Meet the Opponent: North Alabama's Up and Down Season Continues at Indiana

Indiana is back in action Thursday night against North Alabama, which brings a 6-6 record to Assembly Hall. Here's a breakdown of the North Alabama Lions.

Jack Ankony | Dec 20, 2023

Meet the Opponent: North Alabama's Up and Down Season Continues at Indiana /

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana has a quick turnaround after Tuesday's comeback win over Morehead State. The Hoosiers host North Alabama Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

North Alabama enters the game with a 6-6 record, alternating wins and losses in its last seven games. The Lions are led by guards KJ Johnson and Jacari Lane in Tony Pujol's sixth season as head coach.

Here's a breakdown of the North Alabama Lions.

Key returners

(2023-24 stats)

G KJ Johnson: 13.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 38.1 3-pt FG%
G Jacari Lane: 13.4 ppg, 4.4 apg, 36.8 3-pt FG%
F Damian Forrest: 9.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg
G Detalian Brown: 7.9 ppg, 43.2 3-pt FG%
F Dallas Howell: 6.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 23.7 3-pt FG%
G Will Soucie: 5.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 54.5 3-pt FG%
F Eoin Nelson: 2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Key departures

(2022-23 stats)

G Daniel Ortiz: 14.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 40.9 3-pt FG%
F Daniel Braster: 5.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg

Key newcomers

(2023-24 stats)

F Tim Smith Jr. (transfer, Walsh University): 9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 43.6 3-pt FG%
G Josiah Fulcher (Clarendon College): 6.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 33.3 3-pt FG%
G Marco Foster (Blinn College): 5.4 ppg, 35.7 3-pt FG%
G Canin Jefferson (freshman): 3.5 ppg, 38.5 3-pt FG%

Schedule (6-6, 0-0 in Atlantic Sun)

W, 93-60 vs. Blue Mountain Christian
W, 83-67 vs. Alabama A&M
L, 81-54 at Mississippi State
W, 61-59 vs. Jacksonville State
L, 105-103 (2 OT) at UT-Martin
L, 81-63 at Western Carolina
W, 86-71 vs. Tennessee Tech
L, 75-74 (OT) at Kansas State
W, 109-65 vs. Rust College
L, 86-77 vs. Morehead State
W, 76-64 at Charleston Southern
L, 70-67 at Tennessee Tech

North Alabama Lions guard KJ Johnson (3) passes the ball as Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard (13) defends during the second half at Humphrey Coliseum. — North Alabama Lions guard KJ Johnson (3) passes the ball as Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard (13) defends during the second half at Humphrey Coliseum / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Strengths

In an era of transfer portal prominence, North Alabama has leaned on continuity. The Lions return seven players from last year's rotation, including three who are averaging at least 9.8 points this season. North Alabama lost leading scorer Daniel Ortiz but made some impactful additions, most notably starting power forward Tim Smith Jr. As a result, coach Tony Pujol is able to play a deep rotation, with 11 players logging at least 10 minutes per game this season and no one averaging more than 28 minutes. Leading scorer KJ Johnson has come off the bench in recent games, and backup guard Dallas Howell led the team with 17 points last game, which speaks to the team's depth.

North Alabama doesn't shoot a ton of threes, but they're efficient when they do. As a team, the Lions shoot 36.2% from beyond the arc, and six players in the rotation shoot at least 35%. The Lions forced overtime at Kansas State, a game in which Brown went 6-for-12 from three. North Alabama's best win, per KenPom's rankings, came against Jacksonville State on Nov. 18. In that game, Johnson led the team with 23 points, including 11 free throws. He gets to the line the most, so keeping him out of the lane should be a priority for Indiana. North Alabama ranks 41st in the nation in free throw percentage.

Weaknesses

Starting forwards, Smith and Forrest, are both shooting over 53% on 2-point attempts, but North Alabama is a poor 2-point shooting team overall. The Lions shoot just 49.9% inside the arc, which ranks 250th in the nation. North Alabama also needs more out of Howell, who's shooting nearly 15% worse from 3-point range this season. With a size disadvantage against Indiana, expect North Alabama to take more threes than usual. And if those shots aren't falling, it could be a long night for the Lions.

North Alabama also struggles with foul trouble at times. The Lions rank 322nd in the nation in defensive free throw rate, which means they're sending opponents to the line far too frequently. Indiana went just 16-for-28 from the line Tuesday against Morehead State, but this could be an opportunity to put North Alabama away. The Lions have also played the 278th strength of schedule, with Kansas State as its only power conference opponent, so the step up in competition will be an adjustment.

Season outlook

North Alabama was picked seventh in the Atlantic Sun preseason coaches poll. Last year, the Lions finished sixth in the conference, but the hope is that returning a majority of the roster will lead to internal improvement. While the Lions are 6-6, five of their wins have come by double digits, and two of their losses were in overtime. Defense continues to be the weaker side of the ball, as it was when North Alabama went 18-15 last year. The Lions will go as far as guards Johnson and Lane can take them.