Jack’s Take: At Assembly Hall, Don’t Count Indiana Out Against Anyone

Based on its résumé, individual talent and having arguably the best coach in the sport, Kansas seems like the logical pick Saturday against Indiana. But history suggests the home court advantage of Assembly Hall gives Indiana a chance.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – There’s a different feeling inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall when a big-time opponent is in town.

From the buzz during pregame warmups to the roar when a shot falls, certain games come with extra juice. Since Indiana scheduled this home-and-home series with perennial powerhouse Kansas in December 2021, Saturday was circled as a game where the Assembly Hall atmosphere would be worth a few extra points.

Don’t believe me? Just glance through recent schedules.

Now in its third year under Mike Woodson, Indiana hasn’t lost a nonconference game at Assembly Hall with Woodson on the sideline, and that includes wins over St. John’s and North Carolina. Indiana is also 5-2 in home games against ranked Big Ten opponents under Woodson. Even Archie Miller, who never took Indiana to the NCAA Tournament, won eight home games against ranked opponents, excluding the 2020-21 season when there were no fans present. And everyone remembers Indiana’s upset of No. 1 Kentucky, the eventual national champions, in 2011. The list goes on.

In several of these games, Indiana, on paper, looked like the inferior team before tipoff. Take its wins over No. 1 Purdue in back-to-back years, for example, or its 12-point win over No. 18 North Carolina last year, or its 16-point win over No. 13 Ohio State in 2022. Four of Miller’s home wins over ranked opponents were by 10 or more points, too.

Indiana's Trey Galloway (32) celebrates his dunk during the Indiana versus North Carolina men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

The home court advantage is apparent when compared to Indiana’s marquee nonconference games and Big Ten matchups on the road. Under Woodson, Indiana is 8-13 in Big Ten road games, 3-2 in the Big Ten Tournament and 6-7 in nonconference games away from Assembly Hall.

Woodson put Indiana on a national stage in road or neutral site games against Xavier, Arizona, Kansas, UConn, Louisville and Auburn the last two seasons. The Hoosiers are 2-4, with losses by an average of 21 points. Saturday’s game against Kansas will be broadcast nationally on CBS at 12:30 p.m. ET, another opportunity for millions to watch the Hoosiers. It’s better to schedule these kinds of games than not, but losses continuing to pile up could hurt Indiana’s national perception.

A loss to No. 2 Kansas wouldn’t hurt Indiana’s résumé, but it would be a missed opportunity. After whiffs against UConn and Auburn, and with the win against Louisville discounted because of the struggles of that program, Indiana doesn’t have a nonconference win – and won’t, if it loses to Kansas – to show off to the NCAA Tournament selection committee. It’s too early to analyze Indiana’s tournament hopes, but displaying Big Ten wins alone is far less convincing.

Aside from Kansas’ No. 2 ranking and the national broadcast, Saturday’s game comes with plenty of storylines.

From a coaching perspective, Bill Self and Woodson have gone head-to-head both on and off the court in recent years. Self won last year’s matchup 84-62 at Allen Fieldhouse, and he has a chance to even the all-time series with a win Saturday.

Woodson has won a pair of recruiting battles, though, landing five-star prospects Mackenzie Mgbako and Liam McNeeley, who both had Kansas among their final choices. Self plucked five-star center Flory Bidunga from Kokomo, Ind., though Indiana didn’t make the final cut.

On the court, the game is headlined by Kansas center Hunter Dickinson, who played the previous three seasons at Michigan. The 7-foot senior embraces his role as college basketball’s villain as well as anyone in the last decade.

From on-court celebrations, to bold claims during media appearances and even wearing a burglar’s mask to Wisconsin last year, Dickinson’s efforts to terrorize opposing fans is not far behind his priority to score and rebound, which he does as well as anyone. His matchup with Indiana leading scorer Kel’el Ware comes with All-American and NBA draft intrigue.

Woodson lost his first matchup against Dickinson in 2022, when the center scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but Indiana won the following three matchups. Woodson doesn’t see any changes in Dickinson’s game from past years, but that doesn’t diminish the challenge.

“He's a big man that's very solid, can score down low, can shoot the three, and causes a threat for a lot of the big guys that go against him,” Woodson said. “He had the one big explosion here the first time we played him, but I thought we played him pretty well from that point on.”

Michigan's Hunter Dickinson (1) celebrates a 3-pointer to put Michigan up 14 during the second half of the Indiana versus Michigan men's basketball game at Simon Skijodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Unless Woodson is engaging in some gamesmanship, he didn’t speak with much optimism regarding sixth-year point guard Xavier Johnson returning to action for the first time since Nov. 26. That absence would make for a major challenge for freshman point guard Gabe Cupps, as well as fellow guards Trey Galloway, CJ Gunn and Anthony Leal, against Kansas’ perimeter talent of Dajuan Harris Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr..

“We got to keep marching along based on who we got in uniform until [Johnson] gets back,” Woodson said Friday. “When that is, I don't know yet. I just don't.”

With Dickinson, Harris and McCullar, few teams can match the All-American and national championship pedigree of that trio. Add explosive power forward KJ Adams, and Kansas is a title contender yet again. But outside those four, it’s been a nightly guessing game of which members of the supporting cast will contribute meaningfully, if at all.

Kansas enters the game as 6.5-point favorites, according to the SI Sportsbook on Friday night. Given that Indiana has lost to its top two opponents, No. 4 UConn and Auburn, by 20-plus points, and that Kansas has wins over UConn, No. 7 Marquette, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 14 Kentucky, the point spread may be more narrow than some anticipated.

But playing in Assembly Hall, don’t count out the Hoosiers against anyone.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• HOW TO WATCH: Indiana continues the 2023-24 season on Saturday against the No. 2 Kanas Jayhawks at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Here's how to watch, game time and TV information, the point spread and over/under, the coaching matchup, series history, stats, rankings and more. CLICK HERE
• BILL SELF PREVIEWS INDIANA: Entering Saturday's game against Indiana, Kansas coach Bill Self shared his thoughts on the Hoosiers, Assembly Hall, the possibility to extending this home-and-home series and a few notes the No. 2 Jayhawks. CLICK HERE
• XAVIER JOHNSON QUESTIONABLE: Indiana has an important matchup against the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, but the Hoosiers could be without senior point guard Xavier Johnson for a fourth consecutive game. CLICK HERE
• 3 MATCHUPS TO WATCH: From the interior matchup between 7-footers Kel'el Ware and Hunter Dickinson to a point guard matchup between freshman Gabe Cupps and veteran Dajuan Harris Jr., here are three individual battles to watch when Indiana hosts Kansas Saturday. CLICK HERE
• KANSAS BREAKDOWN: Indiana's last chance to pick up a résumé-boosting nonconference win is Saturday against No. 2 Kansas, which is led by the trio of Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. Here's a breakdown of the Jayhawks. CLICK HERE