Chattanooga Mocs vs. Indiana Hoosiers Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024

Preview and Prediction

Indiana head coach Mike Woodson is determined to have his team play in the same style as the Hoosiers teams he was a part of under the guidance of Bob Knight. This means focusing on working the ball inside and playing a tough man-to-man defense.

These strategies will likely be emphasized during Indiana's upcoming non-conference home game against Chattanooga in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers (8-3) are coming off a disappointing 85-68 loss to Nebraska in their last game on December 13th. In this game, they attempted a staggering 35 shots from beyond the arc, the most during Woodson's four-year tenure as head coach, but only managed to make eight of them. As a result, Nebraska shot an impressive 61.2% from the field.

Woodson acknowledged the need for improvement on the defensive end, stating, "We have to be better defensively. We work on defense. I know defense wins, especially when you're not making shots. You have to establish yourself from a defensive standpoint. We have to get that fixed."

The game plan for the Hoosiers against the Mocs (8-4) is clear - focus on shutting down their inside game and forcing them to take outside shots. Chattanooga is a strong team when it comes to 2-point shots and free throws, but they struggle to make 3-pointers, ranking 278th in Division I. Despite Indiana's emphasis on post players, it did not help them in their last game against Nebraska.

Chattanooga is coming off a dominant 99-52 victory over NAIA opponent Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday night. This was their eighth win in their last nine games, with Honor Huff leading the way with six 3-pointers and 20 points.

Coach Dan Earl was pleased with his team's performance, saying, "I thought it was a pretty good showing from us. I thought we really shared the ball well with 25 assists. We made some shots and did some pretty good things."

However, the Mocs' recent success has come against weaker opponents, with two non-Division I wins and no victories against teams ranked higher than 184 on the kenpom.com metric.

Indiana has dominated the series between these two teams, winning all three meetings, including a 99-74 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 17, 2016.

PREDICTION

Chattanooga Mocs

Indiana Hoosiers