How to Watch No. 11 Indiana Basketball Against Little Rock on Wednesday
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana will play the second of three games in the Hoosier Classic on Wednesday night at Assembly Hall against Little Rock.
After a sluggish start on Sunday, the Hoosiers claimed a 30-point win over Miami of Ohio at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to move to 4-0 on the season. Indiana secured a road win in its first true test against Xavier on Friday behind 30 points from Trayce Jackson-Davis and Xavier Johnson.
With these wins, the Hoosiers moved up one spot to No. 11 in the AP poll, and coach Mike Woodson is feeling good about the team's depth as he works to find the best mix.
"I've got faith and I believe in everybody that's wearing that uniform," Woodson said. "They just have got to stay ready. You know, I mean, I am still trying to figure out rotations and who can do what and what combinations work, and that can be an ongoing process, you know, as we navigate this season. So, hey, just stay ready. That's all I can tell our guys that are coming off the bench. Be ready to play."
- *** LIVE BLOG: And once the game starts, follow all the action on our live blog from HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew. To read that story, CLICK HERE.
How to watch Indiana Hoosiers vs. Little Rock Trojans
- Who: No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers (4-0) vs. Little Rock (2-3)
- What: Hoosier Classic
- When: 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 23
- Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Stephen Bardo (analyst)
- Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
- Radio: IU Radio Network
- Radio Announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (pregame, halftime, postgame)
- Point spread: Indiana is a 29.5-point favorite, according to the SI Sportsbook gambling website. For a complete breakdown on the point spread and history against the number for both teams, CLICK HERE
- AP poll: Indiana is No. 11 in the AP poll, the program's highest ranking since December of 2016 and the highest ranking of any Big Ten team. Little Rock is not ranked.
- KenPom rankings: Indiana is ranked No. 8 overall in the KenPom rankings following Sunday's win over Miami of Ohio. The Hoosiers are No. 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency. Little Rock is ranked No. 325 overall, No. 334 in adjusted defensive efficiency and the No. 289 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
- Season projections: As of Tuesday afternoon, Indiana is plus-900 to reach the Final Four and plus-3000 to win the National Championship, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Hoosiers were the betting favorite to win the Big Ten regular season title at plus-290 odds on Sunday, but FanDuel does not have odds for that now.
- Leading scorers: Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis leads the Hoosiers with 20.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game with a 75.6 field goal percentage. Freshman forward Malik Reneau is averaging 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and senior point guard Xavier Johnson is next with 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Little Rock's DeAntoni Gordon leads the Trojans with 13.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, and Myron Gardner is averaging 12.8 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent from 3. D.J. Smith is Little Rock's third and final double-digit scorer at 10.8 points and 3.0 assists per game.
- Notable games: Indiana proved its No. 11 ranking with an 81-79 win at Xavier, who was picked to finished second in the preseason Big East coaches poll. Little Rock is 2-0 at home with wins over Arkansas Baptist and most recently defeated Jackson State 94-91 in the Hoosier Classic. The Trojans are 0-3 on the road with losses to Southern Illinois, Central Arkansas and East Tennessee State.
- Last season's records: Indiana went 21-14 overall, 9-11 in Big Ten play, 14-4 at home, 3-8 on the road and 4-1 at neutral sites in 2021-22. The Hoosiers reached the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 2016, defeating Wyoming in the First Four and losing to Saint Mary's in the Round of 64. Little Rock went 9-19 overall, 3-11 in Sun Belt Conference play, 6-7 at home, 1-10 on the road and 2-2 at neutral sites in 2021-22. The Trojans defeated South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament before ending their season with a loss to Tory.
- Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series 2-0, most recently defeating Little Rock 77-53 on Dec. 29, 1994 at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Ind. Alan Henderson led the No. 24 Hoosiers with 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Brian Evans added 18 points and nine rebounds. Indiana finished third in the Big Ten during the 1994-95 season and lost to Missouri in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 as a No. 9 seed.
