Teri Moren has the Indiana women's basketball program in the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history as they are set to take on 1-seed NC State on Saturday night at 6 pm ET.
The Hoosiers are the 4-seed and are coming off of a 70-48 victory over 12-seed Belmont and a 63-32 win over 13-seed VCU in the tournament opener.
NC State leads the ACC in opponent field goal percentage (36.6%) and allow the third-fewest points per game in the ACC (61.6).
Elissa Cunane leads the Wolfpack and is one of the top centers in the entire country. At 6-foot-5, she averages 16.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. That matchup with IU's Mackenzie Holmes (17.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) will be crucial in determining the outcome of the game tonight.
IU - rarely undersized - will be going up against an NC State team whose top 4 scorers are all 6-feet and above. While IU has good size, it may not match the depth and size of the Wolfpack. IU's Aleksa Gulbe - at 6-foot-3 - will be critical in her ability to stay out of foul trouble and on the floor.
"I think the biggest key for us, we've got to keep them off the offensive glass," IU head coach Teri Moren said. "We've proven in the last couple games that we can guard in the half-court quite well. But what we haven't done a good enough job is keeping other teams, just like last night, Belmont got 11 offensive rebounds. You're not going to beat NC State giving up offensive rebounds.
"I think if I have to pick one key, there's a lot of them, but the number one key will be our ability to keep them off the offensive glass and not give up second and third shot opportunities."
Indiana shoots just 29.2 percent from three this season while NC State is at 36.3 percent on the year with 4 players with at least 30 made 3's - IU has 0. So, getting some shots to fall early will be a welcomed sign for Indiana.
Overall, this is going to be one heck of a Sweet 16 battle. IU's experience with Grace Berger and Ali Patberg in the backcourt is extremely valuable and could be what pushes the Hoosiers to the Elite 8.
The Hoosiers are the 4-seed and are coming off of a 70-48 victory over 12-seed Belmont and a 63-32 win over 13-seed VCU in the tournament opener.
NC State leads the ACC in opponent field goal percentage (36.6%) and allow the third-fewest points per game in the ACC (61.6).
Elissa Cunane leads the Wolfpack and is one of the top centers in the entire country. At 6-foot-5, she averages 16.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. That matchup with IU's Mackenzie Holmes (17.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) will be crucial in determining the outcome of the game tonight.
IU - rarely undersized - will be going up against an NC State team whose top 4 scorers are all 6-feet and above. While IU has good size, it may not match the depth and size of the Wolfpack. IU's Aleksa Gulbe - at 6-foot-3 - will be critical in her ability to stay out of foul trouble and on the floor.
"I think the biggest key for us, we've got to keep them off the offensive glass," IU head coach Teri Moren said. "We've proven in the last couple games that we can guard in the half-court quite well. But what we haven't done a good enough job is keeping other teams, just like last night, Belmont got 11 offensive rebounds. You're not going to beat NC State giving up offensive rebounds.
"I think if I have to pick one key, there's a lot of them, but the number one key will be our ability to keep them off the offensive glass and not give up second and third shot opportunities."
Indiana shoots just 29.2 percent from three this season while NC State is at 36.3 percent on the year with 4 players with at least 30 made 3's - IU has 0. So, getting some shots to fall early will be a welcomed sign for Indiana.
Overall, this is going to be one heck of a Sweet 16 battle. IU's experience with Grace Berger and Ali Patberg in the backcourt is extremely valuable and could be what pushes the Hoosiers to the Elite 8.
