What to Expect: Indiana vs. SIU Edwardsville – Inside the Hall

Indiana tips off the 2024-25 season on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET against SIU Edwardsville at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

It is the third meeting ever between the two programs. Indiana defeated SIU Edwardsville 88-54 on December 17, 2010 in Bloomington and 83-60 on December 2, 2016 in Bloomington. Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on BTN.

After two exhibition wins against Tennessee and Marian University, Indiana begins its 2024-25 season tonight in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers will host SIU Edwardsville, which was picked to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars are coached by Brian Barone, who once worked under Tom Crean at Indiana. SIU Edwardsville won its season opener 95-42 against Division III Westminster College.

SIUE will begin the season ranked No. 321 nationally by KenPom and Bart Torvik.

MEET THE COUGARS

SIUE is led by its upperclassmen guards.

Ray’Sean Taylor, a 6-foot-2 guard from Collinsville, Illinois, is the Cougars’ leading returning scorer. Now in his fifth collegiate season, Taylor has amassed 1,314 points at SIUE and averaged 13.6 points last season. He scored 24 times in double figures last season and averaged 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 30.7 minutes per game.

While he shot just 38.4 percent from the field, Taylor hit 36.7 percent of his three-pointers and was an 80.5 percent free throw shooter. In Monday night’s season opener, Taylor had 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals in 18 minutes.

Brian Taylor II, a 6-foot-4 guard, was in the starting lineup with Ray’Sean Taylor against Westminster. The junior from St. Louis went 5 of 8 from the field and scored 15 points on Monday.

Desmond Polk, a fifth-year guard, is also in the backcourt. Polk is using his additional eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He averaged 4.2 points last season and made four starts. On Monday, he started and played 13 minutes in SIU Edwardsville’s lopsided win.

Due to the roster exodus, SIUE looked to the junior college ranks to find new talent for the wing and frontcourt. The Cougars added teammates from Barton Community College in Ring Malith and Myles Thompson.

Malith is a 1.90 meter tall striker who originally comes from South Sudan. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals at Barton last season. Mality had seven points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes Monday night.

The 6-foot-7 Thompson averaged 14 points, 6.7 rebounds and one assist at Barton. Taylor had eight rebounds in 13 minutes in the opener.

Up front, the Cougars added Bradley transfer Kyle Thomas to play the five. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound man began his career at Eastern Illinois and is therefore familiar with the OVC. Thomas averaged 2.1 points for the Braves last season. He did not play in Monday’s season opener.

Another junior college transfer, Jordan Hamilton, should be part of the SIUE rotation. The 6-foot-6 junior averaged 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds last season at South Idaho.

The Cougars also included Jo Valrie, a 6-foot-3 junior who averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds last season at Point Park, an NAIA program.

KEY TO THE GAME

• Control the glass: It’s no secret that Indiana was a poor rebounding team last season. The Hoosiers ranked 254th nationally in offensive rebound percentage and 211th in defensive rebound percentage. Indiana talked a lot in the preseason about rebounding the ball better on both sides. Tonight is the first opportunity to establish a different way of thinking and better results in the committees.

• Create separation early: After struggling with inferior competition early last season, Indiana can’t afford another slow start to Mike Woodson’s first season. Last season, the Hoosiers beat Florida Gulf Coast and Army in their first two home games. Both wins negatively impacted IU’s computer numbers because the games were so close. With KenPom a non-top 300 opponent set to cap the season, Indiana’s mindset should be to dominate early and pull away quickly.

• Play from the inside out: SIU Edwardsville will have no answer for the Hoosiers in the paint. Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau should be able to get plenty of easy looks at the basket, and once IU gets inside, it should allow kick-outs to the rim for 3-point looks in rhythm.

What matters

The KenPom forecast calls for Indiana to have a 24 percent lead, with a 99 percent chance of a Hoosier win.

Given Indiana’s talent level and the fact that this group has already traveled to Tennessee and picked up a win there, there is no reason why Wednesday’s game should be competitive. However, according to KenPom, SIU Edwardsville is not expected to beat a Division I opponent until Jan. 4 against Lindenwood.

This is one of two buy games to open the season – Sunday against Eastern Illinois is the second – before Indiana hosts South Carolina on Nov. 16 in Bloomington.

Submitted to: SIU Edwardsville Cougars