Indiana basketball will compete in the 13th year of Battle 4 Atlantis tournament play, their first appearance at this Bahamas tournament.
This is a 12-game event spanning over 3 days. It is an early tournament as well as a challenging one. Of the 8 teams in the game, No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 14 Indiana, and No. 24 Arizona are the 3 ranked teams participating. The unranked teams include Louisville, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Providence, and Davidson. The Hoosiers kick off the tournament facing Louisville. They will follow this game against competing against either West Virginia or Gonzaga on Thursday, Nov 28. The Battle 4 Atlantis championship game will be held on Friday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m.
Game Information:
Teams: No. 14 Indiana (4-0) and Louisville (3-1)
Tip-off time: Noon EST
Watch: ESPN
Listen: IU Radio Network
What to know about Louisville:
After falling to No. 7 Tennessee by a score of 77-55, Louisville followed up the loss with a 100-68 victory against Bellarmine. In their most recent game, they started their win streak when they beat Winthrop 76-61. Going into the game against Indiana, the Cardinals stand at 3-1, 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Against Bellarmine, the Cardinals shot 54.7% from the field and 34.3% for 3-pointers, both season-high stats. Five players put up double digits. Head coach Pat Kelsey recognizes that they need to minimize turnover.
Louisville has two noteworthy injuries. Senior forward Aboubacar Traore is estimated to miss several weeks due to his broken left arm. Also, Junior guard Koren Johnson is struggling with a shoulder problem. This was his second consecutive game missed. The second-half run ultimately gave the Cardinals the momentum they needed to win, making their margin of victory 17. They had a 7-2 run to finish the game, securing the victory.
“It’s still day-to-day,” said Kelsey about Johnsons injury timeframe.
Senior guard Reyne Smith put 20 points on the board, his season-high. Outside the arc, he shot 5-9 (55.6%). He also brought down three rebounds and had one assist. His 29 minutes of game time was also his season-high.
Sophomore forward James Scott recorded 12 points, making all 5 field shots.
Fifth-year guard J’vonne Hadley matched Scott’s point total while also breaking his career-high rebounds bringing down 13. He had a double-double, the fourth in his career.
Latest on Indiana basketball:
Indiana heads into the game defeating UNC Greensboro 69-58. Their performance wasn’t pretty, however. The Hoosiers struggled to capitalize on shots, specifically 3-pointers. They were 25-60 for field goals (41.67%) and only 5-19 from beyond the arc (26.32%). Their 3-point percentage drastically decreased throughout the game, starting at 40% in the first and moving to 11.11% in the second.
Key player and sophomore guard Myles Rice scored 20 points, 14 of these in the first half. He also contributed 5 rebounds and 6 assists. He continues to be successful when driving to the basket.
Freshman forward Bryson Tucker also performed strongly. Coming off the bench, he put up 14 points with 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Not only did he have a strong offensive performance, but he also was a standout on the defensive side, especially in the second half.
Sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako scored 9 points while bringing down 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Also matching Mgbako’s 9 points were Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo. Reneau assisted 10 times and Ballo 11.
While he did not play against UNC Greensboro, Hoosiers were still excited to see senior guard Anthony Leal dress for his first game this season due to injury.
As IU’s schedule continued to get more difficult, they needed to make a few adjustments to keep their streak of victory.