Scouting Report: 3 Things to Know About Xavier, Indiana's Opponent on Friday
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana had a couple of easy victories to open the season, and then eight days between games. The long gap ends on Friday night, when the No. 12-ranked Hoosiers travel to Cincinnati to take on a very good Xavier team that's 3-0 so far.
The Musketeers, now coached by former Arizona — and Xavier — coach Sean Miller, have beaten Morgan State, Montana and Fairfield. Those three teams are a combined 0-8 so far against Division I foes, so it's hard to gauge exactly how good Xavier is.
There are some numbers to go by, at least. Xavier is receiving votes in both polls, and would be ranked No. 31 in the Associated Press poll and No. 36 in the Coaches poll. In the Kenpom.com rankings, they are No. 39.
I watched all of their 78-65 home win over Fairfield on Tuesday night, and had a few observations that set the stage for Friday's game, which starts at 6 p.m. ET and is televised on FOX Sports 1.
1. Their bigs can play, so it's good on good
There's no denying that Indiana loves to play inside out through Trayce Jackson-Davis and, to a lesser extent, Race Thompson and freshman Malik Reneau. But Xavier likes to do the same thing, and they've got some talent up front with 7-foot sixth-year senior Jack Nunge and 6-foot-9 senior forward Zach Freemantle.
Hoosiers fans are familiar with Nunge. The Newburgh, Ind. native who played at Castle High School spent four years at Iowa before transferring to Xavier last season. He's scored 27 total points in the four career games against the Hoosiers, all Indiana victories over Iowa, somewhat surprisingly. He's a good player, averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game so far this season.
Freemantle, who's from Teaneck, N.J., is averaging 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, has a nice jumper and can move around the floor pretty well. They are definitely a threat on the offensive end.
Watching the game close, though, neither are very quick and I can't see either one of them being able to handle Jackson-Davis one on one defensively. They'll have a good defensive plan, for sure, and it's going to be interesting to watch those interior battles on both sides of the floor.
Xavier forward Jack Nunge (24) controls the ball against Fairfield Tuesday at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati. (Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)
2. Xavier misses big guard Colby Jones
Colby Jones, a 6-foot-6 guard who was a preseason first-team All-Big East selection, missed Tuesday night's game after spraining an ankle in practice on Monday. He played well in their first two games, averaging 13.5 points, 7.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds.
He's also a good defender, and he's very long. Xavier missed him Tuesday night, with the Fairfield guards able to attack the basket off the dribble with regularity. I'm sure that Xavier Johnson and Jalen Hood-Schifino have seen that on film, and are licking their chops.
Alex Kunkel, another fifth-year senior, started for Jones. He's a nice three-point shooter — he hit four of them in eight tries on Tuesday — but it will interesting to see if he can keep up on the defensive end if Jones can't go. Miller talked about Jones' injury after the game on Tuesday and said his availability for Friday's game with Indiana likely won't be determined until just prior to game time.
Xavier guard Adam Kunkel (5) reacts after a play against Fairfield. (Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)
3. Not much bench production from Jerome Hunter, others
Former Indiana forward Jerome Hunter, who's in his second year at Xavier after playing for Archie Miller for two years, scored 11 points in the Musketeers' opener, but he's been held scoreless the last two games.
He played nine minutes against Montana and never took a shot, but had four personal fouls. He took one shot against Fairfield — he missed — and had three personal fouls in seven minutes.
Xavier had only six bench points in its 78-65 win over Fairfield, and if that trend continues, the Musketeers could be in trouble. Indiana's bench, which has been playing great, could cause a lot of issues.
Xavier doesn't have a lot of up-front talent off the bench. Freemantle had to play 39 minutes in the Fairfield game.
Fairfield forward Allan Jeanne-Rose (10) drives to the basket against Xavier forward Jerome Hunter (2) on Tuesday. (Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)
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