IU basketball: Indiana 82 Rutgers 59 — Three keys, highlights, final stats

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Indiana defeated Rutgers Friday evening at Jersey Mike’s Arena by a final score of 82-59.

The three keys to the game, highlights and final stats are all below.

Indiana led 47-32 at halftime. The Hoosiers were led in the game by Lamar Wilkerson with 27 points.

For Darian DeVries’ quotes following the game, GO HERE.

Indiana (13-7, 4-5) returns to action Tuesday against Purdue in Bloomington.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Three headed monster. With primary scoring option Tucker DeVries in a slump of late, Indiana had been struggling offensively. But DeVries broke out of his slump in a big way, with a 22-point performance, including 16 in the first half. Lamar Wilkerson had another big game with a team-high 27, and Nick Dorn made six threes and scored 23. The trio combined for 72 of Indiana’s 82 points. The Hoosiers shot 15 of 35 from beyond the arc, including a combined 15 of 33 by DeVries, Wilkerson and Dorn.

2. Usual problems not problems. There have been themes in Indiana’s losses this year — turnovers, rebounding and foul trouble. The Hoosiers had no such trouble Friday evening. IU had only five turnovers, outrebounded Rutgers 40-27, and had no players with more than three fouls. Because IU was able to get up shots on their possessions, they scored 1.41 points per trip. They had two more offensive rebounds than Rutgers. And with no one in foul trouble, the Hoosiers were able to stay in their preferred rotations.

3. Key second half adjustment. After falling behind by 20, Rutgers started getting back to their identity, with aggressive, physical defense. They were switching screens and sticking to IU’s hot shooters. That meant the paint was open for drives. Rutgers cut the IU lead to 12 and Darian DeVries called a timeout with about 10 minutes left in the game. He inserted his best one-on-one driver Tayton Conerway into the lineup, and Conerway scored on back-to-backet drives to the rim after Rutgers switched a big man onto him. Lamar Wilkerson also drove to the rim for dunk as part of a 6-0 run. That was the last time the Scarlet Knights seriously threatened the Hoosiers.

HIGHLIGHTS