jackson-Davis and freshman forward Malik Reneau led the team with 15 points apiece in the season opener against Morehead State, and Jackson-Davis led all scorers with 21 points in Indiana's win over Bethune-Cookman. Jackson-Davis, Reneau, Jordan Geronimo and Miller Kopp are each averaging 10-plus points through two games. Center Jack Nunge led Xavier in scoring in 2021-22, and he returns alongside double-digit scorers Colby Jones and Zach Freemantle. Guards Paul Scruggs and Nate Johnson are gone from last year's team, but UTEP guard transfer Souley Boum scored 23 points in his Xavier debut against Morgan State. Nunge leads the Musketeers at 18 points per game this year, and Freemantle posted a triple-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Fairfield.
- Notable games: Indiana has taken care of business so far, cruising to an 88-53 win over Morehead State and a 101-49 win over Bethune-Cookman. Similarly, Xavier hasn't played a Power 5 opponent yet, but is off to a 3-0 start with a 96-73 win over Morgan State, an 86-64 win over Montana and a 78-65 win over Fairfield.
- 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. Xavier went 23-13 overall and 8-11 in Big East play. The Musketeers did not earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but they defeated Cleveland State, Florida, Vanderbilt, Saint Bonaventure and Texas A&M en route to winning the 2022 NIT Championship.
- Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series against Xavier 8-1. The teams most recently played on Nov. 24, 2007 when Xavier defeated No. 8 Indiana 80-65 in the Chicago Invitational Challenge at Now Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Indiana freshman Eric Gordon led the Hoosiers with 20 points, and senior forward D.J. White scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. A balanced attack from Xavier took down the eighth-ranked Hoosiers, as B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson scored 19 points apiece, Drew Lavender added 13 and Josh Duncan contributed 12. This was Indiana's first loss of the 2007-08 season, which ended with a 25-8 record and a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament following coach Kelvin Sampson's resignation in February due to NCAA violations.
Meet the coaches
- Sean Miller, Xavier: Miller is the first year of his second coaching stint at Xavier after previously serving as an assistant coach from 2001-04 and head coach from 2004-09. Miller posted a 104-47 record at Xavier, which included four trips to the NCAA Tournament and an Elite Eight appearance in 2008. Miller then coached at Arizona from 2009-2021, where he had a 302-109 record, five Pac-12 conference championships, four 30-plus win seasons and three trips to the Elite Eight. But after a 29-27 conference record across his final three seasons, as well as ties to a recruiting scandal, Miller was fired on April 7, 2021. He took a year off from coaching before Xavier hired him on March 19, 2022. Sean Miller is the older brother of former Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller, who is now coaching at Rhode Island.
- 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.
Indiana Hoosiers guard Trey Galloway (32) dribbles the ball while Bethune-Cookman Wildcats guard Damani McEntire (5) defends in the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Three things to watch in Indiana vs. Xavier
1. Battle of the bigs
Indiana overpowered Morehead State and Bethune-Cookman to the tune of 94 points in the paint across two games. The Hoosiers' will lean on the strength of forwards Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Malik Reneau and Jordan Geronimo throughout the season, but Friday's game represents a big challenge down low.
Indiana fans might recognize Xavier's 7-foot, 245-pound center Jack Nunge, who spent the first four years of college at Iowa. Nunge is now in his sixth year of college after leading Xavier with 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in 2021-22.
"Big Jack [Nunge] can make shots out on the floor," Woodson said. "So in transition, we can't get so sucked in to the point where he's trailing and he just trails right into 3-point shots. He made a couple of those the other night in their game, so we just got to be alert to that."
Nunge was voted to the 2022-23 preseason All-Big East first team by the league coaches, and he forms a formidable front court next to power forward Zach Freemantle.
