Louisiana Tech @ Indiana preview

Indiana hasn't had to beat much this season, but visiting Louisiana Tech should offer a nice challenge Monday. The Hoosiers have faced five teams with a combined record of 6-20 and dispatched them rather handily, suggesting a win over the Bulldogs and their first 6-0 start since 2012-13 is forthcoming.

Indiana freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis had been one of the stars of the early string of onslaughts, which include four wins by 25 points or more, by stepping in and instantly becoming one of the top shooters in the nation. The 6-9 forward, who grew up less than an hour from Bloomington, is hitting at a 76.7 percent clip while averaging 13.8 points, pulling down 8.4 rebounds and blocking two shots per game for the Hoosiers, who have one more contest after this one in the Indiana Challenge against South Dakota State before facing tougher competition in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and the Jimmy V Classic. "He's very versatile in that his athleticism and his size and length is an advantage for him," Indiana coach Archie Miller told the media of Trayce-Jackson, who is still adjusting defensively. "He's young. Defending a little perimeter is new for him and he's got a lot of drivers right now." Mubarak Muhammed has recorded two double-doubles among his three double-digit rebound games for the Bulldogs of Conference USA, who have also faced some inferior competition other than a game at Big East member Creighton, which prevailed by 10 points.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (4-1): The Bulldogs have done a solid job of limiting turnovers in the fifth season under coach Eric Konkol, who sports a 87-50 mark at the school, and forcing opponents to stop them the hard way. Thus far, Konkol's unit has averaged 10.4 turnovers, which was tied for 25th and slightly ahead of Indiana (11 per game). DaQuan Bracey, who has seen his scoring dip from 15.5 points per game last season to 10.8 in 2019-20, and Derric Jean lead the team in assist to turnover ratio at better than 3-to-1.

ABOUT INDIANA (5-0): Al Durham looks like a lock to surpass the 282 points he scored for the Hoosiers last season as he already has 73, highlighted by a 21-point effort in the season opener. The junior guard has improved his shooting significantly in all three areas, including being perfect on free throws (16-of-16) - one of 16 players in the country entering Sunday who can make that claim. Durham, Jackson-Davis and leading scorer Justin Smith (15.8 points) are each shooting better than 60 percent for Hoosiers, who were fourth in the nation at 54 percent.

TIP-INS

1. Louisiana Tech and Indiana have faced North Alabama with the Bulldogs winning by 21 points and the Hoosiers prevailing by 26.

2. Indiana has had at least one player from each of its last eight recruiting classes reach 1,000 career points and Devonte Green would need to score 337 to keep that streak alive - an unlikely occurrence considering he has never scored more than 263 points in a season.

3. The Hoosiers have enjoyed a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in points in the paint.

PREVIEW: Indiana 90, Louisiana Tech 85