It’s Thanksgiving week and the Hoosiers are gearing up for their most exciting non-conference home game of the season. On Tuesday, November 25 at 8 p.m. EST, Indiana will welcome Kansas State for a matchup that should demand far more sharpness than what the Hoosiers showed in their last two outings.
After a stretch of sloppy play, Indiana needs to prove that this week of practice produced real progress because the Wildcats will not give them the same room to recover that their previous opponents did.
One of the biggest concerns in Indiana’s win over Lindenwood was their difficulty converting open shots and limiting second chance opportunities. Despite the sluggish performance, head coach Darian DeVries is not sounding any alarms, noting that early season growing pains are normal and that even reliable players can have an off night.
“I’m not worried about that at all,” DeVries said when asked about Lamar Wilkerson’s performance against Lindenwood. “He had a tough shooting night. You’re going to have those once in a while. But like I said after the game, he’s more likely to go 10 for 17 the next night than continue on that pace.”
Wilkerson certainly struggled to find his rhythm finishing with 10 points on 4 for 16 shooting and connecting on just one of his seven three-point attempts. Indiana still earned the win, but their 38 percent shooting night marked their least efficient performance of the season.
The issues did not start there. In the game before Lindenwood, Indiana narrowly escaped Incarnate Word with a 69 to 61 victory. The Hoosiers shot only five for twenty four from three, their lowest percentage this year. Wilkerson also had trouble in that matchup, scoring nine points while going 0 for 3 from deep. Even so, Coach DeVries continues to back his veteran guard with full confidence, believing the best way for Wilkerson to regain his touch is to keep firing.
“Good shooters are good shooters. They don’t just forget how to shoot,” DeVries said during Monday’s press conference. “He’s going to keep letting them go. We’re going to keep telling him to let them go. We’re going to run all the stuff that we always run for him. At the end of the year, my guess is those numbers are going to look like they have always looked for him.”
Even with the recent dip in production, Wilkerson has been one of Indiana’s most reliable scoring threats. He is averaging 17 points per game while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and an impressive 44.4 percent from three. His defensive energy has been just as valuable, leading the team with 2.2 steals per game and often disrupting an opponent’s rhythm. With nearly a week between games, the Hoosiers have had plenty of time to reset and address the shooting concerns that surfaced in their last two outings.
Rebounding has also been a point of emphasis. Indiana has had stretches where they struggled to finish defensive possessions, allowing opponents to extend plays with offensive boards. Lindenwood outrebounded the Hoosiers 48 to 44 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, although they failed to capitalize by shooting only 25 percent from the field. Indiana eventually steadied itself after giving up a 10 to 0 run and closed out the game with a 73 to 53 victory. Still, against tougher opponents like Kansas State, missed box outs and a lack of physicality can quickly turn into easy points on the other end.
Coach DeVries maintains that the last two games are more of an outlier than a trend. With the season still young, he believes the timing of these mistakes is more beneficial than harmful. Identifying and correcting flaws now gives Indiana the chance to sharpen its identity before the competition ramps up. After several days of focused preparation, the Hoosiers expect to look much more like the group that opened the season with confidence and rhythm.