Indiana will play its third recreation in six days when it hosts Jackson State on Friday afternoon. The Tigers are 0-4 and misplaced 78-68 at Michigan on Wednesday night time.
Friday’s recreation is ready for a 12:30 p.m. ET tip on BTN:
Indiana was challenged by Little Rock at Assembly Hall, however the Hoosiers used a second-half run to place away the Trojans for a fifth straight win to start the season.
The main focus now shifts to Southwestern Athletic Convention (SWAC) opponent Jackson State, the third and remaining recreation of the 2022 Hoosier Traditional. The Tigers are 303rd within the KenPom scores.
Jackson State performed a eight-man rotation on Wednesday in Ann Arbor and put up .94 factors per journey on the Wolverines. 4 gamers logged 30 or extra minutes within the loss.
The Tigers are coached by Mo Williams, who performed within the NBA from 2003-2017. Williams started his teaching profession as an assistant at Cal State Northridge earlier than taking up at Alabama State in 2020. He landed the Jackson State job this previous offseason. In school, Williams was part of the Alabama group that misplaced to Indiana within the 2003 NCAA event as a No. 2 seed.
MEET THE TIGERS
By way of 4 video games, Jackson State is led in scoring by 6-foot-5 sophomore Ken Evans Jr. A local of Jackson, Mississippi, Evans is averaging 16.5 factors, 4.5 rebounds and a pair of.3 assists in 29.5 minutes per recreation. He’s capturing 35.3 % on 3s on 17 makes an attempt.
Two different Tigers are averaging double figures: 6-foot-8 senior Hint Younger and 6-foot-2 senior Gabe Watson.
Younger is from Owensboro, Kentucky and Jackson State is his third college. He started his profession at Wyoming and performed for Williams final season at Alabama State, the place he was the group’s main scorer. Younger adopted Williams to Jackson State, the place he has the best utilization fee on the roster. He’s averaging 14.5 factors in 25.5 factors per recreation. Younger has already tried 23 3-pointers in 4 video games and is second on the group in rebounding at 7.3 per recreation.
Watson logged a team-high 37 minutes within the loss at Michigan. Jackson State can also be his third college as he beforehand performed at Southern Miss and Tulane. Watson has tried a team-high 29 3-pointers, however has linked on simply 24.1 % of his makes an attempt.
Chase Adams, a 5-foot-8 junior, is the purpose guard. The Chicago native transferred from Portland and has slid proper right into a beginning function for Williams. He’s averaging 5.3 factors, 3.3 assists and a pair of.8 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per recreation.
Romelle Mansel, a 6-foot-9 junior, will probably be tasked with coping with IU’s put up gamers. He performed the earlier three seasons at Lengthy Seashore State earlier than transferring to Jackson State. Mansel is averaging 7.8 factors and seven.8 rebounds and is capturing 50 % from the sphere.
The three different Tigers to log minutes at Michigan have been 6-foot-3 sophomore Coltie Younger, 6-foot-5 senior Jamarcus Jones and 6-foot-6 sophomore Zeke Prepare dinner.
Younger has knocked down 4 3-pointers in 13 makes an attempt. Jones is averaging 6.3 factors on 75 % capturing from the sphere. And Prepare dinner has scored simply 9 factors by means of 4 video games.
THOUGHTS ON THE MATCHUP
Jackson State is ranked simply 327th in adjusted offensive effectivity by KenPom as of Thursday morning. The Tigers play at a brisk tempo with the forty fifth quickest tempo within the nation, which is analogous to Little Rock. Wednesday’s recreation at Michigan ended at 73 possessions, the second most for a Wolverines recreation this season.
The first energy for the Tigers is their rebounding on each ends. Jackson State is 98th nationally in offensive rebounding share and 56th in defensive rebounding share.
As with most smaller convention opponents, Indiana can have a measurement benefit at practically each place. Adams is just 5-foot-8 and the Hoosier frontcourt should not have any drawback getting clear appears on the rim. Jackson State opponents are capturing 53.4 % on 2s and the Tigers are simply 334th within the nation in block share.
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
Well being is prime of thoughts for Indiana. The Hoosiers have been with out three scholarship gamers for Wednesday’s win over Little Rock. Trayce Jackson-Davis is coping with a sore again, Trey Galloway has a knee harm and Anthony Leal is in a boot for an ankle harm. With the North Carolina recreation arising subsequent week, there’s no motive to take any threat on Friday.
The Ken Pom projection is Indiana by 28 with a 99 % probability of victory for the Hoosiers. The Sagarin scores like Indiana by 26 factors.
Indiana didn’t play an entire recreation Wednesday and Jackson State ought to enter with some confidence after hanging with Michigan in Ann Arbor. Nonetheless, this can be a recreation the Hoosiers ought to win comfortably and a victory might imply a leap into the highest 10 of the Related Press ballot for the primary time for the reason that 2016-17 season.
Filed to: Jackson State Tigers
