IU Basketball vs Chicago State — Live Updates and Discussion Thread (FINAL)

Follow along with live updates below as the Hoosiers take on Chicago State.

Feel free also to join the discussion thread below to share your views.

Indiana and the Cougars tip off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Big Ten Plus.

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FINAL: Indiana 78 – Chicago State 58

SECOND HALF

IU up 73-53 with 3:55 to go.

No question about the result, but Indiana will want to forget this second half. They’ve shot just 25 percent from the field, and are 1-for-18 from beyond the arc.
Tucker DeVries has had a very quiet game. Only eight points on 3-of-12 shooting overall. On the bright side, he’s contributed in other ways with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

Indiana leads 69-46 with 7:39 left.

IU finally breaks the seal from beyond the arc with a three from Nick Dorn. Dorn is Indiana’s second leading scorer behind Wilkerson with 15. All of his points have also come from long range.

IU up 62-42 with 10:41 left to play.

Tale of two halves here in Assembly Hall. IU has started 4-of-21 from the field, good for 19 percent, in the second half. They’ve gotten the looks, but that north basket has a cap on it right now.
Again, under different circumstances, this would be a much bigger problem. We have seen dry spells like this in past games, but they’ve had open looks the entire half. When they don’t start getting open, like against Louisville or Kentucky, that’s when they deplete.

Indiana leads 56-35 with 15:28 left.

Well, the Hoosiers have come out cold. Their 14 made threes so far are the most in a game in the last seven years, but they’ve missed their first six of the second half. Luckily, they’re far enough ahead that it doesn’t matter, but in closer games, this would not fare well.
Overall, IU is shooting 44 percent from the field. That’s lower than I expected before I looked, but you have to remember the amount of threes they’ve taken. I have yet to see Reed Bailey or Sam Alexis go one-on-one on the low block.

HALFTIME: Indiana 52 – Chicago State 29

FIRST HALF

IU up 43-24 with 3:24 to go in the first.

Indiana has done a good job of staying out of foul trouble so far, and that’s with Chicago State trying to get downhill. Conor Enright and Lamar Wilkerson each have a steal.
Wilkerson is up to 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc. He also has four assists and two rebounds. IU has assisted on a total of 14 field goals.

Hoosiers up 36-18 with 6:50 in the half.

Indiana has only taken five 2s up until this point. They are 10-of-19 from beyond the arc to start this one. CSU is giving them way too much space.
IU has also started to settle things defensively, with the only bucket from the Cougars coming off a wild putback on a near shot-clock violation.

Indiana up 27-16 with 11:24 in the half.

Although Chicago State is small, they play some pretty good defense. They’ve let up too much space on the perimeter, though, and IU has taken advantage. The Hoosiers are 7-for-11 on three-pointers to start.
Indiana hasn’t been able to shut things down defensively yet. CSU has started shooting 58 percent from the field and has knocked in two 3s.

IU leads 14-7 with 15:34 left to play in the half.

Just from an eye test, Chicago State is severely unmatched in terms of height. Lamar Wilkerson looks to be as tall as CSU’s tallest player on the floor right now.
Lamar Wilkerson with another hot start. He got honored pregame for his 44-point scoring feat in Assembly Hall, and has started this one with nine quick points on three made from beyond the arc.

PREGAME NOTES

Nothing new on the injury report for IU. Jason Drake and Josh Harris are both out, though Drake has participated in pregame warmups for a few games now. He seems to be nearing a return.
IU can regain some offensive momentum against Chicago State today. CSU is not a great defensive team and lacks some size. I put a 25+ point victory in my prediction, but sportsbooks are having it around a 35-point win.
Same starting lineup for the past few games: Conerway, Enright, Wilkerson, DeVries, Alexis

Game Day Essentials:

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”