By: Mark Wasik
Friday, December 29
6 p.m. – Kennesaw State (9-4) at Indiana (9-3)
Location: Bloomington, Ind. | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222)
TV: BG1+ (Austin Render, Galen Clavio, Tricia Whitaker)
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KENNESAW, Ga. – For the second straight year, Kennesaw State and Indiana will square off on the basketball court as the teams meet in the final non-conference game for both teams on Friday night at 6 p.m. in Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
The game will be streamed live on the BG1+ Network, which requires a subscription that can be signed up for at bigtenplus.com.
A FEW NOTES
♦ KSU brings a 9-4 mark into the contest, which is the most wins in non-conference play in the school's Division I history, topping last year's 8-5 mark.
♦ This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams, and all four meeting have been played in Bloomington. Last year, the Owls did not back down against the 18th-ranked Hoosiers, grabbing a seven-point edge in the first half. Thanks to a strong night from three-point range, KSU went up by four with 12 minutes left, before Indiana took over on the way to a 69-55 win on Dec. 23, 2023.
♦ This will be the 11th meeting for KSU against a team from the Big Ten Conference, and the Owls will be looking for their first win against the league.
♦ Under first-year head coach
Antoine Pettway, the Owls are playing at the fastest pace in the nation (according to KenPom). In addition, KSU also ranks third in the NCAA in fastbreak points (18.5 ppg), sixth in three-point attempts per game (30.5 per game), and 18th in scoring per game (85.4 ppg). Individually,
Terrell Burden is 15th in assists per game with 6.2.
♦ For the first time in school history, the Owls enter the season with a target on their backs, coming off the first-ever winning season in the school's Division I history. KSU finished off 2022-23 with a 26-9 overall mark, shattering the previous record for most wins in a season by 12 (14). The Owls also won the first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference regular season and tournament titles in school history, while reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time at the Division I level as well.
