How Kentucky matches up vs. Indiana — with a game prediction
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky struggles against power opponents; multiple starters in shooting slumps
- Indiana presents balanced scoring and hot perimeter shooting; Wilkerson leads
- Prediction: Indiana 79, Kentucky 77 — Hoosiers exploit perimeter edge and depth
How the Kentucky Wildcats (6-4, 0-0 SEC) and the Indiana Hoosiers (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) match up at each position for Saturday’s NCAA men’s college basketball contest — with a game prediction:
Small forward
• Kentucky’s Collin Chandler (11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists) had seven points, five rebounds, eight assists and a steal with only one turnover in UK’s 103-67 rout of North Carolina Central Tuesday on night. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound sophomore from Farmington, Utah, is in an outside shooting slump. Chandler has made only 5 of 19 3-point attempts in UK’s past four games.
• Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson (18.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 43.2% 3-pointers) is coming off a record-breaking performance in the Hoosiers’ 113-72 drubbing of Big Ten foe Penn State on Tuesday night. The 6-6, 205-pound senior, a transfer from Sam Houston State, hit 16 of 22 shots, 10 of 15 3-pointers and both of his foul shots to finish with 44 points vs. the Nittany Lions. The 10 made treys was a new IU single-game record. The 44 points were a new Assembly Hall scoring mark. A product of Ashdown, Arkansas, Wilkerson made a recruiting visit to Kentucky last spring before choosing Indiana.
Advantage: Indiana
Power forward
• Kentucky sophomore Trent Noah (6.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 50% FGs) entered the starting lineup vs. North Carolina Central and had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal. The 6-5, 220-pound former Harlan County High School star has averaged eight points over UK’s past four contests.
• Indiana’s Tucker DeVries (17.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 40.7% treys) followed his father, new IU head man Darian DeVries, from West Virginia to Bloomington. The 6-7, 225-pound redshirt senior had 26 points and five rebounds in the Hoosiers’ 87-78 loss to Louisville last Saturday. DeVries, a product of Waukee, Iowa, began his college career at Drake.
Advantage: Indiana
Center
• Kentucky freshman Malachi Moreno (10.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 60.3% FGs) had a rough go (five points, two rebounds, 2-of-6 FGs) in UK’s 94-59 loss to then-No. 11 Gonzaga last Friday in Nashville. The 7-foot, 250-pound product of Great Crossing High School in Georgetown bounced back vs. North Carolina Central, going for 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and making 7 of 9 shots.
• Indiana senior Sam Alexis (9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 67.3% FGs, team-high 10 blocked shots) will be playing at Rupp Arena for a second-straight year. Last season, while playing for eventual NCAA champion Florida, the 6-9, 240-pound Alexis logged five minutes in the Gators’ 106-100 loss to UK. The Apopka, Florida, product had an assist and a foul vs. Kentucky last year.
Advantage: Kentucky
Shooting guard
• Kentucky senior Otega Oweh (14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 50.5% FGs) had his best game of the season to date vs. North Carolina Central. The 6-4, 220-pound senior from Newark, New Jersey, had 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Oweh also hit 9 of 12 shots and 3 of 4 3-pointers vs. the Eagles. Oweh has averaged 14 ppg in UK’s four games vs. power-conference foes.
• Indiana’s Tayton Conerway (12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 47 assists vs. 28 turnovers) also played against UK last season. As Troy’s top player, the 6-3, 190-pound Conerway had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists in UK’s 76-57 win over the Trojans in last season’s NCAA Tournament round of 64. This season, Conerway, a product of Burleson, Texas, did not play well for IU vs. Louisville, finishing with five points and five turnovers.
Advantage: Kentucky
Point guard
• Kentucky senior Denzel Aberdeen (12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists) also had a tough go vs. Gonzaga. The 6-5, 195-pound senior missed nine of his 12 shot attempts in the loss to the Zags and finished with eight points, two rebounds and two assists. Since making 10 of 20 shots in UK’s 96-88 loss at Lousville on November 11, Aberdeen has shot 8 of 33 combined in UK’s subsequent three games vs. power-conference opposition and Gonzaga.
• Indiana redshirt senior Conor Enright (3.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 49 assists vs. 10 turnovers) began his college career playing for Darian DeVries at Drake. A 6-1, 180-pound product of Mundelein, Illinois, Enright has had seven assists or more in three of IU’s past four games.
Advantage: Kentucky
Bench
• Kentucky freshman Jasper Johnson (8.6 points, 2 rebounds, 2.8 assists) had a career-high 22 points in the win over North Carolina Central. The 6-5, 180-pound former Woodford County High School star hit 6 of 10 field goals, 2 of 4 3-pointers and all eight of his foul shots vs. the Eagles. ... Sophomore forward Andrija Jelavic (6 points, 4.3 rebounds) had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting vs. North Carolina Central after going scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting vs. Gonzaga. ... Junior big man Brandon Garrison (5.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 59% FGs) played only seven minutes vs. North Carolina Central after appearing to draw the ire of UK coach Mark Pope following a turnover and a failure to subsequently get back defensively in a timely fashion.
• A former standout at Davidson, Indiana’s Reed Bailey (11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 60.4% FGs) had 18 points and hit all six of his field-goal attempts vs. Penn State. A 6-10, 230-pound senior, Bailey has only scored in double figures in three games this season, but has had between five and eight points in the seven other contests. ... Trent Sisley, a 6-8, 225-pound freshman from Santa Claus, Indiana, is averaging 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds and making 50.8% of his field-goal tries. ... Elon transfer Nick Dorn (7.1 points, 1.9 rebounds), a 6-7, 225-pound junior, has averaged 14 points and made a combined 10 of 14 field-goal tries in IU’s past two games.
Advantage: Indiana
Trends and history
• Kentucky leads the all-time series with Indiana 32-25.
• Mark Pope has not coached against Indiana as UK head man.
• First-year Indiana coach Darian DeVries has not coached against Kentucky as head man at either of his previous stops, Drake or West Virginia.
• UK is 0-4 this season vs. power-conference opponents and Gonzaga. The Wildcats are 0-1 vs. power-conference foes at Rupp Arena.
• Indiana is 3-2 this season vs. power-conference opponents. The Hoosiers are 0-1 in true road games.
Advantage: Even
Prediction
Indiana 79, Kentucky 77
