What to Count on: IU basketball travels to Kentucky – Contained in the Corridor
IU basketball is again on the highway on Saturday night because the Hoosiers tackle Kentucky at Rupp Area. The Wildcats are 6-4.
Saturday’s sport will tip at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN:
For the primary time for the reason that 2011-12 season, Indiana and Kentucky will play within the common season. Saturday’s matchup is the primary of a four-game collection that features two video games in Lexington, one in Indianapolis and one in Bloomington.
The Wildcats are led by second-year head coach Mark Pope, who received 24 video games final season and superior to the Candy Sixteen. Indiana trails the all-time collection, 32-25, however received the final assembly 73-67 within the 2016 NCAA match in Des Moines, Iowa.
MEET THE WILDCATS
A lot has been written in regards to the exorbitant price of Kentucky’s 2025-26 roster, reportedly within the vary of $22 million, however roster constructing within the switch portal period will not be so simple as spending some huge cash.
Whereas the Wildcats do have some returnees, accidents to a number of key gamers and a scarcity of cohesion by way of 10 video games have led to some disappointing losses and a fall from No. 9 within the Related Press prime 25 ballot to unranked.
Few have sympathy for Kentucky basketball’s sluggish begin, notably with its robust assets, and that features the fanbase that has been outspoken in its early-season criticism of this group’s efficiency.
After a 94-59 loss to Gonzaga on Dec. 5 in Nashville the place it was booed all through the sport, Kentucky had a get-right win, 103-67, towards North Carolina Central on Tuesday at dwelling.
The Wildcats are led by senior guard Otega Oweh – the SEC preseason participant of the yr – now in his second season with this system after transferring from Oklahoma. The 6-foot-4 Oweh averages a team-high 14.4 factors together with 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 25.8 minutes per sport. He’s able to placing quite a lot of strain on the protection by attending to the rim. Final season, he tried 192 free throws in 36 video games. Via 10 video games, he’s been to the road 37 occasions and is taking pictures 56.3 % on 2s.
Florida switch guard Denzel Aberdeen, a former teammate of IU huge man Sam Alexis and a key reserve for the Gators final season, is second on the staff in scoring at 12.4 factors per sport. He’s a profession 33.5 % 3-point shooter. The 6-foot-5 senior has began 9 of the staff’s 10 video games and likewise averages 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 26 minutes per sport.
The Wildcats went with a four-guard set of their win Tuesday with sophomores Collin Chandler and Trent Noah becoming a member of Oweh and Aberdeen.
The 6-foot-5 Chandler is 23-for-54 on 3s, good for 42.6 %, by way of 10 video games and his 11.2 factors per sport are fourth on the roster. Chandler has scored in double figures eight occasions.
Noah, a 6-foot-5 sophomore from Harlan, Kentucky, can be a succesful 3-point shooter and hit three of his six makes an attempt from distance in Tuesday’s win to complete in double figures for simply the second time this season. Noah is 12-for-26 on 3-pointers this season.
The Wildcats are hopeful that Pittsburgh switch Jaland Lowe, the projected starter at level guard, will have the ability to present extra because the season goes alongside. The 6-foot-3 Lowe, a junior, has been battling a shoulder harm all season – he was injured within the staff’s blue-white scrimmage – and has solely performed in 4 video games. He’s simply 2-for-11 on 2s and 2-for-9 on 3s with a complete of 13 assists this season.
With Arizona State switch Jayden Quaintance nonetheless recovering from surgical procedure to restore a torn ACL and Alabama Mouhamed Dioubate sidelined for the final 5 video games with an ankle harm, Kentucky is leaning on freshman heart Malachi Moreno. The 7-footer appears to be like like a constructing block for Kentucky basketball shifting ahead. The Georgetown, Kentucky, native is averaging 10.1 factors, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocked photographs in 22.4 minutes per sport. He’s taking pictures 60.3 % from the sector.
The Wildcats even have former McDonald’s All-American Brandon Garrison, a starter within the first 5 video games of the season, coming off the bench. Garrison solely performed seven minutes in Tuesday’s win towards North Carolina Central and was benched after a turnover and failure to dash again on protection. The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Garrison is taking pictures 63.6 % on 2s and averages 5.7 factors and 4.2 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per sport.
Three different items that you could anticipate to see within the rotation on Saturday embody freshman guard Jasper Johnson, sophomore ahead Andrija Jelavic and sophomore wing Kam Williams.
Johnson, a lefty who was a prime 30 recruit within the 2025 class, had a career-high 22 factors on Tuesday and shot 6-for-10 from the sector and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He’s 13-for-36 on 3s this season.
Jelavic, a local of Zagreb, Croatia, is 20-for-28 on 2s (71.4 %) however simply 6-for-27 on 3s (22.2 %). The 6-foot-11 freshman averages six factors and 4.3 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per sport.
The 6-foot-8 Williams, a switch from Tulane, shot 56-for-141 on 3s final season, good for 39.7 %. That hasn’t translated to the high-major stage up to now, as Williams is simply 6-for-31 from distance. He’s scored double figures as soon as and began the 5 video games main as much as Tuesday towards North Carolina Central however was changed by Noah within the lineup for that sport.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
(All statistics and nationwide rankings up to date by way of Thursday’s video games.)
Regardless of losses to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga, Kentucky’s pc rankings stay robust. That’s pushed by the truth that all six of Kentucky’s wins have been decisive. The Wildcats have received six video games towards low or mid-major competitors by a mean of 41.3 factors.
Offensively, Kentucky is taking pictures 60.9 % on 2s, a prime 20 mark nationally. The three-point taking pictures has fallen off from a season in the past to this point. The Wildcats are taking pictures simply 32.9 % from 3, which ranks simply inside the highest 200 nationally.
Kentucky runs an up-tempo offense that solely averages 15.1 seconds per possession and doesn’t flip the ball over a lot. The Wildcats are turning it over on simply 14.5 % of their possessions, rating forty fourth nationally. After rating simply exterior in free-throw charge (FTA/FGA) final season, Kentucky’s free-throw charge of 29.2 % ranks exterior of the highest 300 within the nation.
Defensively, the Wildcats aren’t forcing turnovers however are a great defensive rebounding staff. Opponents are grabbing simply 24.7 % of their missed photographs and have a free-throw charge of solely 26.3 %, which ranks thirtieth within the nation.
Of their 4 losses, Kentucky’s opponents are 39-for-100 on 3s or 39 %. Of their six wins, their opponents are simply 37-for-156 on 3s or 23.7 %. The Hoosiers will possible want a scorching taking pictures evening to prevail on Saturday.
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection has Kentucky by 4, with a 36 % likelihood of an IU win. Bart Torvik’s rankings have the Wildcats favored by two with a 43 % likelihood of an IU win.
It is a pivotal sport for each groups, however the strain is on the Wildcats at dwelling, notably with a fanbase pissed off with the staff’s efficiency by way of 10 video games. Kentucky doesn’t have a win towards a high-major staff this season.
Indiana has a strong 8-2 document, however suffered a foul loss final week to Minnesota at Williams Area. Indiana has not received in Lexington since 1988.
The Hoosiers will have to be a lot better with their offensive execution than of their current losses towards Minnesota and Louisville. Each of these groups had been in a position to strain the Hoosiers on the perimeter and drive their shooters into out-of-rhythm appears to be like. Indiana was a lot sharper with its execution in Tuesday’s blowout win towards Penn State however beating an inferior opponent in Bloomington is way completely different than the problem on Saturday evening in a hostile highway surroundings.
(Picture credit score: UK Athletics)
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