Indiana basketball made a statement on Sunday afternoon at United Center in Chicago.
With Marquette leading 24-22 with around 10 minutes left in the first half, IU began to pull away. The Hoosiers outscored Marquette 34-14 to end the first half. The Golden Eagles got back within 10 about six minutes into the second half, but IU responded with a 15-6 run and never looked back.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana won 100-77 with our latest edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (2-0) will host Milwaukee on Wednesday evening in Bloomington.
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OFFENSE (A)
Just how good was Indiana’s offense? Consider the opponent. According to Jared Berson, IU is the first team to score 100 points in a regulation game against a Shaka Smart-coached Division I team. And Sunday was the first time the Hoosiers cracked 100 in regulation against a high major opponent in nearly 10 years—since January 19, 2016 vs Illinois.
A theme going back to the exhibitions, IU lit it up from three and the free throw line. The Hoosiers made 14 of 28 from long range, and were able to generate the looks from three for their best shooters. Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries were 12 of 19 from deep. IU did a good job getting to the line, and made 20 of 24 at the stripe.
The Golden Eagles are known as a team that creates havoc and forces turnovers, but IU’s offense flowed freely most of the game. The Hoosiers had 27 assists on 33 field goals, and they turned it over just eight times.
“We have a really unselfish group,” IU coach Darian DeVries said. “The guys understand the game and they’re very willing passers.”
Although they don’t have great length, IU was able to grab 10 offensive rebounds, leading to 14 second chance points.
IU scored 1.32 points per possession. They only had more in a game once last season.
DEFENSE (B-)
Excessive fouls and offense rebounds took away from what was otherwise a good defensive effort.
Marquette was in the bonus early in both halves and IU committed 25 fouls for the game. The Golden Eagles got 29 points at the free throw line, and another 18 on second chance points. So 61% of their points came via those two paths.
Some of the foul calls on Indiana were suspect, but they were guilty more often than not.
“We need to do a better job,” DeVries said. “We got a little handsy at times. We need to be physical with discipline.”
Marquette was able to score in transition some in the second half, which helped them cut the lead to 10.
IU was still impactful on the defensive end, forcing 15 turnovers and limiting Marquette to 37.3% shooting for the game. The Hoosiers were able to contest shots in the paint and hold the Golden Eagles to 41.9% on twos.
All together the Marquette scored 1.02 points per possession
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- IU men’s basketball overcomes foul trouble to make a statement with big win over Marquette
- Watch: Marquette coach Shaka Smart discusses loss to Indiana
- Watch: Darian DeVries, Tucker DeVries and Conor Enright talk win over Marquette
- IU basketball: Indiana 100 Marquette 77 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Tucker DeVries (A) He was elite in the first half, almost single-handedly pulling IU away from Marquette. Indiana hasn’t had a scorer like him in a long time. Foul trouble limited him in the second. He’ll need to be smarter to make sure he stays on the floor.
*Lamar Wilkerson (A) Wilkerson played 26 minutes against a Shaka Smart defense and didn’t turn it over. He set a new career high with eight assists. He added a block and two steals. Oh, and he made six threes and his shooting helped IU pull away for good in the second half. If there’s one nit — he was 2 of 9 from two.
*Reed Bailey (B) Bailey got two fouls very early in the first half and then another very early in the second. Because of that, he could never really get into the flow of the game.
*Conor Enright (B+) With Tayton Conerway in foul trouble, IU needed Enright to take over more lead guard duties and he responded with a steady floor game. He seems to pass up some open shots, but it’s hard to argue with IU’s shot selection.
*Tayton Conerway (B+) Like Bailey, foul trouble kept Conerway off the floor. But he still managed to get eight assists in just 23 minutes. And Conerway only had one turnover.
Sam Alexis (A-) Alexis was critical off the bench for IU with Bailey in foul trouble. He played 26 minutes and had the highest plus/minus (+34) on the team. He bothered shots at the rim on defense, and finished there on offense.
Trent Sisley (A-) IU relied heavily on Sisley as well, and he responded with a 15 point, five rebound performance in his first game against a high major team. Sisley makes all the effort plays, including sprinting the court at a high level.
Jasai Miles (B) Miles played with a heavily wrapped shooting hand. It likely bothers his shot but he still had a crafty reverse layup finish. He was impactful on the glass and defended well too.
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Aleksa Ristic, Jason Drake, Josh Harris and Nick Dorn were all out with injuries.
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