Gameday Preview: Princeton (0-3) vs. Indiana (4-0)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana is looking to start 5-0 for the first time in six years Wednesday night when it takes on Princeton at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers are 4-0 and have a margin of victory of 29.5 points so far against Western Illinois, Portland State, North Alabama and Troy, all teams that are ranked low in the kenpom.com national rankings. None of the four teams are ranked higher than No. 271 out of 353 teams.
Princeton, which hasn't played Indiana in 23 years, is ranked considerably higher, but still just No. 218 as of Wednesday morning. The Tigers have lost to Duquense (91), San Francisco (105) and Lafayette (221) so far. Indiana's toughest test in November comes against Louisiana Tech (90) on Monday.
Here are the particulars on Wednesday night's game:
- Who: Princeton Tigers (0-3) vs. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0)
- When: 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, Nov. 20
- Where: Simon Skojdt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
- Line: Indiana is an 18.5-point favorite, according to goldsheet.com
- Kenpom.com rankings: Indiana 34, Princeton 218 (out of 353 teams)
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Announcers: Brandon Gaudin, Shon Morris
- Radio: Indiana Radio Network
- Announcers: Don Fischer, Eric Suhr, Joe Smith
What to know about the Princeton Tigers
- Princeton has struggled out of the gate, which is a bit of a surprise for a team expected to finish in the top half of the Ivy League. The biggest surprise was the home loss to Lafayette last Wednesday, losing by 13 points despite being favored in the game.
- The Tigers are getting production from only three guys on the offensive end, and that's been a problem. Center Richmond Aririguzoh (17.3), guard Jaelin Llewelyn (17.3) and forward Drew Friberg (13.7) have been playing well, but no one else on the Princeton roster is averaging more than 4.3 points per game.
- Head coach Mitch Henderson, who's in his ninth season at Princeton, was actually a player the last time Indiana and Princeton met back in November of 1996 as part of the Preseason NIT Tournament. Indiana won that day, but the series is tied 2-2 overall. Henderson is 148-91 in his career at Princeton, and took the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 after winning the Ivy League.
What to know about the Indiana Hoosiers
- The Hoosiers have been very efficient from the field so far, shooting 53.4 percent through four games. What's even better is that six regulars are shooting 62 percent or better from the field, led by true freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis, who is 18-for-24 from the floor so far, a whopping 75 percent.
- Indiana has had a big rebounding edge through four games. They've been outrebounding opponents by 12.5 game and what's been really nice is they've been effective on the offensive glass, averaging 13 boards a game on that side of the floor. It's led the a lot of easy second-chance points.
- It's very possible Indiana will have all 11 of its scholarship players available Wednesday night, and that will be a first this season. Senior guard Devonte Green returned Saturday after missing the first three games, and sophomores Rob Phinisee and Damezi Anderson, who have each missed a game so far, should be ready to go against the Tigers.
