IU basketball game day essentials: Indiana hosts Kansas State

Game Day Essentials:

No. 25 Indiana (5-0) vs. Kansas State (5-1)

• Tip Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday
• Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Ind.
• Television: FS1 (Connor Onion, Steve Smith)
• Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
• Stream: Fox Sports
• Point Spread:  Indiana is an 8.5-point favorite
• KenPom Projected Score:  Indiana 84  Kansas State 77
• History: Indiana leads the series, 19-12
• Last Meeting: IU 71, KSU 70 on Nov. 23, 1998 in Lahaina, Maui
• Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)

Kansas State’s Jerome Tang

Jerome Tang is now in his fourth season as head coach of the Kansas State men’s basketball program. Across those seasons, he has gained a 66-43 overall record.

Tang has spent the most time in Division 1 as an assistant for Baylor from 2003-2022. Tang, under Scott Drew, helped lead Baylor to multiple successful seasons. Tang got a promotion to associate head coach for the Bears in 2017, and was a key factor in orchestrating Baylor’s 2021 NCAA Championship run.

In March of 2022, Tang was named the head coach of the Kansas State program. In just one season, he led the Wildcats to an impressive NCAA Tournament run, finishing their season in the Elite Eight. After their run, Tang was named the Naismith Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year on a 26-10 overall record.

Since then, Kansas State has not been able to recreate the magic of the 2022-23 season. Kansas State has finished tied for ninth in the Big 12 conference in the past two seasons and has not returned to the NCAA Tournament.

 Kansas State’s results and roster

Kansas State Game Notes (via Kansas State Athletics)

K-State (5-1) will play its first true road game of the season on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats travel to Bloomington, Ind., for the first time since 1985.  This will be the first meeting at Assembly Hall since a 78-71 win by Indiana on Dec. 10, 1985.

HAGGERTY NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Junior P.J. Haggerty earned his first career Big 12 Player of the Week award on Monday afternoon after averaging 31.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists in helping Kansas State to a 2-1 record and a runner-up finish at the Hall of Fame Classic.
• Haggerty averaged 31.7 points on 57.6 percent (34-of-59) shooting, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from 3-point range, and 88 percent (22-of-25) from the free throw line to go with 7.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.6 minutes per game in victories over Tulsa (85-84) and Mississippi State (98-77) and a narrow loss to Nebraska (86-85). He posted back-to-back 30-point games against Tulsa and MSU, including a season-high 37 points in the win over the Bulldogs.

OFFENSE OFF TO HOT START

• After scoring 85 or more points for the fifth time in 6 games, including 4 games of 90 or more points, the Wildcats continued their fast offensive start. The squad is averaging 92.8 points on 52.1 percent (199-of-382) shooting, including 43.3 percent (68-of-157) from 3-point range, while hitting on 77.1 percent (91-of-118) from the free throw line.
• The 557 points are the most points through the first 6 games of a season, surpassing the 541 scored by the 1991-92 squad. The 98 points vs. MSU marked the fourth 90-point performance to open the season, which was a first since that Dana Altman-led squad 34 years ago.
• According to @OptaStats, K-State is the first Big 12 team to start a season with consecutive games of at least 14 made 3-pointers and a 50.0 3-point percentage. The only other DI teams to do that in the last 30 seasons are North Florida in 2015-16 and Drake in 2017-18.

HAGGERTY AMONG THE BEST

• Junior P.J. Haggerty is the among the best players to ever transfer to K-State, as he is coming off a career-best year in 2024-25, in which, he became the first Memphis Tiger since 2008 to be named an AP All-American while becoming the first Division I player to average at least 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game to go with 6.5 free throws per game since Ja Morant in 2018-19. He is the only Division I player to average at 21 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in each of the last 2 seasons.

BASHIR GOOD FROM 3

• Junior guard Abdi Bashir Jr. is among the best returning 3-point shooting in the country, as he led the NCAA in 3-point field goals/game (3.85) while he was second in total 3-point field goals (127) and 3-point field goals attempted (332) in 2024-25). He broke both the Monmouth and CAA single-season record for 3-pointers (327).

‘CATS PICKED 9TH IN BIG 12 POLL; HAGGERTY NAMED TO ALL-BIG 12 TEAM

• K-State was picked ninth in the 16-team Big 12 preseason poll, while junior transfer P.J. Haggerty was one of 10 selections to the Preseason All-Big 12 by the league coaches.
• The Wildcats totaled 117 points in the preseason poll, just 3 points behind eighth-place Cincinnati and 27 points ahead of 10^th-place TCU.

No. 49 Kansas State’s KenPom notable numbers:

(out of 365 teams)

Tempo – No. 26 (Offense No. 29 / Defense No. 181)

Offensive Efficiency – No. 39

• Kansas State has had a very good start to its season offensively. Their effective field goal percentage is 61 percent (No. 12), and they’re shooting 43.3 percent from three (No. 8) and 58.2 percent from two (No. 58).
• As the tempo suggests, Kansas State likes to move fast offensively, with its average possession length being 14.9 seconds.
• The Wildcats don’t get to the line very often, with just a 30.9 percent attempt rate (No. 272).
• Kansas State assists on 63.3% of their field goals, which is good for No. 34 nationally.
• Three-pointers are definitely a focal point, as those account for 36.6 percent of their total point distribution (No. 68).

Defensive Efficiency – No. 90

• Opponents are shooting a 52.8 percent effective field goal percentage against Kansas State (No. 224). Teams have shot 31 percent from three (No. 109) and 57.4 percent from two (No. 301).
• Point distribution suggests Kansas State is most vulnerable on the inside. Twos account for 52 percent of opponents’ points (No. 97).
• They give up offensive rebounds at a 28.6 percent rate (No. 118), and force turnovers at a 18.2 percent rate (No. 152).

OG’s Pick

Overall Record: 5-0

Now this is where things get interesting.

Kansas State has had a pretty good start to its season and has some wins over decent programs. Their only loss comes to a different Big Ten opponent in Nebraska, but they have also barely squeaked by against both Cal and Tulsa.

The one player I can’t get past is the nation’s leading scorer in PJ Haggerty. He’s a proven scorer at all three levels and can single-handedly bury any team that he faces. What causes problems for me is that I’m not sure who Indiana will match him up with defensively. More than likely, it will be Tayton Conerway, but there will be a little bit of a size advantage for Haggerty.

Without a doubt, I think this is Indiana’s toughest test yet. We’ll have to see how the energy is in the building as well, with students being gone. I like IU with a slight edge, but not by much,

PICK: Indiana 82 – Kansas State 78

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