BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The mission for Indiana’s men’s basketball team is clear after the NCAA announced its NET rankings on Monday.
Indiana cannot afford any trip-ups in its home nonconference slate if it harbors any hope of making the NCAA Tournament.
The mission starts with Sam Houston as the Bearkats come to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Tuesday.
Indiana was ranked 71st in the initial NET rankings released by the NCAA. That’s lower than other metrics such as barttorvik.com (Indiana is 44th) and Kenpom.com (Indiana is 55th).
Indiana also fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday, but that has no bearing on Indiana’s NCAA Tournament possibilities. The NET ranking does matter.
The Hoosiers’ numbers put the imbalance of the team into sharp relief. Of the 58.9 shots per game Indiana takes, 41.3 of them are from 2-point range. Indiana ranks 33rd and 38th nationally in two-point shots made and 2-point shots taken, respectively.
Naturally that means Indiana is not shooting many 3-point shots. Indiana ranks 305th and 340th nationally in 3-point shots made (6.3) and 3-point shots attempted (17.6). There are only 364 Division I programs (and the NCAA only officially rates 355 schools in the team statistics due to those who are transitioning from Division II), so Indiana is near the bottom in both categories.
This is despite the fact the Hoosiers rank 105th nationally in 3-point percentage at 35.8%.
Sam Houston (“State” was dropped for athletic branding purposes), meanwhile, has no hesitation as far as shooting from 3-point range is concerned. The Bearkats rank 17th nationally in 3-point percentage at 40.3%. Guards Lamar Wilkerson (45.3%), Dorian Finister (43.5%) and forward Cameron Huefner (40.9%) are all excellent shooters.
*** LIVE BLOG: Once the game starts, CLICK HERE to read our live blog, including live updates, highlights and thoughts on the game.
How To Watch Indiana vs. Sam Houston
• Who: No. 16 Indiana Hoosiers (5-2) vs. Sam Houston Bearkats (4-4)
• What: Indiana returns to regular nonconference play after going 1-2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament last week. Sam Houston will be Indiana’s fifth nonconference opponent played at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• When: 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 3.
• Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• TV: Big Ten Network.
• Announcers: Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Brian Butch (color).
• Radio: IU Radio Network (Bloomington: 105.1 WHCC-FM; Indianapolis: 107.5 WFNI-FM or 1070 WFNI-AM, or see media guide for other radio affiliates).
• Radio announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (pregame, halftime, postgame).
• Point spread: Not available at time of publication. Please check for updates on Tuesday.
• Recent results: Indiana went 1-2 at Battle 4 Atlantis with an 89-61 loss to Louisville on Nov. 26, an 89-73 defeat at the hands of Gonzaga on Nov. 27, and an 89-73 victory over Providence on Nov. 28.
Sam Houston has also gone 1-2 in its last three games. The Bearkats lost to Appalachian State 66-63 on Nov. 27 and 69-60 to UNC-Wilmington on Nov. 29. Sam Houston then defeated Colgate 82-78 on Nov. 30. All of those games took place in the Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic in Wilmington, N.C.
• Home, road and neutral trends: Indiana is 4-0 at home and 1-2 in neutral site games. Sam Houston is 2-3 in road games, 1-1 in neutral site games and 1-0 in home games.
• Last season: Indiana went 19-14 overall and finished sixth in the Big Ten with a 10-10 record in conference play. The Hoosiers missed the NCAA Tournament and declined a bid to the NIT. Sam Houston was 21-12 and were Conference USA regular season champions, but did not make it to the NCAA Tournament.
• Series history: Indiana leads 1-0. Indiana won 99-45 in 2012.
Leading scorers
Indiana Hoosiers
• F Mackenzie Mgbako, 17.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg.
• F Malik Reneau, 14.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg.
• C Oumar Ballo, 13.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.1 apg.
Sam Houston Bearkats
• G Lamar Wilkerson, 19.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.9 apg.
• G Dorian Finister 11.4 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.6 apg.
•.F Cameron Huefner 10.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.5 apg.
Kenpom rankings
• Projected score: Indiana 85, Sam Houston 71
Indiana Hoosiers
• Overall: 53
• Adjusted defensive efficiency: 70
• Adjusted offensive efficiency: 48
• Strength of schedule: 105
• Preseason: 39
Sam Houston Bearkats
• Overall: 128
• Adjusted defensive efficiency: 104
• Adjusted offensive efficiency: 197
• Strength of schedule: 91
• Preseason: 114
Meet the coaches
• Chris Mudge, Sam Houston: Mudge is in his second season at Sam Houston with a 25-16 record at the school located in Huntsville, Texas. Mudge has been on Sam Houston’s staff since 2010. He formerly worked for head coach Jason Hooten, who won 261 games at Sam Houston from 2010-23. Mudge was previously an assistant at Midland College from 2008-10. Mudge is a former team manager under Rick Barnes at Texas and was with the Longhorns when Kevin Durant played there.
• Mike Woodson, Indiana: Woodson is in his fourth season at Indiana with a 68-42 overall record and a 31-29 mark in regular season Big Ten play. Indiana reached the NCAA Tournament in Woodson’s first two seasons, peaking with a Round of 32 appearance in 2023, but the Hoosiers missed the tournament last year. Woodson, 66, has NBA head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. 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.
