The Indiana Hoosiers returned to Assembly Hall after an emphatic victory in Chicago over the Marquette Golden Eagles and squared off against a dangerous Milwaukee Panthers squad on Wednesday night. Despite some strong play from Milwaukee’s guards, particularly in the first 25 minutes, Indiana comfortably dispatched Milwaukee 101-70 to move to 3-0 in Darian DeVries’ first season in Bloomington.
The strengths of this IU team continue to show themselves early in this season as the Hoosiers knocked down nine three-pointers in the first half to seize a 51-39 lead at halftime. After just 20 minutes of action, Indiana had three players in double figures as Reed Bailey, Lamar Wilkerson and Tayton Conerway all eclipsed 10 points.
Milwaukee refused to go away, continuing to hit tough shots and beating Indiana on the glass to stay within shouting distance but Conerway had a new season-high, repeatedly beating his defender to get to the basket and the Hoosiers extended the lead to 21 points just before the 8-minute media timeout.
Tucker DeVries nailed a step-back three-pointer to give IU a 24-point lead and get himself into double-figures and then Nick Dorn made a good effort play to grab a rebound and get himself fouled, making one of two free throws to increase the lead to 25 points. Tayton Conerway poked the ball away and dove into the Indiana bench, forcing a ten-second violation and getting the crowd on their feet for a standing ovation in appreciation of the effort.
The Hoosiers coasted to the 101-70 victory, limiting the Panthers to only 31 points in the second half. IU ended up with four players in double figures, led by Lamar Wilkerson’s 24 points and five made threes plus Tayton Conerway’s 21 points. After nailing nine triples in the first half, Indiana ended up with 14 makes from deep. That marks the first time since December of 2016 that IU hit at least ten three-pointers in three straight games.
The biggest concern for the Hoosiers moving forward is undoubtedly IU’s vulnerability on the glass and Milwaukee outrebounded Indiana by six in the first half. Indiana adjusted and reversed it in the second half, winning the battle on the glass by four total in the game. Indiana also offset some of the rebounding struggles by winning having eight fewer turnovers, racking up 23 assists and shutting down Milwaukee’s fast-break attack.
Nick Dorn made his season debut and was able to play seven minutes and score eight points. His arrival in the lineup should give Indiana another valuable piece and help alleviate some of the depth concerns.
The victory improves the Hoosiers to 3-0 on the young season and they’ll return to the court on Sunday for a matchup against Incarnate Word.