Big Ten Monday Preview & Open Thread: Indiana, Michigan State and Nebraska Set for Action

There are three more exhibition games set for today as the season is right around the corner, with one of the games (Nebraska) actually being televised live on the Big Ten Network. The remaining two games will both follow the usual BTN Plus routine, so if you want the Hoosiers or Spartans live you'll have to subscribe to BTN's digital network for the action. While tonight is Nebraska's only exhibition game, this will be the second outing for Indiana and Michigan State, with both coming off of easy wins last week.

Let's take a look at the action.

Game of the Night: Bellarmine at Indiana (7 PM ET - BTN Plus)

Indiana was able to get revenge last Tuesday when they beat Ottawa 82-54. The Hoosiers had previously lost to Ottawa on their recent exhibition trip to Canada, though it should be pointed out Ottawa is one of the top Canadian teams. The Hoosiers had solid contributions from newcomers Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfeldt, while James Blackmon led the team with 15 points, on pace to a decisive 28 point victory.

This time out the Hoosiers will take on Bellarmine, currently a top five Division II program. One area to keep an eye on for the Hoosiers tonight will be turnovers, as the team was sloppy versus Ottawa and committed an alarming 19 turnovers. That 19 turnovers was actually more than the number of assists they recorded (18), with forward Troy Williams being the biggest culprit with six turnovers on the day.

The Hoosiers should be capable enough to blow by Bellarmine, but today's exhibition will be a chance to clean things up on offense and continue to get new guys like Thomas Bryant up and running. Indiana returns plenty of talent from last season, so there isn't any major concerns they need to address here. When everything is said and done tonight's game is merely another tune up before the season opener against Eastern Illinois this weekend.

The Rest

Ferris State at Michigan State (7 PM ET - BTN Plus)

The Spartans will host Ferris State tonight in their second exhibition game, previously knocking off Northern Michigan by 41 points last week. Leading the way last time out was Bryn Forbes, who lit it up from beyond the arc (7 of 10) and led the Spartans with 23 points. Star Denzel Valentine also impressed last time out, adding 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Last time the Spartans faced Ferris State was in exhibition game in 2011, when they won 85-58 thanks to strong performances from Branden Dawson, Derrick Nix and Draymond Green. The Bulldogs are the defending GLIAC Tournament Champions, but will find themselves facing a decisively more challenging opponent tonight in East Lansing.

Northern State at Nebraska (8 PM ET - BTN)

Oddly enough, Nebraska's exhibition game tonight against Northern State is the first (and only) exhibition set to air live on BTN, with the rest of the games airing living on BTN Plus before a few aired after the fact on the network. The Cornhuskers had a very disappointing season last year, failing to live up to NCAA Tournament expectations, so now the hype surrounding the program outside of Lincoln has largely dissipated.  This year's Nebraska team is extremely young, with seven freshmen on the roster, and tonight's game will be the debut of a few touted Illinois natives in Glynn Watson Jr. and Ed Morrow. Also set to debut is Kansas transfer Andrew White III, who could be huge for Nebraska this season.