Indiana will look for its fifth straight win Thursday when it hosts Lindenwood at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Lions are 2-3 coming off a loss at Alabama A&M on Sunday.
The very first match between the two programs kicks off at 6:00 PM ET on BTN:
After completing a transition from Division II, Lindenwood – located in Saint Charles, Missouri – officially earned its status as a Division I program last summer.
The Lions, members of the Ohio Valley Conference, have amassed a 38-63 record since the 2022-23 season, their first season as a Division I transition program.
At No. 335 in KenPom, as of Wednesday morning, Lindenwood is the second-lowest ranked team the Hoosiers will face this season. The Lions were picked to finish fifth in the 11-team OVC.
MEET THE LIONS
Lindenwood is 0-3 in road games this season with losses at Texas Tech, Saint Louis and Alabama A&M, which defeated IU 98-51 in the season opener. The Lions have lost their three road games by an average of 30 points.
In Lindenwood’s most recent game, the nine-point loss at Alabama A&M, coach Kyle Gerdeman played a rotation of just seven men.
The Lions are led in scoring by 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Jadis Jones. The left-hander averages 17.3 points and shoots 82.4 percent (28-for-34) from the floor. A native of New Madrid, Missouri, Jones is not a three-point shooter but can attack off the bounce and get to the line. Last season, he had the second-highest free throw percentage (FTA/FGA) of any player in the OVC. Jones is also averaging 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 27 minutes per game.
Three other Lion Guards are averaging double figures: sophomore Dontrez Williams, senior Anias Futrell and sophomore Clayton Jackson.
Williams, a transfer from Abilene Christian, started the most recent game after missing the first two, coming off the bench against Saint Louis and Charleston Southern. The 6-foot-2 native of Sikeston, Missouri, is averaging 12.7 points in 27.7 minutes per game and is 3-for-7 on 3s.
The 6-foot-4 Futrell, a St. Louis native in his second season with the Lions, averaged 12.8 points in 30.5 minutes per game last season and his production so far in his senior season is on par at 11.8 points per game. Futrell is 7-of-20 on 3s – 35 percent – and shoots 40.5 percent from the floor.
Jackson, also a St. Louis native, is a 6-foot-1 guard who is averaging a team-high 4.4 assists with 10.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game. He struggles from distance (3-for-22), but is a solid 13-for-16 from the free throw line.
6-foot-1 junior point guard Mekhi Cooper, who played in Assembly Hall last season as a member of Miami (OH), is averaging 2.4 steals in 30 minutes per game. Cooper is shooting just 27.5 percent from the field and is averaging 7.4 points.
The two frontcourt names to know for the Lions are 6-foot-4 senior Milos Nedadic and 6-foot-1 junior Robert Lewis.
Nedadic, a transfer from Maine who played sparingly for the Bears the past three seasons, will start at the five for Lindenwood. The Kitchener, Ont., native has scored in double figures three times, including 15 points and 13 rebounds in a neutral-court win against Charleston Southern on Nov. 14. He ranks third on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 points per game.
Lewis, a St. Louis native who spent the past three seasons at Arkansas Pine Bluff, had 10 points and 12 rebounds against Texas Tech in the season opener in 31 minutes. He started the first two games and came off the bench in the last three.
KEYS FOR INDIANA
• Keep taking care of the ball: Lindenwood is ranked in the top 60 nationally at adjusted pace and is 47th this season according to KenPom. The Lions will put pressure on the ball and try to force turnovers. Last season, Lindenwood ranked 63rd nationally in opponent turnover percentage and this season, opponents are turning it over on 18.4 percent of their possessions against the Lions. That ranks 159th in the country during Tuesday’s games.
• Defend without fouling and limit dribble penetration: Lindenwood attacks the paint with the intent to score or get fouled. The Lions are not a strong three-point shooting team and don’t take many attempts. Last season, Lindenwood ranked 51st nationally in points spread on 2s and 54th in points spread from free throws. The numbers are similar this year, at 57th and 82nd respectively.
• Play focused for 40 minutes: In their most recent game – an eight-point win against Incarnate Word – the Hoosiers had mental errors and slumps throughout the game. It was a departure from the first three games when IU performed well and won comfortably. It’s easy to take your foot off the gas against inferior competition, but Indiana will look to get back on track after Sunday’s uneven performance against Incarnate Word.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The KenPom projection has Indiana ahead by 29 points with a 99 percent chance of victory and Bart Torvik also projects a 29-point win with a 98 percent chance the Hoosiers will prevail.
Ideally, the starters play early enough so that IU can get minutes for Trent Sisley, Nick Dorn and Jasai Miles and also earn a comfortable win ahead of next Tuesday’s game against Kansas State in Bloomington.
(Photo credit: Lindenwood Athletics)
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