At 6-foot-9, 225 pounds Freemantle averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 points last season, and he's off to an impressive start to his senior year. Freemantle posted a triple-double in Xavier's win over Fairfield on Tuesday, scoring 15 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
"The big fella Zach [Freemantle], I mean he does a lot of things out on the floor," Woodson said. "But he mainly does a lot of his damage around the bucket. So we've just got to, hey, we got our hands filled with two bigs that we got to match with our bigs with their energy and see what happens."
2. Freshmen responding to strong opponent on the road
Indiana freshmen Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau have already made a number of highlight-reel plays in their first two games as Hoosiers. From Hood-Schifino's behind-the-back layup to Reneau's 15-point debut, the former high school teammates have arguably been the most impressive players for Indiana to start the season.
But Friday's game will be a different animal for Hood-Schifino and Reneau, as well as Indiana's other freshmen, CJ Gunn and Kaleb Banks, who have flashed potential. Xavier is bigger, stronger and more skilled than Indiana's first opponents, and the Cintas Center will be a stark difference from the comfort and support of the Assembly Hall crowd.
Coach Mike Woodson said Hood-Schifino and Reneau have "passed with flying colors" early in their Indiana careers, but we'll get a glimpse of just how good they can be on Friday against Xavier.
"You hope to lean on your veterans because they've been around and they've been out on the road in environments like that," Woodson said. "It can be kind of nerve wracking for some of these young guys, so I'm interested to see who steps up and who's ready to play and see where we are."
3. Colby Jones' injury
Colby Jones was named the NIT Most Outstanding Player and led Xavier with 14.8 points across five games, including a 21-point effort in the championship against Texas A&M. The 6-foot-6 guard expected to have a big junior season after being voted to the 2023-23 preseason All-Big East first team.
But Jones missed Xavier's win over Fairfield on Tuesday with a sprained ankle, according to Adam Baum of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
"Jones' value comes at both ends of the floor," Baum wrote. "He's Xavier's best on-ball defender and his instincts and intelligence make him a factor offensively."
Jones is averaging 13.5 points and 7.0 assists through two games, and it will be important to monitor his status ahead of Indiana's trip to Xavier on Friday.
"He had an ankle injury in (Monday's) practice," Sean Miller said on Tuesday. "The good news is the x-rays were negative and he's made progress from (Monday to Tuesday). I know Colby is hopeful he can play. So are all of us. We're certainly not going to put him at risk. It's going to be his decision but it will also be making sure that he's able to play. But we're hopeful that he can. I think we'll know more, not even tomorrow, but I think we'll know more as we get to the day before (Friday). I think the situation is he would have to be able to show us he can go through a shootaround, go through a practice... the swelling, the mobility, all the things you look for have to be in place... and if they are, then we'll play him. Certainly, we would love to have him."
Related stories on Indiana basketball:
- JACKSON-DAVIS MOVES UP SCORING LIST: Trayce Jackson-Davis passed two more Indiana basketball legends on the school's all-time scoring list on Monday after he scored 15 points in the season opener. He's now No. 13 all-time with 1,603 points, with Brian Evans next on the list. CLICK HERE
- MIKE WOODSON, JORDAN HULLS TALK WITH DON FISCHER: Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson reviewed the Hoosiers' first two wins of the season and looked ahead to Friday's road trip to Xavier on Monday night's 'Inside Indiana Basketball' radio show with Don Fischer. Former Indiana point guard Jordan Hulls, now the team's recruiting coordinator, also joined the show. CLICK HERE
- NBA TEAMMATES THEUS, WOODSON MEET AGAIN: Mike Woodson and Reggie Theus were NBA teammates in Kansas City and Sacramento back in the 1980s. They've remained good friends, and on Thursday night, they'll coach against each other when Indiana takes on Bethune-Cookman. CLICK HERE
- SON OF IU LEGEND RETURNS TO INDIANA: Billy Garrett, the son of Bill Garrett, who became the became the first African American to play on the Indiana varsity basketball team, returned to Assembly Hall on Thursday night as an assistant on the Bethune-Cookman coaching staff. CLICK HERE
