Gamethread / Preview: New Orleans Privateers

GAME INFO:

Who? New Orleans Privateers (3-4, #305 KenPom) v. Indiana Hoosiers (9-2, #43 KenPom)

When? 7:05 PM, BTN PLUS

Vegas? N/A

Pomeroy? INDIANA by 22, 96% chance of Indiana victory

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If a game is played against a sub-300 team and it's not on TV, did it really happen?

There is at least one VERY GOOD SPORTS BLOGGER who didn't think so:

@VT_Ben @ElBonko I mean this with all honesty when I say: "I had no idea there was a game today."

— Kyle Swick (@KickSewly) December 22, 2014

That was in response to Ben and the infamous EL BONKO tweeting at me about a game preview. I thought I had slept through the entire week and missed Christmas but awoken in time for the Georgetown game. No, instead, we (at last) reached the conclusion of the Cupcake Parade.

And boy-howdy are we going out with a bang.

HERE WOULD YOU LIKE SOME FACTORS?

This team is, um, well they aren't very good, you guys. They can't shoot, they can't stop you from shooting, they can't stop turning the ball over, and they can't turn their opponents over. Not only that, they're one of the smallest teams in the country as KenPom has them at 317th in effective height, with only one regular player over 6'5" and he's 6'7". We've seen lesser teams matchup well with Indiana because they had some size that Indiana struggles to defend, but that won't be the case tonight.

Kevin Hill is that 6'7" gentleman I was talking about, who takes 27.3% of the shots when he's on the floor and pairs it with an eFG% of 39.0% while turning it over 26.2% of the time. In fact, of all the non-benchwarmers on New Orleans, only one player is turning it over at a rate less than 21.3% and that's freshman Colton Weisbrod, who has been shown the ability to get to and finish at the rim for a team that simply doesn't have a lot of scoring options.

Their trigger man, Christavious Gill is only 5'8" but can hurt you from behind the arc (42.9% 3PT) and is also NUMBER ONE IN THE COUNTRY at not fouling, his 0.5 fouls called per 40 minutes is tops in the nation. Always cool to see someone who is #1 at something when you're doing a stats preview.

Three Things to Watch For

• Whether people watch at all. It's the Monday before Christmas and the vast majority of students have vacated Bloomington days ago, the opponent is unknown and uninspiring, and the game will only be available for viewing if you pay the Big Ten Network EVEN MORE MONEY so I would imagine turnout, both physical and viewership, will be pitiful. Fortunately, every game from here on out will be crucial and against quality opponents (for the most part).
• The return of Emmitt Holt. Holt fouled Kellen Dunham on a three pointer after jumping towards him on a shot-fake and found himself on the bench for the rest of the Butler game. Hanner Mosquera-Perea playing as well as he did probably had more to with the game-long benching than the "freshman mistake" itself, but Crean certainly got his point across that you do not jump into guys that far from the basket, especially those who hit almost 90% of their free throws.
• Please please please don't let anyone get hurt. Whether Indiana wins by 40 or by 1, having this team healthy for Georgetown and the looming B1G season is paramount. Assuming Indiana doesn't have to fight tooth and nail for 40 minutes like they had to against Lamar, it'd be nice to get guys like Yogi and Blackmon some time on the pine and let the deep bench get some run.
• BONUS FOURTH THING: James Blackmon Jr.'s shot has been off for a few games now, I think we'd all like to see him get back on track before the big games start, but I'm confident he'll be fine. Shooters slump, it's just part of the game.

Also, this will be the gamethread for the game. I'm setting the o/u on comments at 15.