Big Ten Basketball: Analyzing each team’s 2021-22 opening night matchup
Eastern Michigan at Indiana
The Indiana Hoosiers will be tipping off their season at home versus Eastern Michigan at 6:30 pm on the Big Ten network. The Hoosiers are looking to have success during the non-conference portion of their schedule, in order to be able to take advantage and benefit from their favorable Big Ten schedule. Favorable, however, is a relative term as being part of the Big Ten inherently means your schedule will be difficult.
The Hoosiers begin their season after grabbing two victories against Serbian professional team BC Mega in the Bahamas in mid-August. Sitting sixth in the Big Ten preseason power rankings, the Hoosiers look to give head coach Mike Woodson a victory in his first NCAA regular-season game.
Potential warning signs: The Hoosiers need to take care of the basketball and if they are unable to do so on Tuesday – despite winning – it will be a warning for the rest of the season. It is never easy when your primary ballhandler is brand new to the team and needs to learn a new system.
This season will be slightly different, because just as Pittsburgh transfer Xavier Johnson joins the Hoosiers so does Coach Woodson with his systems, so it will not be just Johnson who needs to fit into an existing system. Johnson joins Indiana after having averaged his fewest amount of turnovers at 3.3 per game last season.
In the Hoosiers’ two victories Johnson had just four turnovers while as a team the Hoosiers combined for 17 over the two games. Last season Indiana averaged under12 turnovers per game, and that was when they had Armaan Franklin and Aljami Durham. If the Hoosiers turn the ball over they will most likely be led by their point guard and that spells trouble for the Hoosiers.
For continued success: To have success this season the Hoosiers are going to have to score in the paint – but not with big men – through taking their defender off the dribble and getting to the rim. Whether it will be Xavier Johnson from the point or Trayce Jackson-Davis from just inside the three-point line, the ball-savvy Hoosiers need to put the ball on the floor.
With fewer than six made three-pointers per game, the Hoosiers barely made the top 300 in the nation last season, and just like the turnover category, Armaan and Durham were their top two threats. Kopp and Johnson will not be the answer for they connected on fewer than three from beyond the arc combined last season while both shooting under 33 percent. In the two games versus BC Mega they went 17 for 38 which is very close to their 5.9 made and 18.1 attempted last season.