BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana returns to Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall to face Conference USA foe Charlotte, Wednesday at 8 p.m. The Hoosiers have gone undefeated in three meetings against the 49ers, including two victories in Bloomington.
Each Indiana basketball game can be heard live on the IU Radio Network. WHCC (105.1 FM in Bloomington) is the flagship station for the network that has more than 50 stations broadcasting Hoosier basketball all season long. Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) call all of the action.
The game will be televised by ESPN Plus and is the fourth of 16 IU games televised on the local package. Tom Hamilton (play-by-play) and former IU supersub John Laskowski (color commentary) will call all of the action.
Below are a few notes regarding the upcoming game against the 49ers:
• Indiana freshmen Robert Vaden, A.J. Ratliff and D.J. White are three newcomers who are making an immediate impact. Through the first seven games this season, the trio has combined for an average of 24.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest. This effort accounts for approximately 42 percent of the Hoosiers’ offense and 34 percent of the rebounding.
• The Charlotte 49ers enter the contest with a 6-2 record, including winning five of its last six games. The only loss during that span was a triple overtime, 102-101, loss to nationally-ranked Alabama.
The 49ers have won three consecutive games, with the most recent coming in a 64-52 victory over UNC Asheville last Sunday. Senior forward Eddie Basden led his team with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Curtis Withers and Martin Iti also caused problems, each accounting for 11 points.
For the season, Charlotte has five players averaging in double digits, led by Curtis Withers’ 14.1 points. Eddie Basden (14.9), Brendan Plavich (13.9), Mitchell Baldwin (10.8) and E.J. Drayton (10.1) all average double figures. Basden has emerged as the team leader in assists (4.5), rebounds (8.0) and steals (3.8) per contest.
• The Hoosiers have never lost to the 49ers on the hardwood, taking all three games played between the two schools. However, the games have been tightly contested, as IU won twice by a four-point margin, and took the most recent game, 70-60, on Jan. 4, 2003 in Bloomington. In fact, tonight’s contest marks the third meeting in Assembly Hall between the two foes.
• The Indiana freshman class has been making big contributions early in the season. Indianapolis native Robert Vaden is the only Hoosier to score in double figures in six of the first seven games. He leads all Hoosier freshman with 11.0 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. D.J. White has been a presence in the middle, blocking a team-best 2.1 per contest. He also helps the cause with an average of 9.4 points and 3.7 boards. Another freshman, A.J. Ratliff has averaged 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds, while also shooting 50 percent (3-of-6) from three-point range in the last two contest.
• Below is a look at a few of the Indiana highlights from the 2004-05 campaign:
*Bracey Wright scored 31 in a 73-58 loss to Kentucky on Dec. 11. The 31 points ties the second-most points in his career (also scored 31 against Vanderbilt on Dec. 9, 2002, and Ball State on Dec. 31, 2002). It was his fourth career 30-plus point tally. He also tied a career high with six three-pointers in the defeat.
- Sophomore Errek Suhr set career-highs with five assists, three rebounds and a steal against Indiana State (11/22).
- Pat Ewing, Jr. tied career-highs with two assists against Notre Dame (12/8) and a three-pointer against Indiana State (11/22).
- Roderick Wilmont set a career-high with two blocks against North Carolina (12/1).
- Mark Johnson tied his career-high with two rebounds vs. Notre Dame (12/4) and set a career-best with three assists vs. Kentucky (12/11).
- Marshall Strickland tied career-highs with seven rebounds vs. Western Illinois (11/27) one block against UConn 12/4).
• Understandably, Indiana may have been a bit rusty when it lost at Missouri, 56-53 on Dec. 19. It was the Hoosiers first game since a Dec. 11 meeting against Kentucky – a span of seven full days. It marked the longest break without playing a game since IU faced Michigan on Jan. 9, 2001 before facing Penn State seven days later on Jan. 17, 2001.