Preview: Indiana Welcomes Austin Peay To Assembly Hall

OPENING TIP
• Indiana University is in its 116th season of men's basketball and will host Austin Peay in an opening round game of the Maui Jim Maui Classic. The Hoosiers return four starters from a team which made the program's 38th NCAA Tournament appearance a season again and defeated Eastern Illinois 88-49 in the season opener. Austin Peay is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and lost in its first Maui Classic game at Vanderbilt, 80-41, on Friday night.

Austin Peay (0-1) at #15 Indiana (1-0)
Monday, Nov. 16 • 7:00 p.m.
Assembly Hall (17,472)
Live Stats: IUHoosiers.com
TV: BTN / BTN2Go (Kevin Kugler, Jon Crispin)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, Joe Smith)
Sirius/XMRadio: Channel 84
Mandarin Radio: Listen for Free
Series History: Creighton leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: IU 71, CREI 53 (12/20/74 in Bloomington)

HEAD COACH TOM CREAN
• Tom Crean begins his eighth year of leading the Hoosiers. Over the last four+ years, IU is 94-45 and leads the Big Ten with 19 regular season wins over ranked opponents during that time. During that same span, the Hoosiers have appeared nationally ranked in at least one major poll during the season. He has also seen a Big Ten best three players selected in the NBA lottery over the last three years and has recruited a McDonald's All-American in each of the last five years. In addition, he has seen seven of his players score 1,000 points or more in an IU uniform. Since 2011, the Hoosiers have averaged 23 wins per season compared to 20 averaged at IU from 1995-2008. Seven players have scored 1,000 points in their career under Tom Crean at Indiana. Christian Watford (1,730), Yogi Ferrell (1,392), Verdell Jones III (1,347), Jordan Hulls (1,318), Cody Zeller (1,157), Will Sheehey (1,120) and Victor Oladipo (1,117).

SEASON OPENERS
• The Hoosiers are 96-20 all-time in season openers. Under Tom Crean, the Hoosiers are 8-0 and have outscored opponents 92-60 on average in those tilts. The Hoosiers have won 18 straight season openers and 31 straight home openers. Crean is 16-1 in his season openers as a head coach.

NEXT YEAR'S SEASON OPENER
• Four traditional college basketball powers will play next season in a hangar on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, weeks shy of the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Hoosiers will take on Kansas and Arizona will battle Michigan State in the 2016 Armed Forces Classic.

EXPERIENCE STARTING
• Senior point guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell has started all 103 games he has played in, junior forward Troy Williams has started 61 of 65 games that he has played in, sophomore James Blackmon, Jr., started all 34 games of his career and sophomore Robert Johnson started 33 of 34 games as a freshman.

CREDIT THE DEFENSE
• Against Eastern Illinois, the Hoosiers matched their 14-15 season lows of first half points allowed (17) and points allowed in a game (49).

STRANGLEHOLD
• In each of the two exhibition games and in the EIU contest, the Hoosiers have used a debilitating run to put those games out of reach. Against Ottawa, IU went on a 23-0 run midway through the second half and in the first half against Bellarmine, the Hoosiers broke the game open with an 18-0 spurt. Against EIU, the Hoosiers closed out the final 8:22 of the first half with a 27-3 outburst.

FERRELL PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
• Senior All-Big Ten guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell has been named second team Preseason All-American by The Sporting News and USA Today, in addition to garnering third team honors from Athlon Sports and fourth team mention in Blue Ribbon Magazine. A first-team NABC and USBWA All-District selection last season, Ferrell was sixth in the Big Ten averaging 16.3 points and was fourth in assists at 4.9. He also has made a three-pointer in 66 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation. Ferrell, 6-0, and a native of Indianapolis, ranks 22nd on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,392 points, sixth in career assists at 444 and fourth in 3-point field goals made with 194. All three of those totals will make him the Big Ten's active leader in those categories entering his final season.

EIU WRAPUP
• Six players scored in double-figures for the Hoosiers, led by sophomore James Blackmon Jr., with 17 points. This is the first time since Nov. 8, 2013 against Chicago State that this has been done. He added seven rebounds, one assist and one steal to his 17 points in 21 minutes.

• The Hoosiers shot 32-of-61 (52.5 percent) from the field for the game. Last year Indiana connected on 50 percent or better in 11 games.

• Indiana out-rebounded Eastern Illinois 51-17, including 21 offensive rebounds and outscored Eastern Illinois 26-1 on second chance points.

• The 51 rebounds are the most since the Hoosiers grabbed 52 against Grand Canyon on Dec. 13, 2014. That same game the Hoosiers also tallied 21 offensive rebounds.

• The 17 rebounds is the fewest Indiana has allowed since 16 against Minnesota on February 15, 2015.

• The Hoosiers outscored Eastern Illinois 42-20 in points in the paint and 35-9 in bench points. The 26-point differential in bench points matches the best the Hoosiers achieved last season, against Rutgers on Jan. 31, 2015.

• Junior Troy Williams scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and tallied two steals.

• Sophomore Robert Johnson came off the bench to score 12 points and dish out three assists.

• Redshirt senior Max Bielfeldt scored 11 points off the bench in his IU debut and grabbed eight rebounds.

• Freshman Thomas Bryant scored 11 points and posted nine rebounds, including five offensive rebounds.

WATCH LISTS
• The Indiana Hoosiers were well represented on the preseason watch lists released by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this month. The watch lists recognize the top 20 players in the country at each of the five positions on the court. Here's who was recognized from Indiana:

Bob Cousy Award (Top PG): Kevin Yogi Ferrell
Jerry West Award (Top SG): James Blackmon Jr.
Julius Erving Award (Top SF): Troy Williams
K. Abdul-Jabbar Award (Top C): Thomas Bryant

2-0
• The Hoosiers have been 2-0 in each of the last eight seasons.

MORE FIRSTS
• Freshman walk-on Quentin Taylor scored one point and grabbed one rebound in his IU debut.
• Redshirt senior Ryan Burton connected on his first career three-point field goal for his three points in the game.
• Freshmen Juwan Morgan and Harrison Niego made their IU debuts. Morgan played seven minutes and Niego played six.
• In his IU debut freshman O.G. Anunoby tallied six points, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 15 minutes off the bench.

MORE DEFENSE
• The Hoosiers improved to 49-5 since the 11-12 season when holding an opponent under 40% shooting.

Preview: Indiana Welcomes Austin Peay To Assembly Hall

Players Mentioned

OG Anunoby

Max Bielfeldt

James Blackmon Jr.

Thomas Bryant

Ryan Burton

Kevin Yogi Ferrell

Robert Johnson

Juwan Morgan

Harrison Niego

Quentin Taylor

Troy Williams

Indiana University Athletics