Arizona vs Indiana: 2022-23 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
It’s a battle of top-20 teams when Indiana and Arizona go to battle. Which elite frontcourt will have the advantage in this matchup?
TV schedule: Saturday, December 10th, 7:30 pm ET. FOX
Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
There are plenty of teams that so far, have underachieved expectations this season. But there are some that have looked as good as advertised, including preseason Big Ten favorite, Indiana (8-1, 1-1). The Hoosiers are coming off a 16-point win over Indiana to get its first league win of the season.
It was a historical day for star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who got his first triple-double (12-11-10) of his career. While Jalen Hood-Schifino was hurt and Xavier Johnson had a poor night from the field, underclassmen guards Trey Galloway and Tamar Bates had big nights from the field, scoring 20 and 19 points respectively.
The Hoosiers are ranked 14th nationally and take on the No. 10 Arizona Wildcats (7-1, 1-1). After a shocking upset loss at Utah last week, they were able to beat lowly Cal, 81-63. Azuolas Tubelis led all scorers with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Oumar Ballo had 17 points. The guard play was a little bit better compared to the game prior, thanks to Cedric Henderson scoring 11 points off the bench.
This matchup will be exciting in the frontcourt, as Jackson-Davis and Tubelis are both All-American candidates, alongside Ballo and Thompson, respectively. What determines the ceiling for both of these programs are the guards and their consistency. Indiana’s Johnson and Kerr Kriisa of Arizona can be elite but also have disappearing acts. It very well could come down to which of them avoids the bad game.
The role players will also have a say, especially the three-point shooters. After a rough start, Miller Kopp of Indiana has been shooting better of late. Arizona ranks first nationally in field goal percentage and second from inside the arc but they have a trio of players that shoot over 40% from deep, including Courtney Ramey at 50% on six attempts a night. A big game from the Texas transfer could be the difference in this matchup.
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Expect this neutral site matchup to be close and decided in the final minutes. Both teams have elite stars and veterans but Indiana has more cohesiveness to this point and has more overall weapons to survive an off night from Kriisa.
Prediction: Indiana 78, Arizona 74