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    IU Basketball: Indiana vs. Florida Gulf Coast game day essentials

    Owen GrahamBy IU Basketball 7 Comments
    BLOOMINGTON, IN - February 07, 2023 - Indiana Hoosiers Head Coach Mike Woodson during the game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, IN. Photo By PJG#2

    Game Day Essentials:

    Indiana vs. Florida Gulf Coast University

    • Tip Time: 6:30 p.m. Eastern
    • Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222)
    • Television: BTN (Matt Schumacker and Robbie Hummel)
    • Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
    • Stream:  Fox Sports
    • Point Spread:  Indiana is a 12.5 point favorite
    • KenPom Projected Score:  Indiana 78  FGCU 66
    • History: Indiana leads the series, 1-0.
    • Last Meeting: IU 88, FGCU 60 on Nov. 12, 2010 in Bloomington

    FGCU’s Pat Chambers

    Pat Chambers enters his second season as FGCU’s head coach and holds and overall record of 207-117 (.639) Chambers finished with a 17-15 overall record last season and led FGCU to win the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase.

    Before FGCU, Chambers was most notably the head coach for Penn State (2011-2020) At Penn State, Chambers led them to 148 wins over nine years, including 56 Big Ten wins, the most in school history. His best season came during the 2019-20 campaign, after Penn State went 10 weeks ranked in the top 25. Chambers also spent time as Boston University’s head coach and as an assistant under Jay Wright at Villanova.

    As a player, Chambers was coached under Hall of Fame coach Herb Magee at Philadelphia University. Chambers would join the team as a walk-on in 1990 and finish his career with All-ECAC honors and leaving as the school record holder in assists with 709.

    FGCU’s results and roster:

    The Eagles finished 17-15 in 2022-23 – the first year for Chambers and his staff – an effort that included the best non-conference winning percentage (76.9 percent, 10-3) in program history. FGCU also earned a program-record 13 straight wins at Alico Arena, a stretch that began in the 2021-22 season, and snared key non-conference victories at USC and St. Bonaventure.

    Defense was a hallmark of the FGCU squad all season, as they held opponents to 61 points or less in 12 games (going 10-2 in those games).

    FGCU retains former Purdue Boilermaker and leading scorer from last season 6-foot-1 guard Isiah Thompson.  He is questionable for this game. Thompson averaged 14.9 ppg last season while shooting 38% from the field, which was enough to land him on the All-ASUN third team. Thompson was awarded with preseason All-ASUN honors prior to the beginning of the season.

    Also returning are 6-foot-3 guard Chase Johnston and 6-foot-7 forward Zach Anderson. Johnston led the team in steals and averaged 12.7 points per game.  As a sophomore, Anderson averaged 11.7 ppg and led the team in rebounds, averaging just over six a game.

    FGCU will rely on role players 6-foot-10 Andre Wier, 6-foot-8 Dakota Rivers, and 6-foot-3 Cyrus Largie to help support Thompson and Anderson. All players earned starts last season and will look to provide key minutes to keep up with Indiana.

    In the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll, FGCU were voted to finish second behind Eastern Kentucky.

    KenPom has the Eagles rated 147th, with the 110th rated offense and the 189th ranked defense in the nation across all D-1 teams.

    Storylines:

    Pat Chambers has three career victories over Indiana, including one inside Assembly Hall.  Thompson has also won twice in the building.

    IU has opened the season against a team with an Eagle mascot in three consecutive seasons after defeating Morehead State 88-53 to open the 2022-23 campaign and Eastern Michigan 68-62 the previous year.

    The Hoosiers hold an all-time record of 19-1 against teams currently residing in the Atlantic Sun Conference, with the only loss coming in 2008 against Lipscomb.

    Indiana will be celebrating the “Bill Garrett Game” to mark the 75th anniversary of the season where Garrett broke the Big Ten basketball color barrier.

    Indiana will continue to honor the passing of legendary coach Bob Knight, as it will be the first regular season game debuting the “RMK” patches on Indiana’s uniforms.

    For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.    

    The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

     

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