There was no official pre-game press conference to preview the IU men's basketball team's game Friday against Jacksonville, but we were sent some quotes from IU Coach Tom Crean, Assistant Coach Steve McClain, freshman guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell and sophomore guard Remy Abell.
The Jacksonville Dolphins (5-7) are the final non-conference opponent for the No. 5 Hoosiers (11-1) this season before they travel to Iowa City, Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes on New Year's Eve to kick off the Big Ten schedule.
But until then, the Hoosiers will have the Dolphins on their hands, including their guard tandem of Jarvis Haywood and Keith McDougald who both average above double figures at 11.2 and 10.0, respectively.
Jacksonville is similar to most of IU's previous non-conference opponents this season in that they lack the amount of size the Hoosiers can boast in the front court. The Dolphins have just two players on their roster taller than 6-foot-6-inches tall, and freshman forward Tyler Alderman, a Fishers, Ind. native, is the only one of the two who has scored any points this season (2.8 per game average).
The Dolphins also only have one player who seems to be somewhat of a threat from beyond the arc. Forward Dylan Fritsch has shot 32.5 percent from 3-point range this season, but as a team, Jacksonville has only averaged 26.6 percent. If the Hoosiers can prevent a breakout performance from three Friday night at Assembly Hall, it seems likely that their size may be too much for the Dolphins.
Here are some quotes from the players and coaches about the last non-conference game of the season:
IU Coach Tom Crean
"Jacksonville will challenge our transition defense and our ability to stop middle drives. They love to drive the ball."
Associate Head Coach Steve McClain
"Jacksonville is a team that has been on the road this season in some tough places like Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri State and they won at Missouri State, a good Missouri Valley program. They are a team that knows you have to play at a high level and I expect them to be ready when they come in our building.
"They like to play inside-outside, create matchup problems. I think their freshman (Jarvis Haywood) is really having an outstanding year. He leads them in scoring. They are a team that plays with a great purpose and Cliff has done a good job of building them back up and a lot of new faces, but you can tell they are getting used to each other and playing together.
"I like the fact that we come back from the break and still have a non-conference game to get us back in our rhythm. The last two years, we have come back and opened up right with Big Ten games. The closer you get to conference play, the veteran guys know what is coming. For the younger guys, I think it's good to have a non-conference game especially after a break."
Freshman guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell
"Jacksonville wants to get out and push and run. We always have to have a guy back on defense."
Sophomore guard Remy Abell
"We have to come right back out and play Indiana basketball from the start. There has to be no let up whatsoever. It's important for us to keep our composure, trust in our teammates and everything should be fine.
"We know team will come in here and give us their best shot. We have to focus on defense first which ends up creating a ton of offense for us and gets the crowd going"
