Indiana Basketball Game Preview: Kennesaw State – key storylines, injury report, how to watch

Indiana University closes out the non-conference slate in its 124th season of competition in men’s basketball at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against Kennesaw State.

Kennesaw State (9-4) has five players averaging nearly 10 points per game in sophomore guard Simwon Cottle (16.3), senior guard Terrell Burden (13.5), senior forward Demond Robinson (12.5), Quincy Ademokoya (11.8), and junior forward Jamel King (9.8). As a team, the Owls average 85.4 points and make 9.5 3-pointers per outing.

KSU, coming off the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since joining the Division I ranks, are led by first-year head coach Antoine Pettway. The former Alabama guard spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach in Tuscaloosa.

Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 ET on BTN+.

Below is the full preview of Indiana basketball vs Kennesaw State in Bloomington.

Key Storylines

Last game of the non-conference

We have finally hit the point in the season where Indiana basketball’s non-conference schedule wraps up tonight vs Kennesaw State. One final chance for the Hoosiers to finish the non-conference slate on a high note.

Overall, Indiana basketball had a very interesting non-conference. While they weren’t able to pick up any signifiant wins to boost their NCAA tournament resume, they took care of business winning the games they were supposed to. If they beat Kennesaw State tonight, they were back into conference without any bad losses and 10 wins.

The Hoosiers can’t afford to look past this game. It is highly important they stay focused and take care of business on home floor. This can easily be a trap game if Indiana lets it.

Stay healthy. Take care of business. Go back into the Big Ten with momentum.

Can Malik Reneau play outside consistently? 

Malik Reneau was one of the few surprises of Indiana basketball’s win over North Alabama. While it was not surprising that he produced, we have seen that all season, it was the fact that he was producing from behind the arc as he went 4-of-4 from the outside. It would eventually lead him to a career high of 25 points.

The question now is…can Reneau keep this type of perimeter production up? If so, that opens up co much more in the offense of Indiana and the confidence of the sophomore forward.

“Yeah, I mean, building confidence. I’ve been working out with Coach Cheaney a lot, just understanding how he played the game, how he was able to work around the court, be able to get his shot wherever he wanted on the court,” Reneau said. “Just getting reps up, man, being confident when you go out there, not being scared to shoot the ball. I think that was the main part for me.”

As we have seen, Indiana has struggled from behind the arc this year. The Hoosiers are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country. Whether it’s Reneau or whoever, the Hoosiers need guys to keep producing from the perimeter.

Keep up the fantastic ball-movement 

One thing that was extremely promising from Indiana basketball last game was the ball-movement. At times this year, the offense has looked stagnant and lost but last last game, there was some great flow to what the Hoosiers were doing on that end of the floor.

“It’s good to see the ball go in the hole. When you take ’em, you’re supposed to make ’em,” Woodson said about the shooting performance. “I thought tonight we did a good job in getting the ball moved around. We had 25 assists. That means the ball was moving a little bit and guys made some shots.”

You have to give a lot of credit to the guards of Indiana, especially Trey Galloway, who did a great job of getting the offense going.

“When Gabe got the two fouls, Trey is basically our only ball handler big-time on the floor,” Woodson said about Galloway.” I thought he did a great job in getting us into our sets and getting the ball where it needed to go.”

Moving forward, it is important that Indiana continues to show this type of movement on the offensive end. The Hoosiers have the talent to be a very effective offense, if they continue to work the ball.

More: ‘Getting his shot wherever he wanted on the court’: How recent workouts with Calbert Cheaney have helped transform Malik Reneau’s game for Indiana basketbal

Series History

Indiana basketball and Kennesaw State have played three times in the last decade with the Hoosiers winning all three, including a 69-55 result on Dec. 23, 2022.

Jalen Hood-Schifino, the first-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, tallied 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists against the Owls last season. The game marked the non-conference finale in 2022.

The game marks the final installment of Indiana’s games against the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Hoosiers opened the season with a 69-63 win over Florida Gulf Coast (Nov. 7) and topped Northern Alabama (Dec. 21) 83-66. IU is 21-1 against the ASUN.

Related: Indiana basketball finally puts it all together in win over North Alabama

Injury Updates

Indiana

Xavier Johnson: Xavier Johnson missed the last five games due to a foot injury. The good sign however, was that Johnson was seen without his boot so his progression seems to be trending upward. His status is questionable heading into this game. Mike Woodson provided an update on Johnson last week.

“He’s still going to be out. I don’t know how long,” Woodson said. “He’s doing some work on the stationary bike and elliptical. He’s doing some work there. He’s not back out on the floor yet. Hopefully soon. We need our senior point guard back.”

Jakai Newton: Newton had a lower body surgical procedure done this past offseason to help fix a previous injury he sustained during high school. He is still recovering and is not expected to play for the rest of the season.

Quick Hitters

Who?: Indiana (9-3) vs Kennesaw State (9-4)

When?: Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 • 6:00 PM ET

Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.

TV: B1G+ (Austin Render, Galen Clavio, Tricia Whitaker)

Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)

Betting Lines: Indiana basketball is listed as a 12.5-point favorite vis DraftKings Sportsbook

See Also: Former Indiana basketball forward Trayce Jackson-Davis does something no other player has done … since his dad

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