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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports men's basketball

IU plays final nonconference home game Thursday

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Just one more tune-up game remains for IU men’s basketball as the Hoosiers play their final nonconference matchup against a non-power five school Thursday night at home.

Austin Peay (4-8) from the Ohio Valley conference will make its way to Bloomington before the Hoosiers start up conference play against Nebraska on Dec. 28. IU Coach Tom Crean’s club will see another nonconference opponent in Louisville on New Years Eve at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis before fully getting into Big Ten play against Wisconsin on Jan. 3.

IU assistant coach Chuck Martin said he's seen a lot of positives out of IU’s 9-2 record in the nonconference season, but the biggest thing he wants the team to focus on while preparing for tougher competition in the future is performing well on defense.

“I think we’re sharing the ball really well and moving the ball really well, but I think defensively we’ve got to continue to grow and develop,” Martin said. “We’ve had some really good moments defensively this year, but obviously as we get into league play, the talent level increases and we have to continue to get better defensively as well as offensively.”

The Hoosier defense will be tested by the Governor backcourt Thursday with junior guard Josh Robinson leading the way and averaging over 20 points per game. Robinson dropped 30 points or more on three separate occasions last season and had 24 points in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Kansas.

Austin Peay has yet to win a game on the road this season and enter Thursday night’s matchup on a six game losing skid.

Both teams have played Fort Wayne this season. The Mastodons handed the Hoosiers their first loss of the season back on Nov. 22 in overtime and the Governors have faced off against them twice this season. In the first meeting between Austin Peay and Fort Wayne, the Governors fell by four at home but then were trampled on the road by 40 the second time around.

“Austin Peay is a team that can really score the ball, really get up and down in transition and a team that went to the NCAA tournament last year,” Martin said. “Their guards are really, really good. I fully expect that their staff and their players in their locker room feel like they’re an NCAA team, so we have to get back in transition and slow them down.”

The only major concern on the offensive end for IU has been turnovers, although they’ve committed just 36 over the past three games. Martin said after looking at the film and evaluating the instances where IU turns the ball over, he sees that they have good intentions and aren’t making selfish plays.

Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. also sees the turnovers as something the Hoosiers need to improve upon when they hit the Big Ten schedule.

“Really just working on it in practice everyday,” Blackmon Jr. said. “A lot of ball handling drills, a lot of pushing the dribble and the thing we try to focus on is just keeping simple plays then the simple plays turn into big plays for us.”

With this being the final game for IU before they see tougher competition, freshman such as guards Curtis Jones, Devonte Green and forward De’Ron Davis have the chance to prove they can be key players off the bench in Big Ten play.

Sophomore forwards OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan were in the same situation a season ago as they emerged onto the scene during conference play, and now Morgan has taken it upon himself to reach out to the younger guys and let them know what to expect in the bigger situations.

“I told them they have to keep the same mentality going through it, like it’s going to get tougher but you can’t take anybody lightly at all,” Morgan said. “Some of these players aren’t household names in the nonconference, but all of them are once you get into conference and we’re going to see them probably once or twice so you just gotta keep that edge going and not take plays off.”

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