Indiana men’s basketball is set to take on USC in a late night matchup on the road, looking to extend its winning streak as it makes its case to play in the NCAA Tournament.
The Trojans are an interesting team that could give the Hoosiers some trouble, especially given the fact that Indiana is coming off of a two overtime game and probably won’t have the freshest legs. There’s a path here, but it’s dependent on a few things.
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Here’s three key factors to know about USC:
Last time out: USC 78, Rutgers 75
USC held off a second-half surge from Rutgers on Saturday, just after Indiana’s game at UCLA, to move to 5-6 in Big Ten play.
The Trojans have had a weird run as of late, unable to string together two wins since the first half of January. That’s not all their fault, they’ve had some considerable injury issues all season. Their losses have been questionable, falling to Northwestern at home. Their wins have been equally questionable, beating Wisconsin on the road.
Saturday’s win was USC’s fifth consecutive game decided by six points or less. These aren’t blowouts, the Trojans are remaining competitive or, against the Scarlet Knights, keeping the game from getting away from them altogether.
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It was a pretty average game for the Trojans, who were slightly above their season average on 2s and right about at their average on 3s. They won the rebounding battle by 7.
Key stat: FTA/FGA
USC is a big team that takes plenty of shots inside the 3-point line. As such, the Trojans get fouled and end up at the free throw line a ton. Their FTA/FGA rate of 47.9% ranks second nationally while their defense ranks just below the Division-I average in free throw rate allowed.
For an Indiana team that commits its share of fouls, that’s not great news.
The Trojans are going to shoot more free throws than the Hoosiers by a fair amount and Indiana should know this going into the game. What they aren’t going to do is shoot many 3s, where Indiana has the advantage. Indiana’s path to victory is keeping USC from getting too many points at the free throw line while challenging the Trojans to match their 3s with 2s.
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Player to know: Senior SF Chad Baker-Mazara
Chad Baker-Mazara, fresh off of a Final Four run with Auburn, is USC’s on-court leader with Rodney Rice sidelined due to injury.
He averages 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 44.2% from the field, 37% from 3-point range and 90.5% at the free throw line. Those stats lead the Trojans in scoring and passing as USC has had to get a bit more creative initiating its offense without Rice.
Standing at 6’7”, Baker-Mazara plays shooting guard and small forward with a majority of his minutes coming at the latter position. He’ll make for an interesting matchup defensively with Lamar Wilkerson and Nick Dorn likely earning the assignment.
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The other name to know is Ezra Ausar, USC’s leader in the frontcourt. He’s just behind Baker-Mazara with 16.1 points per game. He has a sky high free throw rate, ranking first in the Big Ten at 94.5%. He’s gonna get to the line and put Indiana’s frontcourt in foul trouble. The Hoosiers are going to have to watch out for that.
