The Chicago State game: last of the non-con pushovers.

Chicago State is in an odd predicament. A couple of years ago, the Cougars left the Mid-Contintent Conference, now known as the Summit, for reasons that aren't exactly clear, and so the Cougars are one of the few Division I independents. They have played one major conference team, Michigan State, and lost 86-53. After IU, the Cougars will play Alabama and then Northwestern. CSU has defeated only two Division I teams, Jackson State and Binghamton. As for the Hoosiers, Big Ten play begins Wednesday night at Iowa.

The Cougars are led by David Holston, a guard who shoots 43 percent from behind the arc, where he takes 2/3 of his shots, but only 43 percent overall. He also gets to the line 5 times a game and averages nearly five assists a game. Guard John Cantrell is the Cougars' only other double digit scorer, averaging 16.5 points on 50 percent shooting.

CSU plays fairly fast, at 72.5 possessions per game (#51 nationally, above the national average of 68.4 and ahead of IU's 70.5). The Cougars' offensive and defensive efficiency are pretty weak, as would be expected of a 4-11 team. They are near the bottom of D-I in offensive efficiency (.902 points per offensive possession, #292) and defensive efficiency (1.107 points per possession, #312 nationally). CSU turns the ball over on 25 percent of its offensive possessions and doesn't rebound well offensively or get to the line. The same numbers for CSU defensively are uniformly bad. As with too many non-conference opponents this year, Chicago State won't be much of a test.