BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – 17th-ranked Indiana men’s basketball lifts the lid on its 2024-25 season on Wednesday as the Hoosiers host SIU-Edwardsville at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

SIU-Edwardsville should not be confused with Southern Illinois, which is located in Carbondale, Illinois. SIU-Carbondale, the system’s home campus, competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU-Edwardsville, located in a suburb of St. Louis, Illinois, competes in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Since becoming a Division I program in 2008, the Cougars have never made the NCAA Tournament. SIU-E had one of its best seasons in Division I in 2024 with a 17-16 record and a 9-9 mark in the OVC. SIU-E’s 19-14 record in 2023 was its best ever in Division I. The bad news for SIU-E is that it lost its top two scorers from the 2024 team.

Indiana has played SIU-E twice before – winning in 2010 and 2016.

The Cougars played on opening night with a 95-42 home victory over Division III Westminster (Mo.) on Monday.

There’s an Indiana connection on the Cougars roster. Forward Kyle Thomas – a 6-foot-10 transfer from Bradley – is the son of former Indiana player Daryl Thomas, who was a member of Indiana’s 1987 national championship team.

Kyle Thomas did not play in SIU-E’s game against Westminster on Monday.

Here is a breakdown of the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars.

Key players

(Statistics 2023-24)

G Ray’Sean Taylor: 13.6 ppg, 3.6 role plays, 2.8 ppg

G Desmond Polk: 4.2 ppg, 2.3 role plays, 0.5 ppg

F Arnas Sakenis: 3.3 points per game, 2.5 role plays, 0.4 points per game

G Brian Taylor: 2.8 points per game, 1 role play, 0.9 role play

G Jordan Pickett: 2.2 ppg, 0.8 RPG, 0.4 apg

G Eddiean Tirado: 1.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.1 apg

New arrivals

GF Ring Malith (JUCO transfer, 12.2 ppg to Barton CC)

F Myles Thompson (JUCO transfer, 14 ppg, 6.7 rpg to Barton CC)

F Jo Valrie (NAIA Point Park transfer, 20.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg)

F Kyle Thomas (2.1 ppg, 0.9 RPG at Bradley)

G Jordan Hamilton (JUCO, 8.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg at College of Southern Idaho)

G Declan Dillon (5.6 ppg, 3.7 RPG at Division II Winona State)

G Raynard Horry (JUCO, Southeastern Illinois)

F Darrion Baker (transfer from Akron, did not play for Zips in 2023-24)

G Cham Okey (freshman)

Schedule (1-0)

W, 95-42. Westminster, Mo.

Highlights

The Cougars have experience with guards Ray’Sean Taylor and Desmond Polk. Both are graduate students and both were named two SIU-E Players to Watch in Ohio Valley Conference preseason voting.

Taylor was SIU-E’s leading 3-point shooter at 36.7 percent. Polk was close behind with 36.2%. SIU-E will take its share of threes averaging 21.8 attempts per game.

Sixth-year coach Brian Barone has built a team capable of playing decent defense. The Cougars ranked 57th in Division I in field goal attempts against. SIU-E also ranked 48th nationally in assist prevention. In terms of scoring, SIU-E held its opponents to 70.1 points.

Something that could be a strength in a team of players who know how to win. Swingman Ring Malith and forward Myles Thompson are college transfers from Barton Community College in Kansas. Barton was an NJCAA national champion with a 26-1 record and both players were instrumental in winning the JUCO title.

Weaknesses

SIU-E struggled a bit on the glass against Division III Westminster as the Cougars only had a 31-28 advantage. In 2024, the Cougars have not been very effective offensively. They ranked 294th in field goal percentage and 240th in points scored despite a pace that was in the top 200 in Division I. The Cougars also shot just 33.2 percent from 3-point range. There is size on the roster with 6-11 Sakenis, 6-10 Thomas and 6-9 Malith, but none of those players have yet become productive scorers at the Division I level.

Season and match outlook

SIU-E was projected to finish third among the 11 OVC schools and received two first-place votes. However, this game against Indiana (and then another against Illinois on Friday) probably won’t be a fair reflection of the Cougars’ season. Indiana does not anticipate this game being pushed back. In fact, it would behoove the Hoosiers to win as much as possible to improve their NET score. The Hoosiers should have too many weapons for the Cougars to handle.