Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU’s Michael Akuchie throws down a dunk last Thursday against Green Bay.

INDIANAPOLIS — A game-and-a-half deficit to make up with nine contests to go.

It’s not unfeasible for Youngstown State to claw back into the Horizon League’s top four — and in turn, a first-round bye in the league tournament — and the quest for that positioning begins tonight in the very city the Penguins are seeking to reach come March.

Sitting in sixth place in the conference, YSU (12-10, 6-6) visits Horizon League bottom-feeder IUPUI (2-17, 0-8) tonight at 7 p.m. (ESPN+, 570 AM WKBN) in Indianapolis. That comes as some of the very teams the Penguins are chasing square off, as No. 5 Detroit Mercy (8-10, 5-3) visits No. 3 Wright State (12-10, 9-4) and No. 1 Oakland (16-5, 9-1) visits No. 5 Northern Kentucky (11-9, 7-4).

Saturday, the Penguins take on Illinois-Chicago (3-7, 7-12).

For YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun, the focus remains on YSU, rather than the league-wide race to the finish.

“I’ve always been a guy that focuses on the task at hand. Our practices have been very spirited,” he said, later adding, “I think our guys understand the opportunity they have, but also understand you have to take it game by game. Only nine games left, so every game is critical.”

The Penguins have been in Indianapolis since Tuesday. YSU was originally scheduled to travel Wednesday, but Winter Storm Landon prompted the team to depart Youngstown a day early to get ahead of the inclement weather.

Calhoun feels the team actually benefited from the move.

“I think it’s a unique opportunity. The guys got to practice at Butler (on Tuesday), get a chance to go to an NBA game (Wednesday). It’s just more time together,” he said. “We wanted to accomplish a couple things. First, make sure we get here and are able to play the game safely. Secondly, I look at it as an opportunity for our guys to really bond. It’s our second-to-last trip on the road.”

In the Jaguars, YSU is getting a defensive-minded team. IUPUI ranks last in the Horizon League in scoring at 51.6 points per game, but is third in points allowed at 67.1.

IUPUI bases out of a matchup zone akin to a 2-3, according to Calhoun.

The Jaguars force 13.4 turnovers per game, the fifth-best mark in the Horizon League. That said, IUPUI is 10th in steals and 11th in blocked shots.

“They’re very similar to Northern Kentucky. They’re going to play a matchup zone where sometimes they go with you, sometimes they pass you to somebody else, so throughout a possession, you may be guarded by multiple guys,” Calhoun noted.

But, for as tough as the Jaguars may be defensively, their offense ranks last in the conference in nearly every statistic.

IUPUI’s field goal percentage (0.379) is last, 3-point field goal percentage of 0.276 is 11th and the Jaguars connect on just five treys a game. IUPUI is 10th in rebounding at 31.6 per game, but does secure 10.2 offensive boards each contest, fifth in the Horizon.

B.J. Maxwell, a graduate transfer who also spent a medical redshirt season at Detroit Mercy, leads IUPUI at 10.9 points per game. He also averages just under five rebounds per game. Maxwell also leads the team in 3-pointers, with 21 made on the season out of 89 attempts.

Bakari LaStrap, a sophomore, adds 7.7 points per game.

“Maxwell can score the ball. He’s an older guy; he’s played Division I basketball before,” Calhoun said. “LaStrap was there (at IUPUI) last year. He’s really dynamic, can get to the rim, can finish around the basket.”

Where the Jaguars have especially struggled is with turnovers. IUPUI commits 16.9 per game, the highest average in the Horizon League, and has the worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference.

That presents an opportunity for YSU, which doesn’t force a lot of turnovers — just 11.9 per game — but could look to do so tonight. Calhoun says the Penguins may look to ramp up the pressure and rotate players in and out.

“On a back-to-back, Thursday-Saturday (schedule), with them only having six or seven players, we’ve got to get multiple guys out on the court,” Calhoun said. “We’ll probably press a little more than we have.”

On YSU’s end, Michael Akuchie is coming off Horizon League Player of the Week honors after scoring 33 on Milwaukee, while Will Dunn is in the midst of a breakout since Jan. 23’s game at Purdue Fort Wayne.

Akuchie is scoring 13.7 points per game, while Dunn is averaging just over 16 points per game over his last three contests. In addition, Tevin Olison is scoring 12.1, and Dwayne Cohill is scoring 12.2.

YSU also gets Shemar Rathan-Mayes back from a one-game suspension, and Luke Chicone returned to the lineup last weekend from a broken hand.

With the season winding down, each day is critical, Calhoun said.

“My message (to the team) is enjoy this, value this, try to get better each day, each film session. We’re as good as anybody in the league on any given night,” he said. “Most of the teams in our league can get and put themselves in a position where they’re a top four seed. That’s what we’re trying to do.

“We’re trying to move this thing each day, get better and put ourselves in a good position where we can get a top four seed, first-round bye, host the quarterfinal game and get to that semifinal. It’s something we haven’t been able to do; it’s something we all strive to do. This year, it’s really wide open, but we just have to keep playing good basketball.”