Indiana basketball vs. Morehead State: Three Eagles to focus on for IUBB
Indiana basketball opens up the 2022-23 season against the Morehead State Eagles on November 7th. There are a couple of Morehead State players to focus on in order to pull out a win tonight.
Over the past two seasons, Morehead State’s head coach, Preston Spradlin, has led his roster to a 46-19 (.708) record and an NCAA Tournament berth, the school’s first berth since 2010-11. Losing many players to the transfer portal and graduation, Spradlin went searching in the transfer portal himself to find new scorers for the 2022-23 season.
The Eagles had plenty of roster turnover, losing their leading scorer from a year ago, Johni Broome, who transferred to Auburn, along with their other four top scorers from a season ago. Both Broome and Ta’Lon Cooper (transferred to Minnesota) landed themselves onto All-OVC teams last year, while Broome was named the OVC Defensive Player of the year.
To say things will look different this season for Morehead State is an understatement. But that doesn’t mean Indiana basketball will have a walk in the park on Monday. The Hoosiers need to focus on these three Eagles in order to win on Monday night:
Three Eagles to focus on for Indiana basketball
3. Jake Wolfe – Redshirt Senior Guard – #24
2021-22 stats: 34 GP, 25.2 MIN, 5.8 PPG, 2.7 REB, 1.8 AST, 24 3PM, 48.0 3P%
As the lead returning scorer for Morehead State, a familiar face for the Eagles will look to make a bigger impact on the court than last season. Wolfe led his team in three-point shooting last season, but only took 50 three-point attempts. When Wolfe made at least one three-pointer last season, the Eagles were 11-5 (.688).
In 2021-22, Wolfe managed to score in double digits in just four games, but managed to make plays elsewhere, with multiple steals recorded in seven games and at least three assists in eight games. In the four games played against ranked opponents last season, Wolfe averaged just 3.8 points, 1.8 assists, and 0.5 3PM in 26.0 minutes per game. All four of those games resulted in losses for Morehead State.
Wolfe could be coming into this season with a bit more confidence now that all of the scorers from last season are gone, but he will need to shoot the ball better with his frame in order to make an impact against a power-conference team.