Indiana basketball is in full swing as the Hoosiers prepare to open conference play against Minnesota on Wednesday. After a pair of shaky outings against Incarnate Word and Lindenwood, questions began to surface about whether Indiana had lost some of the early-season sharpness it showed in November. Over the past week, though, the Hoosiers have looked far more like themselves. A convincing win over Kansas State on Tuesday and a 100-56 rout of Bethune-Cookman on Saturday suggest they’ve steadied the ship.
Indiana’s brief rough patch included a surprisingly tight game against Incarnate Word (69-61) and a 73-53 win over Lindenwood that featured stretches of sluggish offense. Those concerns haven’t vanished entirely, but the last two performances point to meaningful progress that starts with how the team has approached practice.
“We just put ourselves in this position for the past couple days in practice, practicing at noon, at this time when we were going to play,” junior guard Nick Dorn said postgame. “I just feel like getting up, getting that intensity going early was a big thing for us and just being us, playing our brand of basketball.”
That brand of basketball was on full display again Saturday. Indiana shot 55 percent from the field and 39 percent from three, and much of that success came from the spark provided by the bench. Several reserves delivered standout performances, Dorn included, setting the tone for a dominant afternoon.
Indiana’s bench continues to grow more confident as the season moves along, and Saturday was the clearest example yet. Against the Wildcats, the reserves poured in 45 of Indiana’s 100 points. Sam Alexis, Trent Sisley, and Nick Dorn combined for 42 of those — each finishing with 14. Alexis, the Florida transfer, made his mark on both ends with two steals, a block, and eight rebounds. Only Sisley outdid him on the glass with nine. Dorn, the Elon transfer still working his way back from offseason foot surgery, delivered his best offensive outing of the season. All four of his made field goals came from deep as he went 4-5 from three.
“He’s getting more and more comfortable,” Coach Darian DeVries said of Dorn. “You can obviously see it today why we’re so excited to have him back, because he does bring a lot of firepower for us right now coming off the bench.”
That growing comfort has also earned Dorn a steady increase in minutes. Alexis and Sisley both logged more than 20 minutes, while Dorn was just shy at 19. Starter Reed Bailey finished with 18, a sign that one of these surging bench pieces — most likely Alexis — could soon push for a larger role. His energy has been a consistent spark, and that unselfishness across the roster has fueled Indiana’s offensive rhythm. The Hoosiers recorded 27 assists, another reminder of how fluidly they’re moving the ball and creating clean looks.
The starters held up their end as well. Tucker DeVries poured in 20 points and shot 5-10 from three, while Lamar Wilkerson added 18 on 7-15 shooting. With both the bench and starters clicking again, Indiana appears to be settling back into the style of play that defined its strongest early-season stretches.
Next up is a road test at Minnesota on Wednesday (Dec. 3) at 7 p.m. EST — the Hoosiers’ first conference game of the year — followed by a showdown with No. 6 Louisville in Indianapolis next Saturday (Dec. 6). The schedule stiffens quickly, but Indiana has shown over the past week that it’s ready for the challenge.