Three Northwestern Wildcats to bottle up for Indiana basketball on Sunday

No. 15 Indiana basketball now heads back home to Bloomington hoping to turn things around against Northwestern and bottle up some Wildcats on Sunday after a devastating loss at Iowa on Thursday night.

Indiana and Northwestern have not played a game at Assembly Hall with the Hoosiers ranked in the Top 25 since January 23, 2016, a game where the Hoosiers dominated thanks to a balanced scoring attack, with No. 25 Indiana winning, 89-57.

Northwestern is a different-looking team from the last time the Hoosiers played them on February 8, 2022. Pete Nance transferred to North Carolina, Ryan Young transferred to Duke, and Robbie Beran has now become the big man in charge of the paint.

The one consistency from the Wildcats is the impressive guard play, including their top three scorers and shooters from beyond the arc. Will Trayce Jackson-Davis be healthy enough to give it a go? Will Jalen Hood-Schifino live up to the guard battle and come out on top?

Here are my three key Northwestern Wildcats that the Hoosiers need to bottle up to rebound from a disastrous loss at Iowa on Thursday:

Three Wildcats to bottle up for #15 Indiana basketball on Sunday

3. Ty Berry – Junior Guard – #3

2022-23 stats: 14 GP, 27.8 MIN, 9.6 PPG, 5.0 REB, 1.4 AST, 1.9 STL, 34.4 FG%, 29.6 3P%

In his two career games against Indiana basketball, Berry has come off the bench and had little-to-no impact on games, shooting just 1-for-10 from the field, with four combined points in 30 total minutes played off the bench.

This season, Berry has become a much more important player for the Wildcats, starting in all 14 games so far, and notching double-digit scoring nights in seven of the 14 games played this season.

Though he’s shooting just 29.6 percent from deep, Berry has hit two or more three-pointers in eight games this season and will not be afraid to let it fly if he’s given any openings. It’s likely that Tamar Bates will find himself matching up with Berry, so we need to see Scoop outscore and outduel Berry on the floor.