Indiana didn’t have its typical offensive firepower on Sunday night, but the Hoosiers found a way to win a close game 69-61 over Incarnate Word and move to 4-0 on the season.
The Hoosiers opened the game looking to extend their dominant run of lopsided victories to start the season. IU held the Cardinals to just 20% shooting, and built a 16-point halftime lead behind Sam Alexis’ strong paint presence.
“Sam brings the energy and the intensity defensively and has been so good for us this season,” head coach Darian DeVries said after Alexis scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
There were more in-bounds plays from Darian DeVries’ playbook Sunday. In the first half, Trent Sisley worked off a strong set screen on the left elbow and showed off his strength as a young freshman with the dunk. Sisley played one of the better games of his young career, notching 10 points and eight rebounds.
“If you thought my playbook at Indiana was big, you haven’t seen Darian DeVries’,” former Indiana head coach Tom Crean said on the ESPN broadcast.
The second half was a grind for the Hoosiers. Incarnate Word played a pesky 1-3-1 zone that applied pressure on the wings and corners of the court. The 18-point halftime lead for the Hoosiers quickly disappeared, as the Cardinals shot 54% from the field in the second half.
“The ball definitely just didn’t move the way that we'd like it to tonight,” DeVries said.
The Indiana offense remained stagnant, but its veterans closed the door late.
“At the end of the day, you have to win even when the shots aren’t falling,” senior forward Tucker DeVries said.
Tayton Conerway made plays down the stretch to win the ballgame for the Hoosiers, and even in an uncharacteristic shooting night for Indiana, just 5-for-24 from beyond the 3-point line, the Hoosiers proved they can finish and win a game — even when it isn’t pretty.
The Good
The defense was incredible at switching and following the ball in the half-court spread offense for Incarnate Word. Conerway and Conor Enright will be crucial in determining the Hoosiers' defensive intensity in the backcourt.
The backcourt did an incredible job at pulling down rebounds in the clutch — Lamar Wilkerson, Enright and Conerway combined for 14 of the team's 42 rebounds. This supported Darian DeVries’ postgame message that “you have to rely on your defense, rebounding, passing and tempo when the shots aren’t falling.”
The bench stepped up when IU needed. Alexis continued his strong start to the season, with 16 points and eight rebounds.
“Without Sam, we weren’t winning that game today,” Tucker DeVries said. “He was a beast down low.”
The Hoosiers still won even while shooting 21% from 3. In years past, Indiana could have played a slow, sloppy and ugly game in the non-conference and lost; this team was able to win even while it wasn't the prettiest.
The Bad
The half-court offense went stagnant, especially in the second half.
“The ball stuck in one guy’s hands, and that’s not really what we’re designed to do as an offense,” Darian DeVries said.
The Cardinals did an excellent job of switching between the 1-3-1 zone and man-to-man defense. The Hoosiers will need to do a much better job of spacing the court and spreading out the half-court offense when the shots aren't falling.
Wilkerson, the Hoosiers’ leading scorer, didn’t shoot the ball well. Wilkerson went 0-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line and only had nine points. The senior guard is averaging 22.0 points per game, and looked like a shell of his normal offensive production on Sunday night.
What We Know
This Indiana team is excellent on a hot shooting day. The team plays connected, moves the ball well offensively and works together to play solid helpside defense. When executing on every level, the Hoosiers can contend with the best of the best in college basketball.
This team will live off of the 3, and showed Sunday that they might not die by the 3. Sunday, the team found a rhythm and enough momentum to leave the gym undefeated. These are nights you want in November, not January or February.
“It’s a 30-some game season… I like learning after wins,” DeVries said.
A game like this tests a team's resilience, communication and strength. If the Hoosiers can continue to play a scrappy brand of basketball, this ugly early-season non-conference win could help Indiana when it comes time for conference play.
