Cody Zeller plans to be ready if Big Ten opponents make his job tough near the basket.

"I can shoot a little bit on the outside," Indiana's 6-11 freshman forward said Tuesday. "We're talking about moving a little more to the perimeter."

Zeller and his teammates are still improving.

"As he gets more comfortable, he'll keep expanding his game," Hoosiers coach Tom Crean said. "I'm comfortable with him on the perimeter creating for others. His ability to create already has been seen from the post.

"Our best players can get better. Cody epitomizes that."

Indiana is a perfect 10-0 on the season, but has struggled to enter the ball into the post at times.

Freshman power forward Cody Zeller is taking only 20.6 percent of Indiana’s shots while on the floor, fifth on the team of Hoosiers players using at least 20 percent of possessions.

Despite the lack of touches, Zeller leads the team in points per game (15.6) and ranks first in true shooting percentage (71.3 percent) -- which factors in threes and free throws – among Hoosier players with a usage rate greater than 20 percent.

Indiana is 9-0 and off to their best start since the 1989-90 season

The Hoosiers’ field goal percentage from beyond the arc has increased from 35 percent last season (165th in Division I) to 46 percent, which ranks second nationally behind Creighton.

Largely due to its improvement from three-point range, Indiana has been outstanding on catch-and-shoot plays this season. The Hoosiers are shooting 76 percent and averaging 1.26 points per play in their catch-and-shoot offense, both first in the Big Ten.

Freshman Cody Zeller, who leads the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks, has made all nine of his field goals in transition, and he ranks sixth in the nation at 1.91 points per play.

Indiana defeated No. 1 ranked Kentucky by a final score of 73-72 on Saturday thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Christian Watford.

It was Indiana's second victory over a top-ranked win in history at home, with the previous coming in 2001 against Michigan State.

Indiana and Kentucky traded the lead five times during the final two minutes.

Watford had 20 points and five rebounds.

Indiana freshman Cody Zeller ranks ninth in the country in PER (35.08) and is shooting 67.7 percent within the arc.

Zeller is scoring 1.26 points per possession, but the big man is still learning how to excel in the post.

According to Synergy Sports Technology, he is only managing 1 point per possession on the blocks, as opposed to 1.57 PPP via cuts through the paint.

Indiana coach Tom Crean is concerned about Kentucky’s defense in anticipation of Saturday afternoon’s game against the nation’s No. 1 team.

“I think the thing that separates them right now is their defense,” Crean said. “I’ve always thought [Kentucky coach] John [Calipari] doesn’t get nearly enough credit as a coach for his defense. He’s always got a game plan. He does a great job with getting talent to play really, really hard. This is the best defensive team, in my opinion, that he has had.”

To keep it from turning into a Kentucky dunk fest, Crean said the Hoosiers may consider slowing the game down and grinding it out. The most important thing, he said, is taking care of the ball.

“To think that it’s going to be conventional basketball and we’re just going to go up and shoot over the top of this team – that’s not realistic,” Crean said. “This is not a game where you can ever think you’re going to take ‘hero’ shots and it’s going to work out for you. You’ve got to make the next pass.”