IU basketball: Indiana vs. Tennessee Tech — Three keys | highlights | final stats

This breaking story will be updated.

Indiana cruised to an 89-59 season opening win against Tennessee Tech on Wednesday evening in Bloomington.

Below are the three keys to the game, highlights, and final stats.

Indiana (1-0) will travel to Asheville, N.C. to play in the Maui Invitational.  The Hoosiers will face Providence on Monday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

See also:  Photos of the COVID-19 setup at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Indiana’s size too much.  Hoosier forward Trayce Jackson-Davis looked like a man amongst boys at times against the undersized Golden Eagles.  The Hoosier big man ended up with 26 points and 11 rebounds.  The Hoosiers didn’t hold a major rebounding advantage (36-33) but dominated the points in the paint 58-28.

2. Ball movement and tempo shows promise.  The much discussed smaller, faster approach was evident on Wednesday night as Indiana pushed the pace at every opportunity.  Much of those previously mentioned points in the paint came from layups in transition and via the secondary break.  Archie Miller emphasized keeping the turnover count low during the offseason, and so far so good.  The Hoosiers had 22 assists against just 8 turnovers.  Now all of this comes with words of caution.  Indiana will face much quicker and more physical competition starting next week, and their ability to maintain pace will be tested.

3. Defense comes alive after slow start.  Indiana led just 20-17 midway through the first half but went on a 28-2 run to close things out going into the break.  Tennessee Tech shot just 26.7 percent in the first half and went ice cold during the decisive stretch going into halftime.  The Golden Eagles had 20 turnovers and just 9 assists for the game.  Indiana switched a lot of screens and generally looked more aggressive defensively than in prior years under Miller.  The Hoosiers had 9 steals on the night.

Find us on Facebook:  thedailyhoosier