How can Indiana beat Kansas?
The question almost seems tongue-in-cheek after Indiana’s performance against Auburn last weekend.
But the venue change will make a difference, as will some of the stylistic differences between Kansas and Auburn. There is a path.
What does that path look like?
You may be surprised how easy it sounds … on paper anyway.
The Keys to Beating Kansas
What if I told you that two key stats have been very predictive of Kansas’ success over the past five seasons?
Those two stats?
2-point percentage margin
Opponent assists
Just how predictive of success?
When Kansas has a better percentage on 2-point field goal attempts and their opponents tally fewer than 10 assists in a game, they’re 51-2 the past five seasons.
When only one of those stats happens, they’re still 55-6.
However, in the past five seasons, when Kansas’ opponents outshoot them inside the arc and have ten or more assists, Kansas is 11-18 (and 0-1 this year).
Those are both areas where IU has done much better than average this year. They are shooting 56.4% inside the arc (29th in the country) and assisting on 54.2% of their field goals (100th).
So what does Indiana need to do for these predictive metrics to be in their favor?
Let’s dive into the film.
