How to Watch Indiana's Game with Penn State on Wednesday Night

It's early in the season, but it's not overstating things to say this is a must-win game for Indiana, which is off to an 0-2 start in the Big Ten.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana is back in Assembly Hall on Wednesday night, with the Hoosiers looking for their first Big Ten win of the season against a Penn State team that's still trying to find its way.

The Nittany Lions lost a lot from a year ago, including their coach, Pat Chambers. Jim Ferry has taken over on an interim basis, but they've only played six games so far and it's hard to get a good pulse on them. They've played well in stretches, but not for 40 minutes. They are 3-3 so far.

Indiana has its own issues, losing its first two league games. 

“Aat this point it’s not about Penn State, it’s got to be about us right now,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said on his radio show Monday night. "We have to be really locked in. We have to play super hard. We’re going to have to get some guys playing at a higher level with some desperation.”

*** FOLLOW THE LIVE BLOG HERE DURING THE GAME: CLICK HERE ***

Desperation is the operative word, for sure. It's early, but it's already must-win time.

Here are the particulars on Wednesday's game:

• Who: Penn State Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-2 in the Big Ten) vs. Indiana Hoosiers (5-4, 0-2 in the Big Ten) 
• When: 8:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Dec. 30
• Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Ind.
• Latest Line: Indiana is a 5.5-point favorite over Penn State according to the DraftKings website at 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday. 
• Poll rankings: Neither team is ranked. Indiana is receiving votes in the Associated Press poll and would be ranked No. 38. 
• Kenpom.com rankings: Indiana dropped two more spots to No. 23 in the Kenpom rankings after Saturday's loss to Illinois. Penn State is No. 52. This is Indiana's eighth game this season against an opponent in the top-64.
• Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series 40-12.
• Last meeting: Indiana beat Penn State 68-60 on Feb. 23, 2020 to split the season series a year ago. Indiana hasn't lost at home to Penn State since 2014.
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Announcers: Kevin Kulger and Robbie Hummel
• Radio: Indiana Radio Network
• Announcers: Don Fischer, Errek Suhr and Joe Smith
• Streaming: IUHoosiers.com/broadcast

Here are three things I want to see from the Hoosiers on Saturday:

1. Figure out Penn State quickly

The Nittany Lions have only played six games so far, and they've only played one game since Dec. 13. Toss in the fact that they have an interim coach, with Jim Ferry taking over for Pat Chambers, and there's not a lot to go on. 

Indiana needs to figure it out fast, but so does Penn State, to be honest. They really don't know who they are either. "We're really trying to see who we really are," Ferry said. "What are our strengths, our weaknesses? We obviously have to continue to play to our strengths. We have to be a team that flies around the court. We have to be scrappy. We have to be scrappier.''

Indiana sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis leads the Hoosiers in points and rebounds, and is looking to bounce back after a poor performance last Saturday in the loss to Illinois. (USA TODAY Sports)

2. Win the battle in the paint

Off nights are rare for Indiana sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, but when they've come during his career at Indiana, he's almost always bounced back with a big night. Expect that from the 6-foot-9 star on Wednesday, and look for Race Thompson to be better for 40 minutes this time. 

Jackson-Davis was just 3-of-13 shooting in the loss at Illinois, and scored only 11 points, a season low. Penn State isn't as threatening inside, and has struggled to contain big men so far in their two league losses.

"We've got to do a better job rebounding the basketball, we have to keep some guys in the paint off-balance, doubling at the post a little more,'' Ferry said. "We really have to embrace who we are. We don't have Lamar [Stevens], we don't have Mike [Watkins], so we can't think we're going to play that way offensively or defensively. We have to play with speed, share the ball and defensively we have to get tougher."

3. Show a sense of urgency

When we broke down Indiana's 20-game Big Ten schedule into quarters, we stressed the importance of winning the three home games over teams that would all be underdogs. That didn't happen in the opener against Northwestern, who was a nine-point underdog, this is is already a must-win game for the Hoosiers, who are 5.5-point favorites.

There's a huge difference, obviously, between being 1-2 in this league, and being 0-3. The Hoosiers need this one badly.

"They have a good system, they haven’t changed much and to me,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "They’re explosive on offense. They shoot the crap out of the ball from three. They put serious runs on. The Illinois game started off 19-4 and they beat Virginia Tech on the road by about 25 then the Michigan game on the road goes down to the wire. 

They’re guard heavy in terms of their firepower; they play fast and they cause a lot of problems defensively with their switching so they’ll bring some pressure. To me, Penn State can beat anyone in the league. There are no nights off, right now there’s no nights off in this league. This league is an absolute bear this year and Penn State’s good. We have our work cut out for us. We definitely have our work cut out for us on Wednesday.”