Stat Matchup: Indiana men’s basketball vs. Penn State

Indiana men’s basketball is set to take on Penn State at home Wednesday in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana will be looking to bounce back following an 80-62 loss to Michigan on Sunday at home and a 61-58 loss to Penn State on Jan. 2.

Here’s some stats to keep in mind during the game:

SCORING

The good news for Indiana? Penn State is allowing just 0.6 points less than it scores on average. So even if its defense can hold up to Indiana’s scoring average of 74, it probably can’t score enough to stay in the game.

Jalen Pickett has led Penn State in scoring since the team entered conference play, putting up 16.3 points per game in the Big Ten. He also helped seal Penn State’s win over Indiana earlier this month with 15 points, so he’ll be worth keeping an eye on.

SHOOTING

Indiana has had a better go of it when shooting from the field, but the two teams are in a near-dead heat from the perimeter.

Parker Stewart has been the hot hand for Indiana, attempting the most 3-pointers and shooting 45.8% in the process. Seth Lundy, a forward, has attempted the most for Penn State and is shooting 34.7%.

The stats indicate that Penn State has spread the ball around whereas Indiana has mostly gone with Stewart when it wants a 3-pointer.

REBOUNDING

Indiana’s frontcourt duo of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson provide 16.1 of the Hoosiers’ 38.2 rebounds per game. But Penn State’s John Harrar has hauled in an average of 9.6 rebounds per game, good for second in the Big Ten.

Jackson-Davis and Thompson are a formidable matchup for just about every conference foe, but Harrar will provide an imposing challenge.

ASSISTS

Xavier Johnson leads Indiana in assists per game with 4.2. Behind him is Rob Phinisee, contributing 2.1 from the bench. Indiana has had inconsistent guard play, yes, but it really needs to improve on those numbers.

Jalen Pickett, already a threat as a scorer, leads Penn State in assists per game with 4.3.

TURNOVERS

Indiana is slightly more turnover prone than Penn State, averaging 13.4 to the Nittany Lions’ 12.9.

The good thing? Penn State doesn’t do as much with those turnovers as Indiana. The Hoosiers may end up doing more on offense with less Penn State turnovers.

STEALS

There’s no player on Indiana or Penn State’s squads that stands out in terms of steals. Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson lead Indiana with 1.1 per game and Myles Dread leads Penn State with 1.1.

BLOCKS

Needless to say, Indiana leads Penn State in blocks per game by a wide margin. Much of this is Trayce Jackson-Davis’ 2.7 blocks per game.

But take that out, and Indiana still averages more blocks than Penn State courtesy of Race Thompson, Jordan Geronimo and others.

Graphs made with Flourish. All stats provided by IU and Penn State Athletics.