Indiana defeated Penn State by a final score of 74-57 on Wednesday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers led 46-17 at halftime and were led in the game by Xavier Johnson with 19 points.
IU (15-5, 6-4) will next travel to Maryland for a Saturday 2:30 p.m. Eastern tip.
See also: Woodson, Johnson and Thompson post-game
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. A first half masterpiece. After much talk about slow starts, the Hoosiers were up 12-0 before Penn State knew what hit them. By the time it was over IU led 46-17 at the break. They shot 57 percent from the field while holding Penn State to 16.7 percent with seven turnovers and 1-of-10 3-point shooting. IU also had eight blocks and four steals in the first half. The second half left much to be desired as PSU outscored the Hoosiers 40-28 and were 8-of-16 from three.
2. Trayce and Race dominate, Johnson steady. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 15 points and six rebounds, while Race Thompson had 18 points and six rebounds . The pair combined to go 11-of-19 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. Jackson-Davis added four blocks. Meanwhile, point guard Xavier Johnson was steady throughout with a team-high 19 points on 3-of-3 shooting from long range and six assists.
3. Lighting it up from three. Indiana made 10-of-13 from behind the 3-point arc, including 6-of-8 in the first half. Beyond Johnson’s perfect night from three, Race Thompson and Tamar Bates were surprise contributors from deep. Each went 2-of-2 on the night. It was Bates’ first three since Dec. 12. IU’s 76.9 percent effort was easily its best of the season. The previous high was 53.3 percent against Marshall.
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