Indiana’s 2024-25 non-conference schedule was finalized on July 9 and Inside the Hall will have a team-by-team look at each opponent. Today: Miami (Ohio).
Indiana will play Miami (Ohio) for the second time in three seasons.
The two programs met at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the 2022-23 season, with the Hoosiers winning easily, 86-56. Indiana and Miami have played 25 times since the 1925 season. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 22-3.
Travis Steele, who worked under Kelvin Sampson at Indiana, is entering his third season in Oxford. Steele, 42, was the head coach at Xavier for four seasons and was fired at the end of the 2021-22 season. He quickly landed at Miami, where he’s 27-37 over his first two seasons.
A member of the Mid-American Conference, Miami finished last season 15-17 and 257th in the final KenPom ratings. The RedHawks were No. 249 in the final Bart Torvik rankings.
Torvik’s 2024-25 season projections have Miami 240th nationally with the 253rd-best offense and 203rd-best defense.
After finishing last season tied for sixth in the MAC, Miami will attempt to move up the league standings after losing five of their top six scorers.
The starting backcourt will likely be sophomores Mekhi Cooper and Evan Ipsaro.
Cooper, a 6-foot-1 native of Bolingbrook, Illinois, started 29 games last season. Cooper averaged 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 25 minutes per game.
Ipsaro, a 6-foot guard, also logged considerable minutes as a freshman. The Kentucky native started 11 times and averaged 6.5 points, 2.6 assists and two rebounds in 24.3 minutes. Ipsaro shot 35.5 percent from distance.
Bellarmine transfer Peter Suder could slide right in at the three after a stellar sophomore season with the Knights. The Carmel native averaged 10.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 32 minutes per game.
Wing Eian Elmer, Miami’s leading returning scorer, was a 40.3 percent 3-point shooter last season. The 6-foot-6 sophomore averaged seven points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.5 minutes and made 19 starts as a freshman.
At the five, Rutgers transfer Antwone Woolfolk will give Steele a big man who has high-major experience and a frame that will be unique against most MAC opponents. Woolfolk, 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, averaged 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds over 27 games last season for the Scarlet Knights.
Xavier transfer Kam Craft missed the 2023-24 season due to injury but was the No. 65 player in the country coming out of high…