Can No. 14 Indiana basketball power through No. 8 Kansas in the Phog?

No. 14 Indiana basketball is tasked to travel to Allen Fieldhouse to take down No. 8 Kansas, just one week after falling to No. 10 Arizona in Las Vegas.

Last week, Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers were preparing for a neutral-site showdown with No. 10 Arizona, which resulted in a 14-point loss. Indiana basketball had an entire week to prep for Saturday’s game against No. 8 Kansas. Will there be a different outcome?

Here are my keys for Indiana basketball to come home from Lawrence with a huge road victory over a top-10 college basketball blue-blood:

Keys to an Indiana basketball victory over No. 8 Kansas

Dominate the paint

The tallest players that Bill Self throws out on the floor are 6-foot-8 Jalen Wilson (33.8 MPG), 6-foot-7 K.J. Adams Jr. (25.2 MPG), and 6-foot-11 freshman, Ernest Udeh Jr. (9.1 MPG). Defensively, K.J. Adams Jr. will be matching up with Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has two inches and 20 pounds on the sophomore big man.

In the Hoosiers’ win over No. 18 North Carolina on November 30th, Indiana basketball posted 50 paint points and outscored the Tar Heels 50-24 in the paint. If TJD and Race Thompson can get to the paint and finish through the frontcourt guys at Kansas, the Hoosiers give themselves a great chance to come home with a win.

Force 15+ turnovers & register under 10 turnovers

The Jayhawks’ only loss this season came against then-ranked No. 22 Tennessee on November 25, 64-50, where they turned the ball over a season-high 16 times in the neutral-site game.

The only team to beat Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse since last season was then-ranked No. 12 Kentucky who recorded only nine turnovers in the 80-62 victory on January 29.

It’s fair to say, if you win the turnover battle against Kansas, you give yourself a chance to take down the Jayhawks, but that chance is very little. Kansas is 66-3 (.957) at Allen Fieldhouse over the past five seasons and they will not beat themselves. The Hoosiers need to come in ready to compete from the tip.

Jalen Hood-Schifino + Trayce Jackson-Davis need to get off to a hot start

Jalen Hood-Schifino is hopefully returning from a three-game absence due to a back injury, where Indiana basketball went 1-2 and struggled offensively.

Trayce Jackson-Davis is averaging just 12.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and shooting 48.1 percent from the field in Hood-Schifino’s absence from the floor.

If both are playing together, the offense needs to run through Hood-Schifino and Jackson-Davis early, as both of them need to start out strong for Indiana to have a chance to take down the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks.

Projected Starters

Indiana

G – Xavier Johnson
G – Jalen Hood-Schifino (Day-to-day — Tamar Bates would replace)
F – Miller Kopp
F – Race Thompson
F – Trayce Jackson-Davis

Arizona

G – Dajuan Harris Jr.
G – Gradey Dick
G – Kevin McCullar Jr.
F – Jalen Wilson
F – K.J. Adams Jr.

Stat line predictions for No. 14 Indiana basketball vs. No. 8 Kansas

Trayce Jackson-Davis: 35 MIN | 24 PTS | 9 REB | 8/14 FG | 8/12 FT | 3 BLK

Jalen Wilson: 36 MIN | 20 PTS | 11 REB | 3 AST | 6/17 FG | 2/6 3PT | 6/9 FT

Jalen Hood-Schifino: 28 MIN | 14 PTS | 6 REB | 4 AST | 6/13 FG | 2/4 3PT | 3 TOV

Gradey Dick: 30 MIN | 16 PTS | 4 REB | 2 AST | 6/8 FG | 4/7 3PT | 2 TOV

Xavier Johnson: 32 MIN | 12 PTS | 6 AST | 4/13 FG | 2/4 3PT | 2/2 FT | 2 STL | 3 TOV

Kevin McCullar Jr.: 37 MIN | 17 PTS | 8 REB | 6/12 FG | 2/6 3PT | 3/5 FT | 4 STL | 1 TOV