SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson did a double take when he was told the Hoosiers went on 70-19 run against Mega Superbet on Saturday evening.
“That was the run?” Wilkerson said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I didn’t think it was that bad.”
That kind of run was inconceivable as IU fell behind 44-21 in the first half to the Serbian professional team at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente.
Mega looked like the more physical team, and the more aggressive team. Indiana was on their heels.
“At first they were punking us, they were being more physical,” Wilkerson said.
A comeback win was difficult to comprehend. Just to avoid being completely embarrassed, Indiana was going to have to find some resolve, even in what was ostensibly a meaningless exhibition game in August.
The Hoosiers found plenty of resolve in their 93-71 win, and ultimately they found meaning in August they can pull from when the games start counting.
“I thought it was great for us to be honest with you,” IU coach Darian DeVries said. “Their physicality really bothered us that first 10 minutes. But I really liked the way the guys responded. They got punched in the mouth a little bit, down 24, there’s a lot of different ways the game can go from that point. I just like the way the pulled together, dug in, and fought harder.”
If DeVries’ Hoosiers got punched in the mouth, their counterpunch was a devastating knockout.
That 44-21 Mega second quarter lead turned into a 91-63 fourth quarter IU runaway to form the 70-19 run. The Hoosiers dominated late in the first half and the entire second half.
While Wilkerson may not have been able to fully comprehend the magnitude of that turnaround, he was central to it. Recruited to IU by DeVries to make threes, he did just that, making 4 of 7 from long range on his way to a team high 18 points, and team high +24 plus/minus.
No one was making threes early, another major reason why the Hoosiers fell behind by such a wide margin. They made just 1 of 9 from deep in the first quarter, and 4 of 16 in the first half.
But the shots starting falling, as IU made 9 of their last 20 shots from three, including 6 of 13 in the second half.
One of those threes was set up by the the grit the Hoosiers learned they needed to play with, as Tucker DeVries dove on the floor to save a possession. The ball ended up in the hands of Wilkerson, who drilled a three to pull Indiana to within one in the third.
While Indiana’s shots started falling, Mega went ice cold in the second half. The Hoosiers placed a clear emphasis on matching Mega’s defensive intensity and physicality, and they didn’t lose track of shooters like they did in the first half.
Mega made just 5 of 30 shots in the second half, good for just 16.7%.
This was no pushover Mega squad.
They had Bogoljub Marković, a 6-foot-11 2nd round draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks. And Savo Drezgić played for the University of Georgia last year. Those two combined to make 3 of 14 shots. They have other players on the NBA and NCAA high major radars too.
But Indiana found something on Saturday night in Puerto Rico.
It doesn’t count in any record books, but it just might be something the Hoosiers can count on in February when the going gets tough on the road in the Big Ten.
“For them to pull together in an adverse situation like that — I don’t know how they’re going to respond, and this was our first opportunity to see,” DeVries said.
“I did like the spirit and the fight that our whole group showed.”
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