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    IU basketball: Indiana vs. Wyoming — NCAA Tournament First Four game day essentials

    Mike SchumannBy IU Basketball 29 Comments
    Photo by Mike Schumann / The Daily Hoosier

    NCAA Tournament First Four — Game Day Essentials

    No. 12 Indiana (20-13) vs. No. 12 Wyoming (25-8)

    • Tip Time: Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. Eastern
    • Location: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
    • Television: Tru TV (Tom McCarthy, Steve Lavin, Avery Johnson, Jon Rothstein)
    • IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
    • Stream:  WatchTruTV | App
    • Point Spread: Indiana is a 4-point favorite
    • KenPom Projected Score: No. 36 Indiana 67  No. 58 Wyoming 66
    • Series: Indiana 3-0
    • Last Meeting:  Indiana 99-80, 12/18/99
    • TICKETS (StubHub affiliate link)

    Both teams are 12 seeds in the West Region with the winner facing No. 5 Saint Mary’s in Portland Thursday at 7:20 p.m. Eastern.

    More Game Coverage

    Wyoming Notes

    The Cowboys, as the No. 4 seed, advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament, falling to regular-season and tournament champion, Boise State.

    Wyoming averages 73 points per game, on 45.8 percent shooting, and allows foes to score 65.5 points per contest on 41.1 percent accuracy. The Cowboys hit 34.3 percent of their shots from 3-point land and only allow foes to make 30.5 percent of their shots from deep.

    The Cowboys will head to the Big Dance for the first time since the 2015 season when Larry Nance Jr. and company won the MW Tournament for a bid to the Tournament. The Pokes lost in the Second Round to Northern Iowa by a score of 71-54 in Seattle.  The Cowboys received their first at-large bid to the tournament since 2002. The Pokes were an 11th-seed and defeated Gonzaga 73-66 in the quarterfinals and fell to third-seeded Arizona by a score of 68-60 in the second round.

    The Cowboys held a 12-3 record in non-conference play this season. The Pokes went 2-1 against teams that won a conference championship. Wyoming defeated CSU Fullerton on the road, as the Titans won the Big West Tournament. The Pokes defeated Northern Iowa, who won the Missouri Valley regular season title. The Pokes fell on the road to Pac-12 regular season and tournament champion Arizona.

    Cowboys All-Time in Postseason: The Cowboys have played in the postseason 29 times with 16 NCAA Tournaments, eight NIT Tournaments and five CBI appearances. The Pokes are 23-33 all-time in the postseason.

    Wyoming is led in scoring by Graham Ike who pours in 19.6 points per game while also collecting 9.6 rebounds per contest. He’s one of only four players in the nation averaging at least 19 points and nine rebounds per game.

    Ike went a perfect 11-of-11 from the field against Air Force. It was the best percentage from the field in the NCAA this season, as his 11 makes was the most without a miss in the NCAA.

    Ike recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds against UNLV. It was his 14th of the season.

    Hunter Maldonado isn’t far behind Ike, averaging 18.4 points per game. He adds 5.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per contest. He’s the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points, five rebounds and six assists per game.

    Maldonado ranks fifth in the nation with 6.3 assists.  He has eight or more assists eight times this season.

    Maldonado recorded five assists against UNLV in the quarterfinals and five assists against Boise State in the semis. With that he now has 508 assists as he passed Sean Dent’s number of 502 to become the all-time leader assists man in Cowboy basketball history.

    Maldonado made history on against San Diego State becoming only the third Cowboy to earn a triple double. It was also the eighth in MW history and third this season. Maldonado added 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

    Drake Jeffries scores 10.5 points per game. Jeffries led the Pokes with 22 points at Colorado State. It third time this season he has scored 20 or more points with 33 against Hastings College and 20 at Nevada. He hit six three pointers in the contest at CSU and has hit five or more threes in six games this season.

    Jeffries is one of the nation’s top three-point shooters, but he also gets on the glass. He is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game

    The media that cover the Mountain West Conference announced their All-Conference teams with Graham Ike and Hunter Maldonado earning First-Team All-Mountain West honors.

    The Pokes are 19-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points.

    Wyoming has shot 50 percent or better in 10 games this season. Wyoming is 10-0 when doing so this season.

    The Pokes are the only team in the nation with three players with 30 or more points in a contest this season.

    For the season Wyoming is +104 on the glass.

    Coach Jeff Linder

    Jeff Linder is in his second season as the head coach of the Cowboys. He is the 22nd head coach in Wyoming basketball history. He was named to his position as leader of the Cowboys on March 17, 2020.

    Linder posted an 80-50 (.615) record in four seasons at Northern Colorado. He was named the Big Sky Coach
    of the Year during the 2018-19 season.  Over the last three seasons, Linder led UNC to the most wins during a three-year stretch in program history, with 69 wins. The Bears also finished in the top-100 of the NCAA NET Rankings.

    Noteworthy No. 58 Wyoming KenPom Numbers

    Tempo:  Offense — No. 299 / Defense — No. 177

    Adjusted Offensive Efficiency:  No. 54

    • Wyoming is top-75 in effective field goal percentage, and at their best from 2-point range (54.5 percent, No. 32).  They make just 33 percent from three, No. 218.
    • The free throw line is a much weapon for UW, with their free throw attempts at 37 percent of their field goal attempts (No. 33).  They make 72.5 percent from the line, with free throws making up 20.4 percent of their total points (No. 51).
    • The Cowboys aren’t much of a factor on the offensive glass, rebounding just 25.6 percent of their misses (No. 263)
    • Wyoming assists just 43.8 percent of their makes, good for just No. 320.

    Adjusted Defensive Efficiency:  No. 66

    • The Cowboys are good at guarding the 3-point line, with teams making just 30.2 percent against them (No. 32).
    • UW doesn’t allow many offensive rebounds with teams snaring just 24.1 percent of their misses (No. 42).
    • Wyoming doesn’t force turnovers.  Their 15.8 percent forced turnover rate is just No. 316.  They also don’t block shots, coming in at No. 325 in block percentage.
    • The Pokes allow assists on just 42.4 percent of makes, No. 24.
    • Teams don’t get to the free throw line against Wyoming, with just 15.9 percent of opposing points coming from the charity stripe (No. 282).

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