“I look at it like any other game. It’s a game we’re trying to win, and they’re trying to win. This is not just for show or a neat experience for our kids. I’m not interested in that,” he said.
“It’ll be interesting to see how our younger kids react to the crowd. They have a couple college games under their belt now, but they won’t see anything like we’ll see Thursday night.”
The Raiders will take on one off the premier programs in the nation when they visit Indiana at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Not counting NCAA tourney losses to Tennessee and Arizona, they’re 3-4 against major-conference teams under Nagy, beating Louisville, N.C. State and Georgia Tech and losing to Purdue, Mississippi State and Penn State twice.
The Hoosiers have played before two sellout crowds of 17,222 at Assembly Hall this year, but they haven’t played well.
They beat Army, 72-64, on Sunday but the game was tied with 3:46 to go.
They beat Florida Gulf Coast, 69-63, in their opener, but they trailed by one with 10 minutes left.
Those two teams are a combined 0-5 against Division-I foes.
The Raiders were handed a 78-77 defeat by Toledo on Tuesday, but they played well enough to win. And the Colorado State debacle feels like the distant past.
“I was so low over what we did at Colorado State,” said Nagy, whose team lost, 105-77 – the most points scored by a Raider opponent since the Miami RedHawks also reached 105 in 1995-96.
“I just have so much more confidence in our kids after watching that (Toledo game). It hurts, and it’s supposed to hurt. But at least they didn’t walk out with their head down, ashamed.
“Really, in the Colorado State game, we embarrassed ourselves. But it’s, how are you going to respond? And our guys responded.”
The Hoosiers were picked sixth in the Big Ten preseason poll. Purdue was the favorite, followed by Michigan State, Maryland, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Mackenzie Mgbako was the overwhelming pick as preseason conference freshman of the year, but no IU players made either of the two preseason all-conference teams.
Two Hoosiers from last season are playing in the NBA: Jalen Hood-Schifino was a first-round pick by the Lakers, and Trayce Jackson-Davis was picked in the second round by the Warriors.
Freshman guard Gabe Cupps, a former Centerville star, has played the fifth-most minutes at 21 per game and has scored 10 points in two games.
The 6-foot-1 Cupps was a four-star recruit and ranked 131st overall by 247Sports.com.
The IU coaches no doubt are telling their players to be careful not to overlook Wright State. The Hoosiers play in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and Monday, opening against defending national champion UConn and then facing either Texas or Louisville.
“I think it’s a challenge for schools like that — to get their kids emotionally ready (to play a mid-major),” Nagy said. “But WE’LL be emotionally ready.”
The Raiders are 0-2 all-time against Indiana.
They lost, 97-54, in a 1993 NCAA first-round game after winning the Mid-Continent Conference.
That IU team advanced to the Elite Eight.
They also lost, 67-44, in the first game of 2010-11. Coached by Tom Crean, the Hoosiers finished 12-20.
The Raiders shocked Louisville on the road last season, winning, 73-72, before a crowd of 12,720 on Trey Calvin’s last-second jumper.
The Cardinals had one of their worst seasons, finishing 4-28, but the players mobbed each other on the floor afterward. And the clip made the highlights on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
“It was good to get that win over a Power-5 team,” center A.J. Braun said. “It’s a good memory. I’m sure we’ll all remember it the rest of our lives. And we’re hoping to recreate that this game.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Indiana, 7 p.m., Big Ten Network, 101.5, 1410
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