Meet the coaches
- Darrell Walker, Little Rock: Darrell Walker is in his fifth season as head coach at Little Rock and has a 51-64 overall record and a 30-40 mark in conference play. After a 10-21 record in his first season, he led an impressive turnaround to go 21-10, which resulted in a Sun Belt Conference regular season title and Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors. As a player, Walker was the 12th overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks following three collegiate seasons at Arkansas and one at Westark Community College. Walker played in the NBA from 1983-93 for the Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets and Detroit Pistons, and he appeared in 28 games for the 1993 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls. Walker's first coaching job was as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors before becoming the head coach for two seasons. He made stops with the Washington Wizards, Washington Mystics, New Orleans Hornets, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. Before Little Rock, Walker was the head coach at Division II Clark Atlanta University for two seasons where he had a 45-18 record.
- Mike Woodson, Indiana: Woodson has NBA head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. Dating back to 1996, Woodson has also been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. 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.
Three things to watch in Indiana vs. Little Rock
1. Jalen Hood-Schifino finding his shot
Indiana's 6-foot-6 freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino has a knack for impacting the game in a variety of ways. He leads all Hoosiers with 18 assists, he's tied for the team lead with five steals and tied for fourth with 4.3 rebounds per game. Playing 26.1 minutes per game, behind only Trayce Jackson-Davis, Hood-Schifino has been crucial to Indiana's 4-0 start.
But the one flaw in Hood-Schifino's game early in his Indiana career is shooting efficiency. After a 3-for-4 night in his debut against Morehead State, he shot a combined 3-for-17 overall and 1-for-6 from 3 against Bethune-Cookman and Xavier. Most recently, he went 5-for-12 against Miami of Ohio, including 2-for-4 from 3. Hood-Schifino hasn't been forcing contested or out-of-rhythm shots, but his improvement as a shooter is key to Indiana reaching its full potential.
"I'm not concerned about the shot-making," Woodson said of Hood-Schifino. "Hell, we scored 80 points tonight, 80-some points. We're averaging 90 points. Again, Jalen will be there when it counts. He is capable of making big shots, so that's not a big concern."
2. Starting strong
Indiana cruised to easy victories in three of its four games and picked up a résumé-boosting win at Xavier on Friday. In each of these wins, however, the Hoosiers didn't look their best in the opening moments.
Morehead State tied the game with 9:17 left in the first half, Bethune-Cookman cut the deficit to two points at the 12:01 mark and Indiana trailed by as much as nine points in the first half at Xavier. On Sunday, Miami of Ohio made it a 21-20 game with 7:46 left before halftime. The Hoosiers eventually found an offensive flow and locked in on the defensive end to start the year 4-0. But with two games before a matchup with No. 1 North Carolina, it will be important for Indiana to begin games with the same energy it proves to have later on.
3. Defending Myron Gardner
Myron Gardner, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound guard, does a bit of everything for Little Rock. Gardner is averaging 12.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals through five games. He made number of highlight-reel dunks last season, and also showed the ability to step back and knock down 3s or mid-range jumpers.
Little Rock's leading scorer DeAntoni Gordon (13.4 ppg) does the majority of his scoring inside, which means a tough matchup against Trayce Jackson-Davis and the deep Indiana front court on Wednesday. This could lead to a greater emphasis on playing through Gardner, who has the hot hand after a 23-point night on 5-for-6 3-point shooting in Little Rock's win over Jackson State on Sunday.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- PHOTO GALLERY: Relive the action, and take a look at 25 photos from Indiana basketball's 86-56 win over Miami of Ohio inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Hoosiers improve to 4-0 on the young season. CLICK HERE
- CJ GUNN EXUDES CONFIDENCE CJ Gunn didn't play on Friday at Xavier, but he did a bit of everything in 22 minutes against Miami of Ohio on Sunday. He was ready to play and exude confidence not always common in freshmen, and that's all coach Mike Woodson asks. CLICK HERE
- KOPP'S STRONG START: Miller Kopp is shooting 53 percent from three-point range through four games, and he's playing well during Indiana's 4-0 start. He may not be Indiana's most important player, but he is when the ball is in his hands. He's Indiana's best perimeter shooter, and they need him to play well to win titles this year. CLICK HERE
- NDIANA BEATS MIAMI: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds and eight other Hoosiers scored six points or more as the No. 12 Hoosiers claimed their fourth straight win with an 86-56 win over Miami of Ohio on Sunday in Indianapolis. CLICK HERE
- MIAMI GETS WORN DOWN: Miami of Ohio hung with Indiana for the majority of the first half, but Redhawks coach Travis Steele thought the Hoosiers' size, strength and athleticism wore his team down as the game went on. Here's Jack's opposing locker room story. CLICK HERE