BLOOMINGTON — Indiana defeated Eastern Illinois at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to open the 2026-27 season by a final score of 91-57.
The Hoosiers led 44-23 at halftime. They were led in the game by Markus Burton with 19 points.
The three keys to the game, highlights and stats are below.
For Darian DeVries and the IU players postgame, GO HERE.
Indiana (1-0) returns to action on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET against Bellarmine.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Burton in midseason form. Point guard Markus Burton hadn’t played in a regular season game since Dec. 5 of last year. But the Notre Dame transfer didn’t miss a beat in his first appearance for the Hoosiers. Burton needed just eight shots to score 19 points. He was 7 of 8 from the field overall, including 3 of 3 from three-point range. He added five assists and two steals and had just one turnover.
2. IU defense causes trouble. Eastern Illinois committed 22 turnovers — the most IU has forced in a game since 2021. The Hoosiers had 29 points off those turnovers. Indiana’s defense wasn’t consistently effective when the Panthers were able to get off shots. EIU made 50% from the field. But the Hoosiers drove them off the arc and only allowed 3 of 14 shooting from long range, and just .85 points per possession for the game.
3. Hoosiers enjoy a big advantage at the stripe. With Isiah Thomas and Ted Kitchel in attendance, IU enjoyed an advantage often achieved by their old coach Bob Knight — as they made more free throws than their opponent attempted., Indiana got there by a wide margin, making 24 of 32 from the free throw line, while EIU was just 4 of 7.
HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL STATS
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