Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers named ‘team to watch’ next season

With the college basketball season over, it is time to take an early look at next year and the Indiana basketball program seems to be getting some recognition.

It was an abrupt end to the college basketball season last week and after a couple of days to reflect on the 2019-20 season, early rankings for next year are starting to come out. For the Indiana basketball program, recognition continues to come its way.

First it was Indiana being pegged with a team that is going to take a ‘big step forward’ next near, another was saying the Hoosiers would be a ‘top four team in the Big Ten’ and now it continues.

247Sports released its way-too-early rankings for next season and while they only gave 21 teams for the 2021 season, the Hoosiers were mentioned as a ‘team to watch’.

"“The Hoosiers had six players start at least nine games for this past year’s 20-win team that was on schedule to make the NCAA Tournament, and all six are slated to return. That’s a great start, and a recruiting class that sits just outside the top 25 in the 247Sports Composite could help to fill in any holes.”"

Following a 20-win season this year in which they finished the season with five ranked wins, the Hoosiers had taken that next step in Archie Miller’s progression as the head coach. Next year being his fourth season in Bloomington, expectations are high and they should be. Expected to return nine of the top 10 scorers from last season, the Hoosiers will now be extremely experienced after being very young over the past two seasons.

Although not a top-10 recruiting class, the 2020 class Archie Miller has put together is extremely underrated. Anthony Leal, Trey Galloway and Jordan Geronimo all come in after terrific senior seasons and 2019 summers on the AAU circuit.

With the assumption that freshman big Trayce Jackson-Davis will return to Bloomington, it immediately puts Indiana as one of the more talented teams in the Big Ten. The main x-factor for Indiana is 2021 five-star guard Khristian Lander. Lander is expected to make a decision on which class, 2021 or 2020, he will go in within the next couple of months. With the recent recruiting freeze, it could impact his decision but by all accounts most people expect him to make that jump to 2020.

Indiana basketball, although slated to be an NCAA Tournament team this year, is looking to get back to the tournament for the first time since 2016 next year. The Hoosiers haven’t made it past the Sweet 16 since being the 2002 NCAA Tournament runner-ups.