Washington Males’s Basketball vs. Indiana: Sport Preview & Methods to Watch

[ad_1] Methods to Watch (and wager) Date: Sunday, 1/4/26

Tip-Off Time: 5:00 pm PT

TV: Huge Ten Community

Radio: Huskies Gameday App, Sports activities Radio KJR

Location: Bloomington, IN

Betting Line: Washington Huskies +7.5

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Indiana Hoosiers 2025-26 Statistics: Document: 10-3 (1-1)

Factors For per Sport: 84.7 (forty eighth)

Factors Towards per Sport: 66.1 (twenty seventh)

Adjusted Offensive Effectivity: 117.7 (58th)

Adjusted Defensive Effectivity: 97.0 (nineteenth)

Power of Schedule: 224th

Indiana Key Gamers: G- Conor Enright, Sr. 6’1, 180: 3.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 36.1% FG, 28.0% 3pt, 66.7% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +3.51 BPR (405th nationally)

Enright began his profession at Drake beneath Coach DeVries, transferred to DePaul final yr, then reunited at Indiana. He has been the last word pass-first participant to date this yr trying simply 7% of his group’s photographs whereas on the court docket which often is the lowest I’ve ever seen for a starter. Enright hasn’t had greater than 5 makes an attempt in any recreation. He’s a profession 36% exterior shooter however is struggling in his restricted makes an attempt to date and when he does occur to shoot the ball, it’s normally from the perimeter (11 2-point makes an attempt in 13 video games).

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G- Tayton Conerway, Sr. 6’3, 190: 11.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 52.3% FG, 25.0% 3pt, 75.0% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +7.09 BPR (fiftieth nationally)

Conerway transferred in from Troy the place he averaged almost 15 factors per recreation and was third nationally in steal price every of the previous 2 seasons. Conerway is at his greatest driving to the ring the place he’s capturing almost 70% this season as he nearly by no means pulls up for midrange jumpers. He’ll nonetheless take 3-4 photographs from past the arc per recreation however has by no means shot higher than 30% from deep over the course of a season so defenses are okay with him settling. On protection, his steal price is down slightly from his numbers at Troy however he’s nonetheless Indiana’s greatest perimeter defender.

G- Lamar Wilkerson, Sr. 6’6, 205: 19.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 46.6% FG, 42.9% 3pt, 83.7% FT

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Evanmiya.com Stats: +6.07 BPR (94th nationally)

Wilkerson transferred in from Sam Houston State the place he averaged higher than 20 factors per recreation final season. He’s one of many elite shooters within the nation after making 43.4% final yr on excessive quantity and is sort of at that degree once more this yr regardless of the step up in competitors. He went supernova in opposition to Penn State final month with 44 factors on 10/15 3-point capturing which instantly adopted a 3 recreation stretch the place he was simply 5/23 so he can get scorching at any time.

F- Tucker DeVries, Sr, 6’7, 225: 16.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 40.2% FG, 35.7% 3pt, 88.4% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +7.46 BPR (thirty eighth nationally)

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DeVries was among the finest mid-major gamers within the nation as a junior taking part in for his dada at Drake when he averaged 21.6 factors and 6.7 rebounds per recreation. Then he adopted his dad to West Virginia and acquired damage inside the first month solely to overlook the remainder of the season. Now as a redshirt senior he has leveled out as an excellent participant however not fairly among the many recreation’s true elite. DeVries has performed extra on the perimeter than any season to date in his profession with 70% of his photographs coming from deep and that can be a problem for Hannes Steinbach to protect on the perimeter. He’s not distinctive at anybody facet of the sport however is above common in nearly each class.

F- Sam Alexis, Sr. 6’9, 240: 8.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 ast, 69.6% FG, 81.8% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +291 BPR (291st nationally)

Alexis gained a nationwide title this yr as a bench participant at Florida after 2 years earlier than that at Chattanooga. He has been in a digital timeshare with Reed Bailey on the middle spot however has performed barely extra and began the final 4 video games. Alexis is capturing a profession greatest 71.7% from contained in the arc this season with the shooters on the group drawing consideration away from the paint. He’s a stable shot blocker and offensive rebounder however struggles on the defensive glass at occasions which UW will look to use.

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The Outlook You could possibly make an argument that this recreation is a matchup between Indiana’s previous and their future. Indiana was coached by Mike Woodson the previous 4 seasons who embraced the concept that to achieve the Huge Ten you wanted to have extra measurement than the opponent and sometimes ignored the idea of capturing three-pointers. The Hoosiers had been by no means larger than 324th nationally within the share of their factors coming from made treys beneath Woodson. Washington this season sits at 337th in that determine.

In the meantime, Indiana with a very redone roster has fully flipped the script and is forty first in that determine whereas rating 336th within the share of their factors approaching 2-point photographs. The outcomes to date you could possibly argue have been blended.

Indiana acquired off to a 7-0 begin with 17+ level wins in all however a kind of video games together with victories of Kansas State and Marquette. Nonetheless, we now know that neither of these squads seems to be to be even near an NCAA event contender and the Hoosiers have taken losses by 9+ factors to Minnesota, Kentucky, and Louisville. They’re now simply 1-3 in opposition to groups that rank one hundred and fifteenth or higher at KenPom. Is that this a system/type that solely works in opposition to worse groups? We’ll discover out rapidly in Huge Ten play.

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What’s clear is that DeVries has a transparent method to what's necessary in fashionable basketball. His group ranks 14th in 2-point share on offense and sixth on protection. They wish to bomb away from three-point territory however once they do drive the ball they get it into the paint and it normally results in an uncontested dunk or layup. On the opposite finish they pressure opponents into midrange jumpers as a lot as potential.

Additionally they put a heavy emphasis on ball motion on each ends of the court docket. The Hoosiers rank fifth nationally in help price with an help on over 2/3rds of their makes. They've 4 gamers who all common at the least 2.8 assists per recreation and two averaging 4+ per recreation. Against this, the Huskies have simply two gamers averaging even 2.5 assists per recreation and none over 3.5. That may probably proceed as Indiana’s protection is eleventh in opposing help price. They pressure opponents to play isolation basketball and drive the ball into the paint the place they will collapse on the ball handler.

Additionally they rank in the direction of the extremes in just a few different intangible areas. That is the oldest group within the nation per KenPom however they’re final in minutes continuity with 0 returning minutes. It’s a completely new bunch however their complete beginning lineup is comprised of seniors and there’s just one underclassman within the rotation.

The opposite space although the place Indiana compromised was on measurement. They break up time evenly at middle between 6’9 Sam Alexis and 6’10 Reed Bailey. That’s a really undersized frontline to go in opposition to Hannes Steinbach and Franck Kepnang. However the story of the sport could also be whether or not UW can keep of their double large lineup and personal the paint or if Indiana’s capturing forces the Huskies to go slightly smaller. Indiana does have measurement on the wing with a quartet of 6’6 to six’8 gamers who typically man the two via 4 spots. However UW’s success on the inside will probably resolve this recreation.

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I really like this matchup for Washington. The issues that Indiana is making an attempt to do on protection typically play into UW’s strengths. The Huskies ought to be capable of management the glass and all it could take is for Indiana to solely have an okay capturing night time to have an opportunity to steal a win in Bloomington. There’s no manner although that I can belief Washington to tug it out although till we see proof of idea in opposition to a top-50 group with Wesley Yates out of the lineup.