Game Day Essentials:
Indiana (8-3, 1-1) vs. Chattanooga (8-4)
- Tip Time: Noon Eastern, Saturday
- Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Ind.
- Television: BTN (Wayne Randazzo, Stephen Bardo)
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- Point Spread: Indiana is a 14.5-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Indiana 85 Chattanooga 71
- History: Indiana leads the series, 3-0
- Last Meeting: IU 99, UTC 74 on March 17, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa (NCAA Tournament Round of 64)
- Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)
Chattanooga’s Dan Earl
Dan Earl is in his third season as head coach of the Chattanooga men’s basketball program. Across his coaching career, he has an overall record of 120-172.
Fans may know Earl well from his playing days at Penn State. Because of two redshirt seasons, he spent as Penn State’s point guard from 1993-1999. The 1995-96 season was one of the more impressive seasons of his career, as he earned All-Big Ten honors and his team ranked as high as No. 9.
After a bride playing career overseas, Earl accepted a position as an assistant in 2006, where he would remain until 2011. He then became an associate head coach with the Navy until 2015.
Earl accepted his first head coaching job at Virginia Military Institute out of the SoCon in 2015. His stint was filled with some rough years, but he was named SoCon Coach of the Year in 2021 after he led the Keydets to their first winning season with him at the helm. His only postseason tournament appearance was in the CBI in 2022 after VMI finished tied for fifth in the SoCon.
Earl accepted the head coaching job for Chattanooga in March of 2022. With the Mocs, he has a record of 47-33. His best finish so far came last season, as he lead the Mocs to a 12-6 record in the SoCon, good for second in the conference.
Chattanooga’s results and roster
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/4/2024 | at USC | Los Angeles, Calif. | L 51-77 |
| 11/9/2024 | at Saint Mary’s | Moraga, Calif. | L 74-86 |
| 11/11/2024 | at Austin Peay | Clarksville, Tenn. | L 61-67 |
| 11/14/2024 | Morehead State | Chattanooga, Tenn. | W 76-62 |
| 11/17/2024 | at Southeast Missouri State | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | W 87-82 |
| 11/21/2024 | Johnson (TN) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | W 72-52 |
| 11/25/2024 | Tennessee State (Coke Classic) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | W 85-78 |
| 11/27/2024 | Bryant (Coke Classic) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | W 84-76 |
| 12/3/2024 | Lipscomb | Chattanooga, Tenn. | L 62-80 |
| 12/12/2024 | at Evansville | Evansville, Ind. | W 75-67 |
| 12/15/2024 | Alabama A&M | Chattanooga, Tenn. | W 85-63 |
| 12/18/2024 | Tennessee Wesleyan | Chattanooga, Tenn. | W 99-52 |
Chattanooga’s Game Notes (via Chattanooga Athletics)
CHATTANOOGA RUNS PAST TWU IN FINAL HOME GAME OF 2024
- Chattanooga (8-4) earned its eighth win in its last nine games after rolling to a dominant 99-52 victory over NAIA member and in-state foe Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday night in McKenzie Arena. UTC racked up 25 assists and posted a +32 (59-27) rebounding margin to help fuel the rout over the Bulldogs.
THREE-POINT SHOOTING KEY TO STRETCH OF WINS
- Chattanooga put together its two best three-point shooting efforts of the season during the current three-game win streak. In last Thursday’s win at UE, UTC knocked down a season-high 12 threes before besting the total in Sunday’s win over AAMU with 14. UTC hit the 14 number again during Thursday night’s rout over TWU and has now combined for 40 made 3PT FG’s over the past three games.
BONHAM TABBED SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Trey Bonham was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Bonham averaged 21.5 points while shooting 66.7% (14-of-21) from the floor including 58.3% (7-of-12) from 3PT in wins over Evansville (22p, 3r, 3a) and AAMU (21p, 4r, 4a, 3s) last week. It’s his first SoCon POTW as a Moc and second overall (2/21/22 w/ VMI).
MORE OF THE SAME, YOUR HONOR
- Hitting the 1,000 career-point mark at Evansville Thursday, Honor Huff has started to find his groove over the last week-plus after a slowish start to his 2024-25 campaign. Huff has shot an even 50.0% (10- of-20) from 3PT land over the past two games which included a 6-of-11 (54.5%) performance in Sunday’s win over AAMU, a game where he finished with a season-high 24 points.
Chattanooga’s KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 364 teams)
Tempo – No. 226 (Offense No. 250 / Defense No. 151)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 122
- The Mocs’ effective field goal percentage is 52.4 (No. 119). They’ve shot 31.2 percent from three (No. 258) and 57.8 percent from two (No. 35).
- Chattanooga doesn’t find a ton of points from the inside, however. 45.1 percent of their point distribution is on 2-pointers (No. 288).
- On the other hand, their three-point attempt rate is high, at 49.1 percent (No. 23).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 270
- Opponents have reached a 52.5 effective field goal percentage so far (No. 241).
- Their turnover rate isn’t special at a 16.5 turnover percentage (No. 245).
- Teams are shooting well from the outside against Chattanooga at a 35.4 percent clip (No. 259).
- They don’t generate a lot of blocked shots (3.6 percent rate, No. 360)
OG’s Pick:
Win/Loss Record: 7-2
Indiana should clean up against Chattanooga. The Mocs, on paper, don’t have any defensive metric that should give the Hoosiers any real problems. Once again, they do like to shoot a high volume of threes, but their make rate so far this season leads me to pick Indiana by a wide margin.
PICK: Indiana 89 – Chattanooga 63
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