Indiana Basketball vs Louisiana Tech: Know your opponent, preview, and prediction

Indiana basketball takes the court on Monday in another non-conference game at home, looking to improve to 6-0 with a win against Louisiana Tech.

As we arrive to the Thanksgiving holiday, the Indiana basketball program welcomes Louisiana Tech into Assembly Hall and looks to add to its non-conference win total before turning the page to a very difficult December slate.

It was another game on Wednesday where Indiana wasn’t at full strength as senior De’Ron Davis was held out due to back tightness. Now, Indiana turns its attention to Monday hoping to finally have a team at full health.

Louisiana Tech , however, will already be tested coming into the Indiana matchup.

While they did lose, the Bulldogs took Creighton down to the wire, 82-72, earlier this season and quite honestly could have won that game if it weren’t for being outscored by 15 from the three-point line.

After a 20-win season last year, head coach Eric Konkol’s third in four seasons for the Bulldogs, there are still high expectations for the program for this season.

Those high expectations come from the fact that most of the core roster is back for Konkol, led by Jacolby Pemberton and DaQuan Bracey. Bracey, who was the leading scorer for Louisiana Tech a season ago, scored 20+ points 10 times throughout the season, and can fill it up quickly. At just 5-foot-11, he makes his mark on the defensive end as well, already averaging 2.4 steals per game.

For Pemberton, he has had a bit of an inconsistent start to the season. The 6-foot-5 guard has been very good over the past two games for the Bulldogs though, averaging 14.0 points on 61.1 percent shooting, and going 42 minutes of action without a turnover, after having six in the first three games.

Mubarak Muhammed is the big man up front for the Bulldogs and is off to a terrific start to his senior season. The junior college transfer is just 6-foot-7, but is a huge threat on the boards, both offensively and defensively. Despite inconsistent playing time, Muhammed has three double-digit rebound games including a 16-rebound game against Creighton. With four games so far this season with at least four offensive rebounds, he will pose a threat for the Indiana frontline on Monday.

The Bulldogs do have one common opponent thus far with the Hoosiers. Last week, Louisiana Tech defeated North Alabama 82-61, a team that Indiana beat 91-65.

Key storylines

Indiana:

Can Indiana get off to a quick start for once this season? The Hoosiers have used a strong second half in almost every game, but it would be nice to see a full 40 minutes. Will this be the first time the entire roster is healthy and available to play? Devonte Green is coming off of a great game, in his second game back, so it will be interesting to see how much more involved he will be, and if he will start. Louisiana Tech doesn’t turn the ball over too much, so if the Hoosiers can create live ball turnovers, it could be over relatively quickly considering the Bulldogs lack of shooting.

Louisiana Tech

The Bulldogs have 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes a game, so look for multiple different rotations throughout the game. Shooting just 29.6 percent from three, that hasn’t stopped anyone from shooting, averaging 25 threes per game. Their guards are much bigger than some of the other IU opponents, so it could benefit the Bulldogs in the half court. A team 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio could be something to keep an eye on with four players averaging at least 2.5 assists per game.

Key Players

Indiana:

Justin Smith (15.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Al Durham (14.6 ppg, 3.0 apg, 50% 3pt), Trayce Jackson-Davis (13.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg), Devonte Green (11.0 ppg, 4.0 apg)

Louisiana Tech:

JaColby Pemberton (11.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg), DaQuan Bracey (10.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, 41.7% 3pt), Kalob Ledoux (10.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Mubarak Muhammed (10.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg)

Prediction: Indiana 81, Louisiana Tech 64