The Darian DeVries era is underway, and it’s quite clear an entirely new brand of basketball has arrived in Bloomington.
This one was never really in doubt. Indiana was up 20 less than 10 minutes into the game, and they were up 36 at halftime. It was more of the same in the second half as the advantage swelled to as much as 53 with walk-ons on the floor.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana won 98-51 with our latest edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (1-0) will next travel to Chicago to face Marquette Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
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OFFENSE (A)
Everything started with spacing. The lane was open for drives, back cuts, rolls and slips to the rim. Indiana scored 52 points in the paint, and none of them came via feeding the post.
“Because of the spacing, and when you start to make those threes, defenses can tend to get stretched, and then we were able to get some slips and some rolls to the rim as guys are chasing shooters out the backside, and they just didn’t have a lot of help,” DeVries said. “I thought the guys did a good job of taking what the defense gave them tonight.”
And with all of that action in the paint came some good looks from deep.
Indiana took 24 threes, which isn’t an especially high number in modern college basketball, but some of that was due to Alabama A&M playing an extended defense intent on taking those shots away, and also IU played walk-ons for the last five minutes. But still IU accomplished something they only did 12 times in the entirety of Mike Woodson’s tenure — reached double figures in made threes. The Hoosiers were 10 of 24 (41.7%).
IU appears to have a very good free throw shooting team. The Hoosiers were a perfect 16 of 16 at the stripe. It was just sixth time in program history Indiana has made all of their free throws in a game while attempting 10 or more. And IU had just made 20 of 21 in their exhibition vs. Baylor.
It all added up to 1.39 points per possession, Indiana’s most in a game since 2022, and a 70.7 effective field goal percentage, their best since 2018.
DEFENSE (A)
Alabama A&M was missing their top two scorers, and their offense was inept without them. Indiana had a lot to do with that, especially in the first half.
Before halftime the Bulldogs made just 8 of 28 shots (28.6%), made no threes, and IU allowed just one offensive rebound. The Hoosiers stayed in front of the ball and forced tough shots.
“The first half I thought defensively we were great,” DeVries said. “I thought we had them uncomfortable. I thought we had them pushed out, got them in areas that they weren’t able to take advantage of some of their scoring opportunities.”
If there was any flaw in IU’s first half defense it was that they fouled excessively. Alabama A&M was in the bonus very early in the first half.
The defensive effort did seem to slide in the second half, but with Indiana’s lead swelling into the 40s, that was bound to happen.
Indiana allowed .725 points per possession — better than any game last season.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- So far, so good for Indiana men’s basketball after dominant opener of Darian DeVries era
- Watch: Darian DeVries, Lamar Wilkerson, Reed Bailey discuss win over Alabama A&M
- IU basketball: Indiana 98 Alabama A&M 51 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Tucker DeVries (A) It was a solid all-around effort for DeVries, who went over 2,000 points for his college career. He often played a point forward role and showed his versatility with good shooting and passing. DeVries also led the team in rebounding.
*Lamar Wilkerson (A) Wilkerson made four threes, but just as impressive, he was 3 of 3 inside the arc as he continues to show that part of his game. Wilkerson added three steals, avoided turnovers, and stayed out of foul trouble.
*Reed Bailey (A) Bailey was efficient, made 7 of 7 free throws and scored 21 points in 23 minutes. He did have some lapses handling the ball in traffic, but his speed and skill shined through in this one.
*Conor Enright (A) Enright is rarely going to be a guy who stuffs the stat sheet — he didn’t even attempt a shot. But he had four assists to one turnover, and brought an edge and tenacity that makes this team better.
*Tayton Conerway (A) The veteran guard was a very efficient scorer, and had several crafty finishes around the rim. He was able to get into the paint with regularity, which opened things up for everyone else. Conerway was solid on the defensive end too.
Sam Alexis (A) Alexis played his role in the offense with precision, reading the defense and getting himself open in the paint. He even made a three, which can really help open up the offense for IU. He provided the length, toughness and physicality needed on the defensive end.
Trent Sisley (B) There may have been some nerves involved in Sisley’s debut as a Hoosier, but he still had a steady performance as Indiana’s sixth-man.
Jasai Miles (B) After some uneven exhibition and summer games, Miles showed promise in this one, making a three and slicing to the rim for a highlight reel dunk.
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Aleksa Ristic, Jason Drake, Josh Harris and Nick Dorn were all out with injuries.
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