Indiana Hoosier Preview

Date: Monday, January 14th

Time: Bloomington, IN

Time: 5:30pm

TV: FS1

2017-18 Record: 16-15 (9-9 Big Ten Conference)

2018-19 Record: 12-3 (3-1 Big Ten Conference)

Head Coach: Archie Miller (2nd Season)

Previous Season

Indiana finished just above .500 in Archie Millers first season with the Hoosiers. Not too bad for a new coach of a basketball blue blood. Their loss to Nebraska at the end of the year was the beginning of the end for the season as that loss was the start of a three game losing skid that ended their season against Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament. Their one strong win was against a rebuilding Notre Dame team early on in the season.

Current Season

Coach Millers second season with the squad is already having the Hoosier seeing dividends to the changes he brought on last year. The return of some major talent along with the development from last year is already starting to pay the Hoosiers dividends.

They are currently sitting 12-3 with wins over Marquette, Louisville, and Butler. All solid wins over major conference foes. Their only losses have been to Duke, Michigan, and Maryland with Duke and Michigan both currently ranked in the top 5 in the country. The loss to Maryland was this past Friday in College Park. It was a three point loss that the Hoosiers wish they would have taken home.

The Hoosiers are lead by Romeo Langford. The 6’6” freshman is leading the team with 18.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Romeo came to Indiana this season as a five star recruit and a McDonald’s All American. He was also named Indiana Mr. Basketball 2018 and was recruited by most of the major basketball schools in the nation. Romeo will push the Huskers on defense and could make it tough to keep off the scoreboard as the game goes on.

Next to Romeo is senior Juwan Morgan. The 6’8” forward is averaging 16.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He’s your big and athletic Big Ten forward that will try to keep the Huskers out of the paint. Juwan is a name you should know as he has been a major factor in Indiana’s game the past two years. He was named second team All Big Ten by the coaches and media last season.

Also of note is Devonte Green who is averaging 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.4 points per game.

Prediction

Nebraska matches up with Indiana well not only on the court but also on the stats sheet. They both shoot in the mid 40’s percentage on the court and mid 70’s from the free throw line. They also have similar defenses though Indiana is just a tad bit better in this department in their wins while Nebraska has leaned on their offense.

Vegas has this down to a point towards Indiana. As we have stated on this site before, it’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten. Yes, Nebraska has won in Bloomington, a very hostile environment, in the past. Can they do it again? Sure they can but they have not shown me anything to believe that they can pull this off on the road this season. Until they do, I will most likely be betting against them.

University of Indiana 75 University of Nebraska 68