So you’re telling me there’s a chance?
Indiana jumped out to a quick 14-point lead, 20-6 with 12:02 left in the first half. Minnesota cut that down to 22-19, but IU closed this first half on a 21-9 run to rebuild the cushion. The Golden Gophers would never get closer than 14 in the second half, as the Hoosiers kept their foot on the gas and continued to build the lead.
Let’s take a deeper look at how Indiana won 77-47 in Bloomington with our latest edition of The Report Card.
The Hoosiers (18-12, 9-10) travel to Ohio State on Saturday for the regular season finale.
—————————————-
OFFENSE (B+)
With Minnesota playing zone and focused on taking away Indiana’s 3-point shooters, the middle of the floor was wide open. The Hoosiers appeared to have a well thought approach to attacking the zone, and they executed. Indiana got into the paint with drives and post-entry passes, and that created plenty of good looks in the paint, and also kick-out threes.
And with the pressure on to make shots in a must-win situation, IU made 70% from two and 41.7% from three.
IU was especially sharp in the first half, when it had 12 assists against just three turnovers.
“I thought offensively they moved it, shared it, really got in some good spots. Got some good looks from the perimeter,” coach Darian DeVries said.
Minnesota was focused on taking away IU’s 3-point shooters, and that created room for Sam Alexis to operate with space in one-on-ones, and he won those matchups.
The Hoosiers scored 1.26 points per possession, one of their better efforts against a high major foe. Turnovers weren’t much of a problem. About the only thing you can point to as a potential cause for concern — IU shot just eight free throws. But that was primarily due to the offense creating clean looks with regularity.
DEFENSE (A)
The metrics say this was IU’s best defensive effort of the season. Minnesota scored just .77 points per possession, and had just a 36.8% effective field goal percentage — both lows by a high major against the Hoosiers this year. Their 21.1% offensive rebounding rate was tied for the second-lowest allowed by IU this season.
“I thought defensively that was about as good and connected, I thought, as we had been just with our communication and taking away some of the things we felt like we needed to do to limit them,” DeVries said.
Minnesota came into the game leading the nation in assist rate, but Indiana was effective at turning them into a dribble drive team. Minnesota had just six assists for the game, against 11 turnovers. The Hoosiers took away the 3-point shot, as the Gophers only had 21 attempts from long range and only made five.
The Hoosiers struggled to contain Cade Tyson at times. They threw a lot at him but he still scored 21. But the rest of the Minnesota team scored just 26 points on 10 of 39 (25.6%) shooting.
SEE ALSO:
- ‘Some special times are about to end’: IU basketball’s Darian and Tucker DeVries shared emotional senior night moments
- Watch: IU basketball’s Darian DeVries, Nick Dorn, Sam Alexis discuss win over Minnesota
- IU basketball: Indiana 77 Minnesota 47 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
- Look: Scenes from IU basketball’s Senior Night ceremony
THE PLAYERS (*starters)
*Tucker DeVries (A-) DeVries turned in a solid effort across the board. You can tell these final games matter to him. He just missed a double-double by one board, and he was really good finding his teammates as well.
*Lamar Wilkerson (B) This was a quiet game by Wilkerson standards. He struggled with fouls and turnovers, and he wasn’t a major factor rebounding the ball. But Wilkerson was still a highly efficient scorer on his way to 100 made threes on the season.
*Sam Alexis (A) Post-ups, lobs, put-backs, Alexis did it all. He’s never sped up when he touches the ball, and he continues to show a high level of skill with his back to the basket. This was a high-effort, high-impact game by Alexis, including nine rebounds and two blocks.
*Conor Enright (A-) Minnesota was giving Enright space, and he was exceptional and bringing pace to the offense, collapsing the defense, and finding his teammates. He posted eight assists against no turnovers. On defense he drew a couple offensive fouls, and Enright scrapped his way to five defensive rebounds.
*Nick Dorn (A-) Dorn seems to be regaining his shooting touch. He made 3 of 8 from three, and Dorn seemed to have a little bit more of edge when it came to rebounding and guarding his man.
Tayton Conerway (B) Conerway had a nice steal, but also a bad pass turnover as his role continues to be diminished.
Jasai Miles (B+) Miles had a limited role, but he did have a really nice drive for a score that would be a valuable addition to his arsenal going forward, and he added a couple rebounds.
Reed Bailey (B+) Bailey played with good energy and delivered three rebounds in 12 minutes. The Hoosiers need more positive minutes out of him, and this seemed like a step in the right direction.
Trent Sisley (B) Sisley saw his most significant action in a while. He had a nice pass out of the middle of the zone, and added a couple rebounds.
Aleksa Ristic played briefly.
————————
Andrej Acimovic did not play — coaches decision.
Jason Drake and Josh Harris were out with injuries.
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
