Sunday, the IU men's basketball team will take on Ball State in the team's first of two non-conference in-state opponents this season. The Hoosiers come in with a 5-0 record, including two wins in Brooklyn, N.Y. this past week against Georgia and Georgetown at the Barclays Center to take home the Progressive Legends Classic.
The Cardinals come into Assembly Hall with a 2-1 record after they lost their first game of the season against Indiana State Nov. 20 in Muncie, Ind. This will be the first road game of the season for Ball State.
Here are some quotes from IU Coach Tom Crean and Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley on the Hoosiers' matchup with the Cardinals:
Crean on playing an in-state team
"I think it is a big positive whether it is during the exhibition season or in the regular season. A lot of the players have grown up playing against one another and you have a lot of fans with ties and loyalties to both school's."
Buckley on what to focus on when facing Ball State
"Defending screens - we've got to get through screens to get to the shooters. We've got to beat the ball, can't get hung up at any point in time on those screens. The second thing is our post defense. Their leading scorer is Majok Majok and he's doing a really good job of carving out space down on the low block and scoring and getting fouled."
Buckley on what he saw from the team in New York that will help them continue to be successful
"I would say grit, toughness, passion - I would say that when things didn't go our way we had a really good ability to get to the next play. I also felt like we were able to play a couple of different styles out there whether it was pushing the pace or grinding it out at the half court. I think that's always a sign of a pretty good team when you can play a lot of different ways."
