Fort Wayne at Indiana: GAMETHREAD

Who? Indiana Hoosiers (6-5, #74 KenPom) vs. Fort Wayne Mastodons (7-5, #185 KenPom)

When? Monday, December 18 at 8:00 PM EST - BTN

Where? Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IN

Vegas? INDIANA -12

Pomeroy? Indiana 84-72, 85% chance of Indiana victory

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THREE THINGS

• SLOW DOWN FELLAS: Jon Coffman has his guys playing at an absolutely blistering pace, as the Dons’ tempo is 28th nationally. They’ve played eight games with at least 77 possessions already this season (Indiana has played zero). Expect them to speed the game up and try to get Indiana out of their comfort zone. The Dons are fine going up and down the court all night, and we know the Hoosiers of not-all-that-long-ago would be, but is this version of Indiana ready for a track meet?

• Letdown Game? Now that Indiana has tasted a little bit of actual success after several moral victories, how will they handle themselves? I wouldn’t expect a team to get too full of themselves after going 6-5 to start the season, but an emotional comeback, overtime victory a week before Christmas can certainly lead to some depressurized kids heading into the year’s homestretch. It helps that the team’s starters, by and large, know that Fort Wayne has the goods to make another upset happen and I’m sure no one on this team has forgotten what happened the last time a mid-major Indiana school came into Assembly Hall.

• Defend. The. Arc. Fort Wayne does not let their poor shooting percentages deter them, as they fire at will from downtown. They’re 28th nationally in 3PA/FGA despite hitting less than 35% of them. If they are given a split second of time and a few inches of space, the shot is going up. Indiana has struggled to run guys off the line all year and the prolific shooting of their opponents from distance is becoming a regular occurrence. Hot three-point shooting leads to upsets, period.

For more info about the game, CHECK OUT OUR GAME PREVIEW.