A quick turnaround has the Indiana basketball program back in Assembly Hall on Tuesday when it takes on the North Alabama Lions in game three of the season.
The Indiana basketball program returns to the court on a short turnaround, which is probably for the best, after a lackluster effort on Saturday against Portland State.
Now, turning their attention to the North Alabama Lions, the Hoosiers look to improve to 3-0 on the year.
For the Lions, it will be just their second game at the Division One level after going 10-22 in the ASUN conference last season. Led by head coach Tony Pujol, in his second season, North Alabama has a nice mixture of youth and experience on this year’s roster. With three starters returning and six new faces, the Lions lost to South Carolina in their opener, 77-55.
The backcourt leads the Lions with guys such as C.J. Brim and Jamari Blackmon, both of whom will be the go-to players on this year’s team. Brim is a community college transfer, averaged 14.4 points and 2.3 assists per game for Pearl River Community College, and led the Lions with 12 points in the season opener. At 5-foot-9, Brim is your classic quick hands and quick feet guard who can get in the passing lanes.
For Blackmon, he will look to rebound after a 2-for-12 shooting performance against South Carolina and will try to build on last year in which he averaged 14.6 points per game as a freshman. Despite taking nearly eight threes a game last year, he connected on just 29 percent of them.
Christian Agnew is the last part of the trio of guards for the Lions as he averaged 11.3 points per game as a freshman last season, including an 18-point performance against Gonzaga.
Leading the Lions up front is Emanuel Littles. The 6-foot-7 forward is a huge threat on the boards, as he averaged 8.0 rebounds a game last season including nine double-digit rebound performances. He is your classic rebound and block shots big man as he lets the guards do most of the scoring, with just a 4.5 point per game average a season ago.
Key Storylines
Indiana:
Hoosiers failed to get that ‘stop’ in order to put Portland State away over the weekend, can they do it this time if the game is closer than expected? Smaller guards for the Lions should be good for the bigger, physical, play of Indiana’s backcourt. Can Justin Smith continue his stellar play this season? How well will IU contain the dribble kick out offense North Alabama loves to run?
North Alabama
The Lions shot 2-of-21 in their opener, will that be a better number on Tuesday? Got to the free-thow line 33 times, could be something to watch to slow down the tempo. With seven steals and six blocks against South Carolina, their length being a factor, it will be interesting to see how they do against a bigger, and longer Indiana roster and front court.
Key Players
Indiana:
Justin Smith (20.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Al Durham (19.5 ppg, 57.1% 3pt), Rob Phinisee (10.5 ppg, 5.0 apg), Trayce Jackson-Davis (10.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg)
North Alabama
C.J. Brim (12.0 ppg), Christian Agnew (9.0 ppg), Emmanuel Littles (8.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Jamari Blackmon (6.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)